"Chairman Kaga" (mike-mckinnon)
09/04/2013 at 16:20 • Filed to: Career Day
2
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"Chairman Kaga" (mike-mckinnon)
09/04/2013 at 16:20 • Filed to: Career Day | 2
| 9 |
Here's my query for the day - my career feels a little stalled and I'd like to consider new options.
The year after I graduated college, and had begun my public sector career, a friend of mine got me an interview at Motor Trend. I hung out with some of the guys, visited the garage. Then Peterson sold to EMAP and it all fell apart.
The month before I eft for grad school, I was offered an entry-level PR job with Ford Racing in Dearborn. I declined and got my MA instead (it also involved 2 years in England).
When COTA was announced, I hit the pavement with a head full of steam. However, it seems I pissed them off with some critical part-time blogging for an F1 site, with regard to their track rental policy, prohibited items, parking, etc. Besides, I've found they outsource almost all of their communications work. They're sorta snooty, too. Not really car people. Not really my kind of people.
Oh, and that's what I do. I write. I edit. I manage projects. I solve problems. I handle crisis communications. I build things like communications plans and web sites. Essentially of a jack of all trades, which is a valuable asset in the public sector, but not so much in the private sector. They want to see a specialization. They want agency experience. They want laser-like focus. Egad.
Anyway, let's suppose I have a BA and an MA, almost 15 years of experience, and a real passion for the auto industry... ideas? With a new baby in the house, I know now is not the time to reboot the career, but I think within the next two or three years it's a distinct possibility. I'd go so far as to say probability.
ANYWAY, just thinking out loud. Maybe we start the Jalop Career Builders Forum, or somesuch...
djmanila
> Chairman Kaga
09/04/2013 at 16:24 |
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I guess the question is what part of the auto industry did you want to get into
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Chairman Kaga
> djmanila
09/04/2013 at 16:28 |
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Marketing, PR, customer relations, events... basically anything where an MA in International Communications and a career (thus far) that's been focused on customer/client relations (in my case, taxpayers), but also heavy on government affairs.
I need to find headhunters who deal with comms professionals. I just can't seem to find any!
ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable)
> Chairman Kaga
09/04/2013 at 16:29 |
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I've got a History degree, and I managed to find a Delivery Specialist position at my local Lexus dealer.
I get to teach people how to use all the tech in their new Lexus vehicles. It's a ton of fun.
While Lexus doesn't exactly cater to the enthusiast, I'm still around cars all day which is always a plus. That and it's not exactly a strict working environment, so I also get paid to comment on Oppo while I am working on other things.
Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs
> Chairman Kaga
09/04/2013 at 16:35 |
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I know in my field, supply chain management, Ford is hiring. I don't know if you could bring enough of your skills/experience to the table that Ford or another automotive company would want you for such a career?
Brian, The Life of
> Chairman Kaga
09/04/2013 at 16:36 |
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You realize that an MBA =/= a communications degree, right? I earned an MBA and am a good communicator but I learned fuck all about comms in grad school.
Also, I am tangentially in the car business. I work in software for the collision industry.
Jagvar
> Chairman Kaga
09/04/2013 at 16:40 |
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I have a similar background to you, and I work for an automaker. I have a BA in journalism and an MA in public communications. After grad school, I worked for 5 years as a writer/editor at a nonprofit automotive trade association, working specifically in dealer education. I leveraged this to land a position with an OEM, again working as a writer/editor in dealer education.
Every automaker needs to ensure consistent branding across its dealer network. But the dealerships are all individually-owned franchises, working independently of each other. That's why most, if not all, automakers have a dealer training department. It's worth looking into if you have a communications background. No MBA required, though a little experience in instructional design wouldn't hurt.
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Chairman Kaga
> Jagvar
09/04/2013 at 16:48 |
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BA in journalism as well!
Brand management is something I've handled since the start of my career. I'm working on developing a health literacy program now, amongst about a zillion other tasks. That's the thing with public sector work - you by default are responsible for every aspect of the communications program by default. There are rarely specialists who manage any one single aspect of the department. I do it all. You'd think that ability to manage a multitude of varied jobs, and especially to be able to problem solve issues like (lack of) budget, (lack of )resources, general antipathy would count toward something in the private sector. So far, little luck. Although to be fair I have not tried especially hard these bast 6 years. I just am starting to feel if I don't break out of the public sector, at least for a while, I'll only ever be a mid-level grunt. I don't think I want that.
Back to you, how did you find out about the job? Do you find it stable? Fulfilling? Supportive (financially or otherwise)?
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Jagvar
> Chairman Kaga
09/04/2013 at 16:58 |
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I actually found out about it when a former coworker of mine was contacted by a recruiter. He wasn't the right fit for the job, but he knew that I would be. He put me in touch with the recruiter, the recruiter put me in touch with a manager, and the rest is history.
It's a wonderful job, and extremely fulfilling. I'm doing what I've always wanted to do. Financially, it was a smart move, especially since I had been working at a nonprofit (which never pays well). Stability is harder to judge. There are people in my department who've been with the company for 10, 20, 30 years, so I do take some comfort in that. But when you work for an automaker, your budget is directly affected by how that particular automaker is selling in the marketplace at that particular moment. There are a lot of ups and downs.
I hope that helps!
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Chairman Kaga
> Jagvar
09/06/2013 at 15:27 |
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Don't you work for VW, or am I dreaming that?