Being passionately Purple is a value everyone shares in the office, whether you’re at HQ in Manchester or across the pond. It creates a foundation for each individual to connect to as Purple veterans and new recruits, and underpins everything we do here. Our values reflect how we see ourselves, and also, how we foster young talent to their full potential.
At Purple, we are thrilled to have aspiring professionals choose us to help them on their career, whether it is through internships or work experience, and proud to see incredible development and growth in our interns. We know real-world experience in a practical learning environment is invaluable no matter the degree or background, and the intrinsic benefits for both company and intern is championed here as an initiative at Purple. However, no one could have anticipated the positive impact Jorge Aguirre was going to have at Purple HQ as our summer intern of 2017.
Having just completed his first ‘freshman’ year at Wheaton College in Boston, United States Jorge packed up for the summer and flew over to join Purple’s finance team as part of an 8-week internship program. Jorge landed at Manchester Airport at the start of May – closer to his hometown of Madrid, Spain – with his beloved tennis rackets and ready to take on his first work experience.
Cathy Belford, Purple HR Manager, who was there to pick up Jorge from the airport and introduce him to the team, said: “Jorge settled into his role very quickly and picked up the project with a clear understanding of our business context. He was consistently positive and inquisitive from the get-go and a fantastic fit for his team and Purple’s culture.”
When asked about his first couple of weeks at Purple, Jorge commented: “I have to say that I was a little scared during the first days as it was my first time doing work experience, but with the help of the friendly atmosphere in the office I soon found my place in the company.”
Jorge was tasked with helping the company design a clearer process of how all the business systems work and how we can improve these moving forward. The project’s aim was to make the data much more transparent throughout Purple’s business systems, which would in turn improve customer service and business information. Throughout the 8-week internship, Jorge was focused on building a technical specification to improve the integration of information working closely with finance and the development team.
Pete Lee, Chief Finance Officer at Purple, said: “I was surprised by the effect Jorge’s progress had on the team. With just one year at university under his belt, Jorge was able to set things into motion that had an immediate and positive impact on our understanding of how Purple’s business systems process data. The improvements really draw on our determination to innovate and deliver exceptional service for our customers, and the value and insights we gained from Purple’s internship program really speaks for itself as the 8-week program comes to an end.”
When asked whether the theory of his university studies helped him with his role, Jorge commented: “It is the skills I have learnt, such as problem solving, rather than the actual content that has been really relevant to the Purple project.”
“These two months have passed by very fast, but I’m proud of what I have accomplished. I truly believe that this company is going to continue to grow exponentially, because I have been able to see and understand the value behind Purple’s solution. I could not have picked a better company to start my career off with, and I will definitely start to wear more Purple when I am back in Boston.”
If you think you’ve got the right attitude and aptitude to join the Purple empire as our next intern then take a look at our careers site today!