Nikki Everton

Travel sparked Nikki’s interest in Political Science & International Relations, a programme that helped her develop presenting skills she’s used in many roles.

After spending my last year of high school abroad on a student exchange and realising how much the success of the New Zealand economy relied on international relations, I decided to study towards a Bachelor of Commerce with Honours majoring in International Business and a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Political Science and International Relations. From the moment I sat down in my first International Business lecture, I was hooked. The course was so broad and covered a range of topics, from managing diverse cultures to acquisitions and mergers. In addition, the lecturers delivering this information were from a variety of cultures and had first-hand experience working in different countries and alongside different businesses.

I gained a variety of skills during my studies, such as time management, critical thinking, and influencing skills, to name a few. However, one of the most valuable skills that I gained from studying International Business during my Honours year was confidence with public speaking.

My degrees were highly regarded in the workplace and after graduating I started working for a global supply chain solutions company (Mainfreight) on their graduate programme. After two years working there, I decided it was time for a change and moved into the sales team at NZ Lotteries, before moving into a territory manager role at Johnson & Johnson, and then finally a position as a sales manager at Trade Me. I continued to use the skills I learned whilst studying for my International Business degree on a day-to-day basis.

Presenting course content was such a big part of the Honours programme, so now I feel confident when putting forward my product development and sales and marketing ideas either in a small group of colleagues or to a large group of clients. Without the constant encouragement to test my boundaries, I would never have the independence or self-belief that I have today and would never have had the confidence to step into a managerial role at Trade Me while in my 20s (and while juggling three young sons at the same time!).

I am currently working remotely from Havelock North as a relationship manager. I am tasked with building up a new business unit within Trade Me focusing on fulfilment, logistics, and warehousing.