Ben Schulz is a Senior Account Executive who left his hometown in Hamburg to join Indeed in Düsseldorf. Ben has a talent for sales but is also a gifted artist. Ben shares how he integrated his artistic gift into his sales job at Indeed.
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Ben Schulz had never thought about leaving his hometown in Hamburg for a job, until late 2016 when he learned about the opportunities that Indeed had to offer as an employer.
He accepted the invitation to an event in the Indeed Düsseldorf office because he wanted to have a glimpse behind the scenes.
“It’s been three years already and I’m looking forward to more years to come.”
From the beginning, Ben had set high expectations for himself. “I did not want to move back to Hamburg because I didn’t make it,” he says.
“This is why I gave my best, hit the ground running and haven’t slowed down. My perseverance paid off and after a short time, I was promoted to Senior Account Executive. I was even awarded with Indeed prizes for my engagement. Unfortunately, I never won a kicker tournament. Regardless, I luckily was not forced to return to Hamburg.”
When not behind a desk or working with clients, art is a huge part of Ben’s life.
“I inherited the enthusiasm and the talent for art from my mum. You can check out a small selection of my art pieces and scribbles on my Instagram,” he shares.
“Initially my goal was to be an artist or illustrator. I even passed the admission test for the much sought-after spots at two art universities. Though, I had the desire to have a steady income and decided to shift my passion for art over into my free time.”
The artist Joseph Beuys once said: “Every person is an artist.”
Ben believes a certain degree of art dwells in all actions and aspects of life, and he aims to discover and integrate that approach to the most possible degree, not just in his personal life but also at work.
“No matter what you do, you can carry it out in a creative and artistic way,” he says.
Every customer is unique, and has their own history, character, and aspiration. Therefore, when Ben engages with every customer on an individual basis, he strives to create a sustainable business relationship and eventually hit the mutual goal: developing a successful campaign. His ambition is to maintain a relationship with clients that stand the test of time like a painting.
Although he relies on Indeed’s sales strategy, Ben says the execution of a campaign is different with every customer and the respective industry of the jobs.
Ben draws another analogy to art: With customers from different industries and diverse jobs, it is comparable to art from different epochs.
“A set up of a campaign that works well for one client, doesn’t necessarily work for another one,” he says. Thus, he encourages his customers to get creative when setting up a campaign and maybe try out something new – like the creation of a new piece of art.
“In my job I have to enthuse my customers on the phone. You can’t do that with empty phrases,” Ben says. “If you want to be successful you need to be empathetic – and creative! This is why being an artist makes me a better Indeedian.”
For anyone who wants to follow their talent or passion, Ben’s recommendation is to follow the 10,000 Hour Rule to develop your full potential.
“It doesn’t matter if your passion is painting, sports or sales,” he says. “The approach is always the same. By frequently repeating the activity you improve the quality. It’s important to take time for reflection, which increases the learning curve, too. There is a song by Macklemore with the title Ten Thousand Hours that inspires me.”
He adds another aspect of working at Indeed he loves is the annual kick-off event, where all employees from all departments come together.
“Once, the whole office visited a soccer game of Eintracht Frankfurt, a Bundesliga team with jerseys sponsored by Indeed,” Ben recalls. “I was never interested in soccer but this experience was one of a kind and has influenced me deeply. For me, these events are remarkable and bond us together as one team on a higher level. It is what makes working at Indeed so unique.”
Hear from Ben why he loves working at Indeed is Düsseldorf in the video below.
