What I do: Executive Assistant to the EVP of Operations and Co-COO, Direct Supply
How I got my job: My job was advertised in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel through a recruiting agency. I emailed my resume to them and when I returned home at the end of the day, I had a message from the agency asking me to give them a call. The combination of my experience, resume, portfolio, and Alverno education put me on the path to bigger and better things at Direct Supply, a company with a thorough interview process in which only one applicant in 125 gets hired.
How I use my Alverno education: Not a day goes by that I don’t have the opportunity to apply my Alverno education. Working for upper management provides me with numerous opportunities to exercise abilities such as communication, analysis, problem solving, and social interaction. Developing a global perspective has been invaluable in helping me stay one step ahead of my boss. Effective Citizenship is a very important part of our culture here at Direct Supply, and I participate by serving on the Steering Committee of our Community Involvement group. I contribute as an Asera Care volunteer by visiting hospice patients a couple of times a month at a local nursing home.
And what about evidence you ask? Knowing how to use evidence to persuade my boss when he is on the fence about an issue, or to back me on an issue is an effective tool that I use with great success. I also use the ability to speak off the ‘top of my head’!
As an Executive Assistant I am a member of the Administrative Support Team with ten of my peers where we meet to share our experience in our day-to-day jobs. The team recently changed the structure of the group, so I was elected the Facilitator for all of our meetings. The leadership and presentation skills that I learned while at Alverno, and demonstrated while participating in our meetings, were instrumental in the success I enjoy participating in this group.
How I define career success: It’s great to set goals to aspire to have the perfect or high-level career, but don’t ever forget what you have already achieved, because that is success. Ask yourself: Did the work I performed today help achieve a goal? Most likely your answer will be yes. And lastly, don't pursue outer success as an end in itself. Let it be a by-product of achieving inner success: success defined not on others' terms but on yours.
Tips from the field: Something I wish I’d done earlier in my career is more career planning, especially when I found out that the company I was working at for many years was closing its doors and I would be out of a job. Many companies today offer you the opportunity to select a career path and will support you in working toward that path. If you find that it’s not the road you want to take, don’t be afraid to make a change.
