05 Jul Early Career Achiever: Aiden Mannion, Consultant for the San Francisco 49ers
The Irish Early Career Awards celebrates and recognises young Irish professionals, their achievements and accomplishments as they climb the career ladder. Our focus is to encourage them on their path to success and hopefully instil their motivation, passion and success on to other young professionals on the way up.
This week, we feature an interview with Mayo man, a successful young Irish professional; Aiden Mannion, a wonderful example of this, currently working as a premium sales consultant for the San Francisco 49ers and recently featuring on RTE’s documentary “Better off Abroad”.
After completing a Bachelor of Business Studies and Marketing at DCU in 2009 Aiden Mannion took to the working world like no other. With his sights firmly set on the US, he was determined to give it his best shot and succeed. Never short of a work offer, Aiden has built his experience and reputation in some highly reputable companies throughout Los Angeles, before landing his biggest position to date, as a premium sales consultant with the San Francisco 49ers. He now works at the $1.3 billion (€1.1bn) Levi’s Stadium, which opened in summer 2014 which also played host to this year’s Super Bowl 50.
Aiden spends his working day selling and promoting $1m Super Bowl suites and entertainment packages to big technology companies based in Silicon Valley, such as eBay and Apple. We spoke to Aiden in a short interview to see what his key to success is and what advice he would pass on to young professionals making their way in the world today.
What do you consider to be your greatest achievement?
“Building a life in America from the ground up and overcoming the daily struggles and challenges along the way.”
What do you enjoy most and least about what you do?
“Hearing great feedback from a client who took a risk on you at the start and over time has seen an ROI on their investment. This is a great feeling of satisfaction and a win/win for all parties involved. I always look forward to having that meeting over a cup of coffee.
Working in sales is extremely competitive and at times can be very stressful. One must always perform at the top level and not allow for any off days.”
What challenges have you faced in the past? How have you overcome them?
“Being in America by myself and having the fear of failure but overcoming it by having confidence in my abilities and building a great network of people who have been a tremendous help in advising me along my journey.”
How would you describe yourself in one word?
“Determined!”
If you had one piece of advice to someone just starting out, what would it be?
“Have a great attitude, be extremely coachable and have a relentless work ethic. If one has all the above, opportunities will always present themselves.”
Who do you take inspiration and motivation from?
“I get my inspiration from lots of different people, places and things. My parents have always told me to do my best and it does not matter what people think of you. This piece of advice is something I’ve always carried with me from a very young age.
I look to industry leaders, read articles, listen to motivational speakers and love meeting new people and hearing their stories.”
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aidenmannion