1CSC has become the meeting point for the career paths of talented individuals who want to work in the industry and the world of steel. One of them is our colleague Jirka Poláš, who gave us an insight into his working life as an export sales manager at 1CSC.

We were interested to know how Jirka came to work at 1CSC. "Quite a roundabout way, because a friend and former colleague of mine encouraged me to work at 1CSC," Jirka began. "When we were talking, and I mentioned that I wasn't completely happy with my current working environment, he told me that he would send me an advert for an interesting company looking for a sales manager for international business." And how did that work out? "After a conversation with my future, now actually current, boss, we agreed to work together."

For Jirka, the key factor in accepting this job offer was not only the content of the job itself, but also the relationship with his supervisor. "The personality of the supervisor was an important aspect of accepting the job offer, as I felt from the beginning that I was able to work with this person and that it could work both humanly and professionally."

As an export manager, Jirka spends a lot of time travelling, which affects the nature of his working day. "I communicate with customers not only in meetings, but also by phone and email, whether I'm in the office or on the road," he explains. "When I'm in the office, the main job of the export manager position is to acquire new customers and find new customers in the territory. This means working with the database and finding contacts through various sources. Then locating a specific key person who is on the buying or technology side and can decide on further communication. Next, making offers if we get an inquiry from a customer."

Jirka appreciated the diversity of his work and approach to foreign customers. "What I enjoy most about this job is working with foreign customers, because it is a slightly different culture and a different style of communication and work than with customers in the Czech Republic or Slovakia," he says, "and it is definitely interesting that we work with different types of companies and customers. Especially what they make with our materials. In the context of acquisition activities, it is interesting for me to see what possible means can be used to find the contact of the particular person I want or need to find."

Although the position of sales manager can seem like a lonely road to success, Jirka is most inspired by the teamwork at 1CSC. "I am definitely inspired by the team, which is excellent here. We inspire each other with our colleagues from the sales department. The best thing is that we all help each other on the shop floor, both the salespeople, who each have their own region, and the other colleagues from sales, marketing and other departments. That's great, I'd really like to pick that up."

When asked about his professional growth and development at 1CSC, Jirka replied "Since I have been here for half a year, I believe that I still have professional development ahead of me in this company. However, I know from colleagues who have been here for a long time that it is possible to grow and improve in the company in different positions and vertically, but if someone is interested, they can move from one department to another and start a completely new career in a different field than the one they worked in, which is also interesting and definitely inspiring."

This is how Jirka Poláš described his journey into the company and his working life as an export sales manager. 1CSC is not just a workplace, but a community where individuals can develop, collaborate and find inspiration. It is a company that gives talented individuals the opportunity to become part of a successful team and together create the future with 1CSC.