IT Career Summary
After a number of years working in the IT Profession, I wanted to share my views on a few key lessons I’ve learned along the way. Lastly, I summarize my specific experience with CRM systems aside from the detail included in my LinkedIn profile and resume.
Technology is awesome, but how are your processes?
When I was in collge, I don’t believe I fully appreciated the power in the degree I was working toward.My degree program was a combination of Computer Science but with Project Management and core Business classes. There was a Computer Science degree program, but those students were all flocking to our degree courses as their elective courses.
What I’ve come to learn since obtaining my degree is that technology is awesome – it can do so many cool things, but when you take technology, combine it with a plan, a process, measure what works and what needs to be improve and iterate on the solution, you have exponentially different results than just using technology to solve a simple problem. There’s power in the design, combining the process and technology. Sprinkle in some soft skills and great leadership and you can do amazing things.
Start with the end in mind…
Aside from making sure that process design, documentation and training are part of any solution with which I’m involved, I also like to ask questions about what key statistics my client will be using to measure their success. I’ve found that knowing this level of detail before design is finalized is another key to a successful outcome. The system design, processes and metrics should all align toward your ultimate goal. This is another key aspect I’ve learned during my years of working in IT.
Be Flexible
Even with the lessons I outlined above nailed down, working in IT can be tough. The last key point I’ve learned in my career is to be flexible. Priorities change, a sometimes quickly. Many times it’s outside of your control and you may not understand why things are changing. The project you worked on for months may become obsolete or deemed a lower priority. It’s important not to take those decisions personally and if you need to take some time away to gain perspective, take a few days off. I’ve worked incessantly on projects that had trouble taking off or were scrapped. It’s a terrible feeling, but it’s only wasted time if you didn’t learn something from the experience. There’s always a lesson. Find the lesson, be mindful in your next project, this adds to your value – it’s part of your experience. No matter the outcome, it’s an asset.
My career: a summary
I was lucky enough to land in the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) application space at the very beginning of my career, so the bulk of my professional IT experience has been focused on CRM Applications and business functions. I’ve worked with both older client/server CRM sytems and Saas (Cloud) solutions. My most recent experience is as an Admin / Developer on the Salesforce Platform.
What is CRM, you ask?
In a nutshell, The CRM system records any interaction between a company and its potential and/or existing customers. You know the system that call center agents use to track tickets when you call in for service? That’s a CRM system.
CRM Systems are also used for capturing leads, storing and tracking potential Opportunities for businesses, Account & Contact management and can be integrated with Marketing Automation systems. Two main functions of Marketing Automation systems are mass email, automated email responses / sequences.
I am a 2x Certified Salesforce professional with 10+ years working on the Salesforce platform. In addition to Salesforce skills, I also have experience in web development technologies (HTML, CSS) and data migration experience. I’m currently enrolled in a course to learn Python as a personal challenge, but I hope to also use it if needed in my professional role(s).
