bloom: Athena Van Migem
How does someone with an English-French teacher's degree get into the IT world? Helping people is what drives Athena. Rather accidentally, she started her career at a tech company and last year she found the ideal job at Arxus: Customer Success Manager in a Cloud Infra environment. Why that position is a perfect fit for Athena, she explains here.
Keeping options open
"I really enjoy interacting with people," Athena says at the start of the interview. "Explaining things, helping where necessary, it's my second nature. I consciously chose to train as a teacher, but at the same time I knew that with a thorough knowledge of French and English, I would be able to work outside of education. And that's what happened. During my studies, I worked at Bringme - a PropTech company - as a software and hardware tester. I've always had a certain affinity for IT, so I liked it there. When I graduated, they offered me a job as Customer Success Manager and so I rolled into tech almost automatically. I made my real move into IT a few years later. In January 2019, I started as an Account Manager at a big tech player."
Where does your interest in tech come from?
"It runs somewhat in the family," Athena admits. "My parents started an IT consulting business when Microsoft Office was just becoming established in the business world. They provided training on Microsoft products. ICT was not a foreign term to me as a child, yet my first job in tech was challenging at first because I had no technical background. I ended up there in a Cloud Infra environment and had to learn a lot in a short time to be able to add value to my customers as an Account Manager. Gaining product knowledge, obtaining certificates, it was all part of the job. I am very happy that I was then given the necessary confidence to grow. I was given the opportunity to learn a lot because my management believed in me. That's a nice feeling. It works very motivating."
"When people believe in you, you get the necessary opportunities to grow. That's very motivating."
Self-reflection
Meanwhile, you work at Arxus. How did you end up there?
"From time to time I pause to think about what I like to do in my job and what I enjoy. A little self-reflection doesn't hurt. What I got the most satisfaction from in my role as Account Manager was building and maintaining customer relationships. Solving problems when they arise and making sure the customer is satisfied, that's what makes me happy. I have the same in my personal life. I am happy when the people I love are happy. Point. The human aspect prevails in everything I do. I like to take care of others. It shaped my choice of study at the time and it has also influenced my career. For example, last year I realized that I wanted to focus more on customer success management. By coincidence, I then bumped into a vacancy at Arxus for Customer Success Manager within the Cloud Infra world which I have since found very fascinating. So the ideal combination!"
"I like taking care of others. It determined my choice of study at the time, and it also influenced my career."
What is the difference between your first job and your role now as customer success manager?
"As Customer Success Manager, I take on the role of 'trusted advisor.' I will be positioning new products or services and therefore automatically 'upselling'. But the main difference is that when I was an Account Manager I had to contact new customers more often, more of a Sales function. I prefer to focus on optimizing existing customer relationships, the depth and content you get as a result. As Customer Success Manager, I deal with the operational organization at customers on a daily basis. I make sure my customers are satisfied with the services they currently purchase from Arxus."
What attracts you to Arxus?
"I had a good feeling with the organization from the beginning. Flexibility is very important to me and so is trust. I like the fact that at Arxus they do not look at the number of hours you perform in the office, but at your results. Moreover, there is a very young team here. I am almost 31 and therefore one of the older colleagues, I think. All those young people together, that gives a particularly energetic vibe. Even though we are often with clients and, like me, only in the office two days a week, there is a very good team atmosphere here. Asking questions is allowed and everyone helps each other."
Let's talk about success for a moment. What are you proud of?
"I know very well what I want and I'm not afraid to go for it."
Athena hesitates for a moment before giving us a glimpse into her personal story, "My parents divorced when I was young. I grew up rather quickly as a result, a bit ahead of my age. It was not a pleasant period, but that experience has made me stronger. I know very well what I want, and yes, I am quite proud of that. Also on the fact that without an IT study background I ended up in a fairly technical world. A man's world even, where as a woman you have to stand your ground. And that I made a conscious switch to customer success management, because I want to grow further in this field. I worry a lot, but that is not necessarily negative. I constantly ask myself if I am doing the things I like to do. Sometimes that makes me a little insecure, but at the same time I am not afraid to choose what I want. It helps me stay in control of my own future. I find that very important."
People skills and a heart for animals
Someone who enjoys caring for others while knowing what she wants seems particularly suited to us for a leadership position, do you have ambitions in that direction?
"To be honest, I have thought about it before. Like I think about everything. It is true that I have the necessary people skills and a role with more responsibility would suit me. My self-reflection, or brooding (laughs), can be a pitfall. After a difficult conversation, for example, I always try to figure out what I did wrong. Questioning myself is okay, but it shouldn't hinder my ambitions. I do realize that. So yes, maybe I want more responsibility professionally at some point in the future. Maybe sometimes I should think less and do more."
Is there anything else you feel you should do differently or that you would have preferred to do differently in the past?
"Well, my boyfriend and I are planning our wedding and I would like to have kids someday. That's going to change my life quite a bit, I suspect. I've been finding for some time that I need to learn to let go more privately. To enjoy the moment more. If I could go back ten years, I would travel for a year first and only then start working. I actually recommend that to everyone, matter of postponing adult life a bit more."
Finally, we ask Athena what she wanted to be as a child. "Completely different from what we discussed until now," she laughs. "I have a huge passion for animals! I used to want to be a veterinarian and just leave for South Africa to work in an animal shelter. Those plans have changed a bit, but should I suddenly have several million in my bank account tomorrow, I would quit working, buy a big house and start a shelter for abused animals. I would really love to do that. Or start a big farm with goats and alpacas and stuff. That seems like a lot of fun, too. For now it's just one dog. She is my very best buddy, though."
