RealJobs: Michael Gaines, Global Product Director

Michael Gaines’ work day on Monday, February 8, 2010.

Hello,
My name is Michael Gaines and I graduated in 1991 with an Economics degree from the School of Arts and Sciences.  Since graduating, I have spent the past 20 years in the pharmaceutical/biotech industry focusing on marketing medical products (frequently new product launches) at Eli Lilly, Merck and Wyeth.  After three years of sales experience with Eli Lilly I returned to earn an MBA from Harvard University.  After completing my MBA, my wife and I moved from Boston to Philadelphia to continue my pharmaceutical career.

In 2008, I joined CSL Behring.  CSL Behring is a global leader in the plasma protein biotherapeutics industry. We research, develop, manufacture and market biotherapies that are used to treat serious and rare conditions. People who use our therapies rely on them to help improve the quality of life and, in many cases, for life itself.

At CSL, I am the Global Product Director responsible for marketing activities required to market products within a rare disease category.

I work on a team that is divided across two locations – Bern, Switzerland and King of Prusssia (right outside of Philadelphia), PA.  In my current role I lead a two-person team, one located in Switzerland and one employee located in King of Prussia.  Switzerland is in an EU time zone 6 hours ahead, so my direct report arrives around 2AM eastern time to work. This allows for a high degree of productivity as projects can be worked on almost around the clock if required.

The marketing activities include reviewing clinical data with a global team that includes medical and marketing personnel from the UK, Germany, Canada and emerging markets to determine the key differentiating features of our brand and proposed trade name. Once that step is completed, we field market research (interviews) with customers to understand the key messages and value proposition that our customers deem most relevant to treating patients.  The true fun begins with the creative development of the branding where we determine the logo and the images with which we want our brand to be associated.  I thoroughly enjoy the strategic and creative challenges of brand development, which is a rigorous process pursued for practically every successful product launched, including Apple and BMW as well as other strong brands.

So, today I am in the midst of preparing for a major launch of a brand in our expanding immunoglobulin portfolio.  Yesterday, a large cross-functional team (medical, marketing, sales, training among other groups) met to review the key initiatives that must all come together to successfully introduce this product.

During this meeting, all team members are accountable for delivering important resources that will feed into a launch meeting.  Imagine an excel spreadsheet with more than 200 action items that must be completed on schedule.  I am responsible for all branding activities but also must provide updates on other key activities my team is working on in Switzerland.

The common ingredients for making strong contributions to the team include attention to detail, strong project management skills and flexibility.

I know this was quite a long blog today but I wanted to provide you with sufficient background about myself and the projects I work on here at CSL Behring.  I look forward to sharing additional updates this week regarding the types of managerial books I have read that have beneficial to my career development.

Regards,
Michael

RealJobs: Juan Concepcion, Associate Attorney

Juan Concepcion’s work day on Monday, February 8, 2010.

9:23 AM: Just got off the phone with the “other side” … Seems like just another day when everyone has more questions than answers … I swear sometimes it seems all folks want to do is complicate things more than they already are … Better call the client back to see which of the options works best given the company’s time frame here … Oh wait, that’s another client on the other line. “Hey – yeah I know right. Go Saints! Yep – Who Dat. It’s good for them, especially after Katrina.
Yeah; I sent you the documents on Friday. They should be there today or tomorrow. Ok; no problem. I’ll take a look at these new ones. I should have a response for you by close of business tomorrow. With these guys you never know though. We can hope for the best. See ya.” What was I about to do before the phone rang? Oh yeah; call the client back regarding the options. Oh wait – it’s another e-mail flurry. Better answer those and make the call in 30 (minutes) instead … E-mails …
questions, questions … more e-mail … more questions … Back to those options … “Hi, good morning. I spoke with the other side about their timing … I would recommend  …”

12:21 PM: Rush, rush … need to make it to the 12:30 fitness class …
“Good sweat today … one of my favorite classes!” Need to grab lunch fast and go back to my desk before my next call. Rush, rush. always a rush! Lucky though: I love the flexibility of my job. Being able to work out during lunch time is a huge plus in my work day. If I miss the lunchtime window, I never go after work. I always flake out. Just can’t get myself to go after 7 PM and besides I love the classes and the noon time crowd.

1:42 PM: On call with clients … we will do our best to minimize interruptions on your day. I wouldn’t worry too much about that but we should make sure that we comply fully with the document requests …
I’ll take a look at them.”

2:33 PM: “Need to get those invoices out to clients today … “

3:36 PM: “Hey there buddy. How was school today? Glad the school is fine. How about you? Are you doing well in school? Ok; make sure you get all your work done after you fix yourself a snack. Don’t watch TV unless everything is done. Any tests coming up? Good. Talk to you soon. Ok, Bye.”

5:21 PM: “Well, thanks for your time today. I’ll let you know if we will need to physically go in to court. Highly unlikely though. Ok, see you.”
Is it 7 PM yet?

RealJobs: Courtney Mazzone, Production Assistant, The Today Show

Courtney Mazzone’s work day on Monday, February 8, 2010.

Hello BC, I’ve missed you!  Here’s a little background on me.  I graduated in ’05 and had no clue what I wanted to do so I went to China for two years.  After two years I came back to the States to attend grad school so I did that from September 2007-December 2008 and then I thought I wanted to work in TV and/or film so I started looking for jobs in the media world while I was writing my master’s thesis and in July 2009 ended up at the Today Show.  I gave you the condensed version because you probably want to hear about what I do, right?

Officially my job is not so exciting – I’m an assistant to three of the senior producers on the Today Show.  It’s an entry-level position so even though I’ve been out of school for five years I’m just starting out in my career.  Like I mentioned above, I was in China for two years after college and then spent about two years in grad school so really didn’t start pursuing a career path until January 2009.  And to get your first job in the media/entertainment industry, like many other industries, you have to start at the bottom and to even get your foot in the door you have to know someone or start out working for free as an intern, which is what I did.  I’ll write more on that later.

Now on to what I did today – I got into work at 9:00am which is the latest I’d ever come in.  Today should be one of those less-hectic days.  My work start time varies, depending on whether I have greenroom duty, have a segment that I produced in the show that day, am babysitting a segment that someone else produced, or just have a day in the office.  If I have greenroom duty, I have a car pick me up at 6:15 so I can be at work between 6:30-6:45.  Whenever we have to be at work before 7am or after 9pm we have a car service bring us back and forth.  If I have a segment earlier in the show I’d come in earlier as well but today I’m babysitting a segment at 10:47, which means I can come in at my normal time, then I’m in the office the rest of the day.

I was in the office doing boring administrative things from 9-10:30ish (handing out newspapers, answering phones, setting up conference calls, printing and distributing our weekly checkerboard – a schedule of what segments are in the show for the week for every hour – then had to run to the studio to “babysit” a segment.  What that means is someone else produced the segment but couldn’t be here for the actual live segment so they asked me to take care of everything.  I had to come in to the office last night for set-up for two hours to make sure all the props were displayed the way I wanted them displayed.  Then the day off I checked in on the guest, made sure everything looks the way we set it out last night in setup, prepped the hosts (give them a summary of the segment and answer any questions if they have them), make sure the guest is prepped and then I run to the control room to make sure the director and assistant director knows what technical elements (graphics, video, etc) we’ve prepared.  So I did all of that from 10:30-11 then headed back to the office.

Today has been more administrative-heavy (read: BORING, probably the most boring day I’ve had in a while) because everyone’s gearing up for the Vancouver Olympics so I don’t have that many segments these next few weeks.  Plus one of the producers I work with is the senior producer in charge of the Olympics so she’s out in Vancouver already.  I won’t see her for a month because she’s out in our temporary office in Vancouver the whole month.  She’s officially the senor producer in charge of special projects, and another of her big special projects is Where in the World is Matt Lauer series but that’s still on a temporary hold because of the economy.

Another senior producer that I work with – the senior broadcast producer, who is second-in-command to the executive producer – is flying out to Vancouver Thursday after the show so once he’s out all of the staff that are going to Vancouver will be out there.  During the Olympics we’re only doing the 4th hour of the show live so it’ll be reeeealllly slow.  I am supposed to help with Olympic research in the evenings but that won’t start until later in the week.

So while in the office today I started working on the next segment I’m producing – a recurring nutrition segment with one of our Today Show Contributors.  More on that tomorrow.

RealJobs: Liz O’Day, Scientist & Fashion Designer

Liz O’Day’s work day on Monday, February 8, 2010.

It’s a little after midnight on February 8th 2010 – the Saints just clutched Super Bowl XLIV (sorry Peyton!) and I have just returned from a super bowl bash to head back into the laboratory.  I’m a scientist – well a more accurate description is a scientist in training.  I am currently enrolled in the chemical biology PhD program at Harvard University.  I work in the laboratories of Judy Lieberman and Gerhard Wagner where I study the structure and function of miRNAs and how they relate to stem cells and disease.  I absolutely love my job – I get to ask questions, I get to be curious and I get a chance to explore how the world works.  The current question I am examining is how a particular protein, Lin28, interacts with a small-noncoding RNA, let-7.  This interaction appears to play a critical role in development and cancer progression.  My lab mates and I are trying to tease apart the elegant intricacies of this complex and design new ways we may be able to manipulate it.  Sounds fun doesn’t it?

Since as early as I can remember, I have known I wanted to be a scientist.  In the 7th grade I told my parents I was going to be a biochemist. To be honest, I had no idea what I was talking about, but as I grew up and learned what being a biochemist really meant, I fell more and more in love with the idea.  At BC I was a biochem major where I worked in the laboratory of Dr. Evan Kantrowitz. Dr. K may be one of the greatest people I have ever met, and I fully blame him for my addiction to science.  I started working in his lab as a sophomore, and from day one, Dr. K granted me independence and support to facilitate my development as a scientist. For this, I am forever grateful.  Post-BC, my passion for science led me across the pond, where I did a Master’s of Philosophy in Chemistry at the University of Cambridge.  I had the amazing opportunity to work with Professor Chris Dobson.  Chris, or CMD as we called him, is one of those rare people who not only will impress you with his far reaching intellect, but his grace and poise are equally admirable.  After my jaunt in the UK, I returned to Boston to start my PhD at Harvard, and here I am.  And here, in the lab is where you will find me more days than not, and more hours than not.   But that’s definitely not a complaint.  Raf, Ricard, Judit and myself just got into a bag of cool ranch Doritos, and I am about to set up a few more NMR experiments before we call it a night (note the picture when I say a few more NMR experiments).

Tomorrow, or I guess later today, is going to be incredibly busy.  I have my DAC meeting on Tues and Weds (Dissertation Advisory Committee.)  Basically, this where I present all the million and ten things I am working on (when people ask me how many projects I have “N+1” is always my answer,) and start making progress toward the next the stage of this journey.  OPERATION GRADUATION is underway.

However, all work and no play, would lead to a dull life.  As such, I have decided to engage something else that I also take great joy in—fashion.  With the help of my two brothers, Rob and Chris, I am launching my own fashion company, “Lizzard.”  Surprise, surprise, it will of course unite my love for science with my love for fashion.  Lizzard, makes science fashionable. Since this post is turning into the Odyssey, check out our website www.lizzardfashion.com for more details.  We are just in the beginning of this, so stay turned for all the drama, excitement, disasters, achievements, and better than you can imagines that I hope are in store for Lizzard in 2010!

RealJobs: Austin Naughton, Special Education Teacher

Austin Naughton’s work day on Monday, February 8, 2010.

Hello Boston College Community!

My name is Austin and I’m happy to share some tidbits about my work-life with you.  For starters, I am currently a teacher in the Resource Specialist Program at Fairfax High School in Los Angeles.  Here are some links about my employer: www.lausd.net and http://www.fairfaxhs.org

This is my 4th year as a member of the Special Education department at Fairfax.  Our school is located on the border of Hollywood and West Hollywood, in a relatively trendy section of Los Angeles – for you Boston-area folks, think of it as combination of Coolidge Corner and Newbury Street:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairfax_District,_Los_Angeles,_California

Bottom line, there are lot of “distractions” in this area for students that might prefer to NOT be attending classes:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melrose_Avenue

Today is Monday, February 8th, the first day of the spring academic semester.  Final exams occurred last week and our final grades for students are due on Wednesday.  Students did not attend school today; we faculty members had what is termed a “Pupil-Free Day.”

I tend to be an “early to bed, early to rise” type of person, so I sent my alarm for 4 a.m. and was eating breakfast and checking email around 4:30.  I updated some course materials for a new class I’ll be co-teaching and forwarded several documents to colleagues so that we could print them at school.  I replied via email to a parent about her child’s learning needs.  Around 6:25 a.m., I informed my partner that I was getting ready to go.  He knows that means I’ll be on-the-road in about 30 to 45 minutes.

Circa 7:30, I was on my bike, weaving along the pretty streets of Beverly Hills and West Hollywood for my 4-mile commute to work.  We have to sign-in at the main office by 7:50 a.m. or else we get a pink-dot on our time card.  This is the first school where I have had to sign-in each morning and I can understand why we do it because we have more than 150 staff members spread around a big campus.  I hate getting those pink-dots, so I try to not be tardy!

I went directly to the Special Education Office to do some printing and chatted with the Special Education Coordinator, Supervising Assistant, and other RSP Teachers.  I put my bike in the RSP office and we went downstairs for our 8 a.m. faculty meeting.  Thanks to the famous Canter’s Deli for the donated food: http://cantersdeli.com/ (I hope it’s okay to express such gratitude here on this blog?)

Our Principal greeted us with mandatory announcements about policies such as the need to report suspicions of child abuse and the prohibition of corporal punishment.  Our 4 Assistant Principals spoke about other topics, such as roll books, grades, accreditation process, and the process for considering alternate bell schedules.  The Title 1 Coordinator and Literacy Coordinator each gave presentations about their respective projects, including the Single Plan for Student Achievement and the Sustained Silent Reading period we have daily.  Other staff member members made announcements and questions/answers were sprinkled amid the various topics.  Our Chapter Chairperson from United Teachers of Los Angeles (http://utla.net/) spoke about the upcoming union meeting on Thursday.  During such times of budgetary constraints, we educators need to pay attention to our contracts given all the changes that have been occurring around the district and the state.  To conclude the meeting, the aforementioned Literacy Coordinator presented his latest version of “Top 10” listings — in a past life, he was probably a stand-up comedian.  It is nice to have someone with such great energy and humor as a colleague!

After the meeting, a group of us met to discuss plans for our next meeting.  I then went up to the 3rd floor RSP Office and we 4 RSP Teachers met with the Supervising Assistant to plan schedules for our Adult Assistants for the semester.  At 11:00, a few of us went downstairs to a computer lab to learn about using electronic grade-books.  I left that meeting before it ended so that I could join colleagues for a gathering of Lead Teachers and Co-Lead Teachers for our school’s Small Learning Communities.  Fairfax High School now has one Visual Arts Magnet Program and 5 SLCs.  I am the Co-Lead Teacher for the Academy of Media and Performing Arts.  We had numerous agenda items to tackle as we made plans for the semester and next year.

Circa 12:30, I went upstairs with the Math Department Chairperson so that I could meet my new co-teacher.  She is replacing a colleague who has retired and we will begin teaching Geometry together tomorrow.  Since I already know most of the students, I am going to prepare the seating chart as part of my homework prior to class tomorrow morning.

Around 1:00, I jogged over to a bungalow classroom on the edge of campus for a meeting of our SLC, more easily referred to as AMPA.  (Are you having fun with all of these abbreviations?  I hope that I’m not overwhelming y’all with too many details and jargon!)  Our Assistant Principal led the meeting and we had group conversation about a variety of topics.  After the meeting concluded, I walked back to the main building with the Lead Teacher and returned to the RSP Office.  I made plans with my colleagues as we reviewed student rosters and got ready for tomorrow.  We are also planning a dinner party for our co-teachers as a way to thank them for collaborating with us Special Educators.

Around 2 p.m., I returned to the 2nd floor and spoke with some Math teachers.  I gave a draft seating chart to the colleague with whom I’ll be co-teaching Algebra tomorrow.  The new semester will begin with 3 new co-teaching experiences for me.  We RSP teachers spend the majority of our working days in other teachers’ classrooms as we provide support services to students with specialized learning needs in their general education classes.  I will explain more about that in later entries.

I sorted through some furniture in the hallway and found a podium that I think we can use in my new classroom.  (Yes, I am due to move rooms, too!  Lots of changes this semester.)  By 2:35, I was back in my current classroom and I got ready to depart by boarding my bike and heading to UCLA, which is located about 7 miles west of Fairfax High School:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_California,_Los_Angeles

My destination was the offices of the UCLA Extension, where I will be an instructor during the spring term.  I will be teaching a World Geography course through the Pathway Program: https://www3.uclaextension.edu/index.cfm?href=/departmentalPages/index.cfm&department=/pathway/index.cfm

I met with a staff member in the payroll department to submit employment forms and then spoke with people who work in the Pathway program.  I am excited to have this opportunity to work at the post-secondary level.  I think it will help me be better high school teacher so that I help my students as they make plans for life after Fairfax High School!

By 4 p.m., I was back on my bike and stopped at the supermarket to get groceries.  While preparing dinner, I spoke with my Department Chairperson (by phone) to make plans for our work together this semester.  I also spoke with a friend from Boston College who is now a Guidance Counselor in Washington, D.C.  She has two days off from school due to the winter weather in that region!  I did not mention to her that I was riding my bike on this sunny afternoon here in Los Angeles!

It is now 8:41 p.m. and I have some more school-work to do, including email messages with colleagues and the parents of students.  I hope to be in bed by about 9 p.m. so that I can wake up early tomorrow.  I am due to meet a colleague at around 7 a.m. so that we can distribute forms to our colleagues.  If you have read this far, I hope that I have not exterminated too many of your brain cells with all the above details.

I have been working in the field of education since graduating from B.C. in 1995 and I find it to be a rewarding profession in many ways.  It is exciting to anticipate new classes tomorrow — I will probably know most of the students I encounter in my 5 classes (Algebra 1A, Geometry A, two sections of Language Skills, and 1 new class titled “Occupational Training Workshop), but there will be some new students, too.  I am optimistic about my new co-teaching relationships, though I will admit that it is an interesting experience to be working in the classrooms of other educators.  At B.C., I initially studied to be a teaching of Social Studies at the secondary level.  Sharing the leadership of classroom activities with other adults can be both wonderful and challenging.  Hopefully, all will go well so that we can provide the best learning opportunities possible for each student.

RealJobs: Janelle Nanos, Assistant Editor for Special Projects, National Geographic Traveler Magazin

Janelle Nanos’ work day on Monday, February 8, 2010.

Hey there undergrads, hope you’re enjoying your glimpse into the glamorous work lives of your esteemed alumni. Though to be honest, my workday was not all that glamorous today as my office, and most of the city of Washington, D.C. in fact, has been in “snowpocalypse” mode, meaning streets are unplowed, schools are shut, and the federal government is closed. And despite my alleged snow day, I was busy working from home.

I’m the Special Projects editor at National Geographic Traveler magazine, which is a catch-all title that essentially means I do a little bit of everything in the office: Writing features and shorter stories for the magazine, editing magazine sections and our award winning blog, blogging for said blog, running our social media accounts, and organizing cross-platform editorial projects (what are cross-divisional editorial projects, you ask? I’ll get to that in a sec).

I came here after getting my Masters in Journalism from NYU and working for several years as a reporter at New York Magazine, and have been at Traveler for just over two years. In case you haven’t noticed, it’s an interesting time to be in media these days, with magazines shuttering left and right, and the newspaper industry in crisis mode, looking for the magic solution that will ‘monetize’ online content. What that means for us, and for me in particular, is to look for opportunities to expand our reach. Thankfully, we have some serious brand-recognition on our side, so an important part of what we’re all doing now is looking to make sure that the National Geographic magazines that you think of as belonging to your parents and grandparents are just as relevant—and as widely read–by younger generations. So that’s a big part of what I do.

So what did I do today, at home, at my kitchen table in between bites of leftover lasagna? (which I made to ensure I’d have food around given the snowmaggedon.) I wrote a blog post, did two interviews for upcoming stories, answered over 50 emails (from an office that was closed), wrote up a series of hotel listings for an upcoming magazine issue, and researched another upcoming assignment for the magazine. I corresponded with a tourism rep from Ottawa, where I’ll be traveling this week on assignment, and went back and forth with my editor about the appropriate use of exclamation points (never). I reviewed a memo for an internal think-tank I help coordinate for NG staffers. And I edited, uploaded videos, downloaded photos, and published the next post in a cross-divisional editorial project that we’re running right now called Bus2Antarctica, which involves one of our writers traveling by bus from our DC headquarters through the length of Central and South America, all the way to, yes, Antarctica. It’s a fabulous project, and I highly encourage you all to follow along. http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/admin/mt-search.cgi?tag=Bus2Antarctica&blog_id=74&IncludeBlogs=74

Tomorrow, I’m going into the office despite it being closed, in an attempt to help have the magazine published on time. Stay tuned…

RealJobs: David Benoit, Reporter

David Benoit’s work day on Monday, February 8, 2010.

I cover “hot stocks” which just means the biggest moving stocks of the day, or stock movements that need some sort of explaining.

I write for the Dow Jones Newswires, a real-time news subscription service. And Dow Jones also published the Wall Street Journal, which is pretty sweet because my stories can appear in the paper. Most days I write three to five stories, and given I wasn’t exactly a financial person, I have a lot of fun. Every day brings something different for me, since I don’t have a specific coverage area, and Monday was actually one of the more exciting days.

The morning was pretty typical and I’ll write about typical later in the week.

But in the afternoon I covered a guilty plea by a man who has been charged in a huge insider trading scandal. The case involves wire taps, more than 20 people and millions of dollars that prosecutors allege were made on trades based on non-public information. Some of the stuff seems right out of an episode of HBO’s “The Wire” (the best written show I’ve ever seen) and the times I’ve been able to cover it, it’s been a zoo. But I love it.

Since I’m not our official court’s reporter and only help out, I don’t have the same court house access. The court takes my phone and Blackberry leaving me completely unconnected. That means editors can’t call me easily, and I can’t get emails to them. It makes it a bit stressful, especially since there were, by my count, six other news outlets in the courtroom, all of whom are racing me to get the headlines and stories published first.

As soon as the hearing ended, I ran to a payphone outside the courtroom and called up the editing desk and read them some headlines. Then I ran up to where our reporter works and grabbed his laptop to quickly write a story. After the editors read it, the story published just over 30 minutes after the headlines, which is pretty good, though I’d freely admit could be better.

But since I don’t write about trials every day, I’m extra careful not to make mistakes, which slows me down a few minutes. And I’d say the story was actually pretty good in the end.

The job isn’t always that exciting, but the rush of deadline reporting, and covering real news that matters, helps smooth over the duller days.

RealJobs: Ashley Naranjo, Assistant Summer Programs Director

Ashley Naranjo’s work day on Monday, February 8, 2010.

When I first graduated from Boston College, I was unsure of what my next step might be.  I had so many interests, that the thought of zoning in on just one was overwhelming. During my time in school, outside of my major, I also took part in two service trips to Latin America, did a work study job in the Student Development office, completed a Psychology Independent Study and was a member of UGBC. With so many interests, I was never sure if I would ever be able to find a career that would encompass all that I was looking for.

After graduating, I moved to Ecuador for a year with an international teaching program. It was a great move for a number of reasons, including perfecting my Spanish, teaching English, and providing a snapshot into another culture—all the while traveling through a beautiful and diverse landscape. (ashleyinquito.blogspot.com) Post teaching abroad, I continued working in the ESL (English as a Second Language) World. I returned to the Washington, DC area and became the Director of an International College. I loved working with International Students and helping them complete their TOEFL exam (an English equivalency test) to later continue on to another American University. For various reasons, I resigned from my position after a year and went on to my third career in three years since graduation. Both exciting and nerve-wracking.

In April 2009, I took on the role of Assistant Summer Programs Director for a private school in Northern Virginia. It is part of the larger Co-Curricular team, which encompasses everything that the children do on campus outside of the classroom. It is a rather new niche within the education world, especially for Elementary schools and is a year-round position. It is probably the most practical use of what I learned in college, mixed with a number of my personal interests. I am able to design various summer program curriculum for children, whether it be a science program, a cooking class, or what one might consider a “traditional camp experience”. In its 70th year of existence, the programs have been consistently evolving and it is exciting to be a part of this.

Ironically enough, school was canceled today because of record snowfall. I have been working on some marketing materials from home for a new satellite campus in the area and enjoying the day off.

RealJobs: Deborah Federico, Assistant Director, Undergraduate Career Services

Deborah Federico’s work day on Monday, February 8, 2010.

I am a career counselor for undergraduate students in the School of Management at Boston University and have been in my position for two years now.  I love my job!  Having an MBA from Boston College, I used to work in the corporate world doing marketing and market research, which I really enjoyed, but I love working in higher education even more.  I am also a prolific writer who loves to write in my career counseling blog for college students: http://career-calling.blogspot.com/

My day started on a great note (literally!) when two seniors came into the career center to ring the bell.  Students come in to ring the bell when they have gotten a job offer.  They pull the cord of this gigantic bell on the wall to emit a very loud “ding” and everyone comes out of their offices to clap for and congratulate the students and listen to their success stories.

After that, I read and responded to emails from students and colleagues, which is the way I typically start my day.  The rest of my day is usually booked solid with student appointments and walk-ins, so when I had a few cancelations today, I welcomed the free time to prepare for my class tomorrow and to work on projects.  I teach two sections of a career development class, which all management students must take.

My student appointments today consisted of critiquing and editing students’ resumes and cover letters and helping a student prepare for her upcoming telephone interview for an internship.  After that, I reviewed the PowerPoint slides for my afternoon class.  At 3:30 I taught my 50-minute class to 55 students.  Today’s topic was interviewing, and I conducted mock interview questions with volunteers in front of the class.  The other students then provided feedback and seemed to really enjoy and benefit from this exercise.

RealJobs: Chris Nunez, Territory Sales Trainer

Chris Nunez’s work day on Monday, February 8, 2010.

This work week has started off unlike any other.  Washington, DC has never seen snow in such quantity and it has left the city unfortunately crippled.  This past weekend saw accumulations ranging anywhere from 26-37 inches across the DC-Baltimore area and more is said to be on the way which should make this week a nightmare for anyone who has to travel for their job .

Four months ago I landed a job working for Tempur-Pedic as a Territory Sales Trainer and it has quickly become the job of my dreams.  Tempur-Pedic is known as one of the most high quality manufacturers of specialty mattresses that ultimately help in living a healthier lifestyle.  We sell everything from mattresses and pillows, to sheets and travel accessories.  I am personally responsible for 80 stores where I travel to each day to train the sales people on the showroom floors about our products and essentially help teach them the best way in which to tell customers about our products.  Increasing their product knowledge is key to making sure we equip all sales people with the tools they need to talk intelligently and accurately about our Tempur material.  My stores are located all throughout Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, and Pennsylvania which translates into over 800 miles a week sitting behind the wheel of my fuel-efficient Toyota Corolla.  Because stores are on retail hours, I am not on the road until around 9:30 AM as I thankfully miss most of the standstill traffic associated with the DC roadways.  I can usually expect to hit about six to eight stores a day spending anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours at any given location, creating relationships & covering anything from the new products we have coming out to talking about all the differences in our products.  My commute home does not start until about six or seven at night but being able to wake up at 8:30 in the morning gives me the much needed rest to stay out later than most 9-5 folks.

Today has been an unusual day as I have had to work from home since the South is not the best at figuring out how to deal with mass amounts of snow and getting it off the roads.  However I have spent my time wisely filling out reports that need to be completed and making sure we are on top of the product we have on the showroom floors.  And as I am a representative of the company to my sales people on the floors selling our mattresses, I take phone calls when they need to reach me if they have questions or need help with our product.  I can expect to get anywhere from three to seven calls a day (of course most of them coming when I am sitting down for dinner) but it is exciting to be a point of reference for over 150 sales people when they need any help.

With 10 – 20 more inches of snow said to be on the ground before Wednesday night you could see me off the road for another day or two this week. But when you travel everyday for work, Mother Nature doesn’t always cooperate and it should be interesting to see what the rest of the week brings.