1. Walk me through your work history.
After being forced to take a break from university due to an injury, I entered the workforce in 2015. My first job was in direct sales, where I sold phone and internet packages to pedestrians outside shopping centres across Scotland. I left shortly after to try and find a better opportunity in London, but still appreciate the experience.
I was able to secure a role as a Business Development Executive for Engagetech Ltd, a B2B lead generation company working in the technology sector. In this role, I successfully designed and executed targeted outreach campaigns for prominent clients such as IBM, SAP, and TIBCO, driving qualified opportunities for their in-house sales teams. I enjoyed the personal development I experienced in this role and decided not to return to university in 2016 as planned.
Instead, I joined Innovation Enterprise as a Global Events Manager, where I was responsible for conference attendees across a portfolio of events related to Data Analysis, Data Visualisation, and Big Data. This role allowed me to continue working with decision makers and develop new sales and outreach skills, while also expanding my skill set in project management and giving me the opportunity to work with a global clientele. When Innovation Enterprise was acquired by an American media company, I negotiated a new role as a consultant that would allow me to return to university in Toronto and finish my degree. I worked in this role until my graduation in November 2019.
After graduating from the University of Toronto I had planned to take time off to travel and assess my career options, however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I was unable to travel and instead took some time off. Eventually, I began leveraging my professional and personal contacts to secure consulting work in industries related to my experience, including B2B sales and event management, as well as work related to my degree in political science. My services included sales support and outreach, customer service and feedback, research and data analysis, copywriting and editing, and occasional one-off tasks.
2. What are your strengths?
I consider myself a generalist, however, if I had to pinpoint what sets me apart, I would highlight my ability to effectively engage with stakeholders. I am confident and personable in professional communications, and have a very strong technical understanding that allows me to better engage with decision makers, particularly in the technology sector.
I adapt well to challenging and changing work environments. In my experience as a consultant, I’ve often been brought in to revitalise campaigns that are struggling to meet their targets. I excel in this “firefighter” role due to my analytical and solutions-focused approach, which allows me to quickly assess complex situations and develop effective solutions. Additionally, I’m comfortable and experienced working across multiple campaigns, teams, and deadlines, and I’m able to adapt to new challenges.
3. What are your weaknesses?
Time/Day management. The nature of my roles has so far allowed me to largely set my own working hours according to the needs of the project. Experience has helped, particularly having to balance work and school, however, I feel as though I have developed some awkward habits in this regard that I will have to address in order to return to a regular nine to five working environment, particularly in regards to working late.
Likewise, while I boasted of my solutions-focused approach above, I have learned the hard way that not all time spent on optimisation is productive - sometimes the task is as simple as it sounds, and you just need to pick up the hammer and start swinging. In an effort to be better at this, and avoid further mismanaging my time, I like to revisit this comic I saw from xkcd:
4 & 5. Why are you looking for a new opportunity? What are you looking for in a new opportunity?
I have enjoyed my roles to date because they have allowed me to work in a wide range of industries and environments, developing a range of skills largely at my own discretion. However, I have begun to feel as though I have reached a plateau in my personal development and what I can achieve on my own, and need to make a change in order to achieve my career aspirations.
While I feel this period has helped me to develop my professional responsibility, I miss working as part of a larger project team, and I would like to return to an office environment. Ideally this would be in the Greater Toronto Area, though I am open to relocation for exceptional opportunities.