Miles Havinga

I am currently studying a postgraduate course in MSc Financial Economics at the University of Exeter, and I am eager to gain real experience in a finance setting. I am a driven, career-oriented worker with a keen desire to expand my skillset and responsibly challenge myself. From my previous experience in sales I understand the drive that is needed to meet and exceed targets set by the firm. I consider myself a relaxed and sociable person with great communication capabilities and I enjoy working as a team and developing great friendships and a sense of comradery with my colleagues. 

Payroll Clerk - NHS Shared Busines Services:

NHS Shared Business Services provides payroll services to multiple NHS trusts. As a payroll clerk, it is my responsibility to ensure that new starters and existing employees within the NHS have their records kept up to date and apply the relevant bonuses/deductions to their pay. Every record must be adjusted subject to the correct auditing processes, and I must calculate the employees pay based on their bonuses to ensure that each employee pays the correct rate for their pension contributions. I must also input requests for maternity/paternity/adoption leave and calculate the employee’s entitled pay during their leave. Additionally, if an employee chooses to opt out of the NHS pension scheme, these records must also be implemented, and I calculate how much of the contributions the employee is refunded based on their rate of contribution and their length of service. The role requires constant communication with the payroll team and the NHS trusts, and it has given me great insight into how large institutions maintain efficiency subject to bureaucratic hurdles, and the importance of accurate data management.

Sales Operative - Bamboo Marketing Ltd:

Bamboo Marketing Ltd is a marketing company that provides sales and service assistance to various motor-trade brands including Ford, Volvo, Renault and more. My role at Bamboo Marketing was to generate sales leads for Iveco by contacting businesses which were involved in the use of HGV and commercial vehicles. I would identify each company’s individual preferences on the specifications of their vehicles and pass a sales lead to their nearest Iveco dealership if they were in the market for a replacement or new vehicle. This role helped me to hone my sales instincts and understand the value of perseverance. My team only consisted of myself and one colleague, and we managed to increase the monthly sales leads by 50% compared to the Iveco team the year prior to my employment, which consisted of five employees. To my knowledge I am still the record-holder for most sales leads generated in a single day at Bamboo Marketing.

Office Administration / Warehouse Manager - Powerquick Ltd:

Powerquick Ltd was a small company dealing in the wholesale of batteries and electronic products. It consisted of a total of five staff, including the two owners and myself. The small size of the company enabled me to develop experience in many various fields of business and participate in decision-making processes. Throughout my five-year employment at Powerquick, my responsibilities encompassed the following:

• Customer Service (placing orders, invoice amendments, taking payment, stock updates)
• Office administration (invoicing, booking in deliveries, website modifications, updating customer details)
• Warehouse Management (Stock allocation, picking and packing of orders, courier and postal dispatch management, unloading pallet and parcel deliveries, checking incoming stock and booking them onto the system) 

The variety of responsibilities I had at Powerquick has given me significant insight into how to overcome challenges that are faced in different departments. The electronics wholesale market is a very competitive one and Powerquick Ltd had some large competitors, which helped me to understand how a small company strategises its pricing in response to market conditions.

MSc Financial Economics - University of Exeter

I am currently studying a postgraduate (Kandidat) course in Financial Economics at the University of Exeter. The modules included are as follows:

• Topics in Financial Economics
• Fundamentals of Financial Management
• Applied Econometrics 1
• Applied Econometrics 2
• Industrial Economics and Strategy
• Optimization Techniques for Economists
• Economics of Corporate Finance
• Macroeconomics of Money and Financial Markets
• Master's Thesis