What a morning!
I started with running to CVA to drop off the CD of my CT scan for Dr. Cavender to review the IVC filter legs that have punctured the vein. Then I ran to the chiropractor for the second of probably a dozen closely-scheduled appointments to get my back functioning again so MAYBE I can finally walk correctly and not have pain in my right leg.
Since I (luckily) was going to be out the office, I settled in a Maple Biscuit Company to take my phone interview with Marylyn. It was a little louder than I was hoping it would be, but at least I wasn't constantly paranoid that David was going to bust in my office and interrupt.
Marylyn started the call with letting me know she'd gotten my resume first from Daphne Powell, and we chatted for a bit about how sad it was she was gone and how great a person she had been.
She moved into sharing a bit about how her team and the other functional Info Services Teams work together and how the other Advancement Teams are separate but Info Services works with them to meet goals and support efforts. Sweet GEEZ is it different than what I'm used to! They have a whole separate team that just focuses on gift entry and bio info updates!
She focused a lot on the my project management background and experience. I tried to provide tangible examples of being able to implement systems successfully:
- The fact that helping keep David on track for mailing newsletter after he got so off schedule last year that is never mailed and that even though he had some distractions that affected the planned schedule, he did send in the final art and list 1 week before the deadline.
- After a reduction in force, I took over tracking grant and report deadlines which had just been planned by calendar reminders and an Excel to that point. I customized a system in Bloomerang so we could have a full history of what was requested, what was awarded, and deadlines. It has worked so well that other departments have asked us to start tracking their grants as well - especially after a major funding grant was missed because info wasn't transferred following a staff change.
I hope it wasn't a "ding" against me that I didn't have experience with a formal program, but I did ask questions about what program they were using. From what she said, she just has her hands too full to sit down and develop the system to get everyone using the system in the same way consistently. She said a lot of plans and needs are just in her head, but it would really benefit being entered into technology for everyone to access.
I asked questions about whether standards for data entry were driven from her team of from individual Advancement arms, and she confirmed it not only comes from Info Services but one of her team members is the trainer for onboarding new staff to lay out the standards.
She asked what my biggest contributions (or something like) was. I answered that I am a creative problem solver. I don't just look at the immediate situation but I consider the big picture of where the plan is trying to go. With data, I don't just consider how to put it in now but how it makes sense to put it in for pulling reports and to ensure consistency. I'm afraid I probably wasn't that eloquent - God, I'm so awkward on the phone!
I told her that even though she only asked for one, another attribute that I've been praised for is understanding the art and science of data so I can communicate with a lay person at their level but also work with tech people in their language. I also told her that if someone asks me for a report of "all donors who gave $500 in the last 5 years" that I ask more detailed questions to make sure they are getting what they actually need.
She shared about how there is an update/append calendar that also takes into account what other programs' upcoming initiatives are. I asked about how frequently she/her team meets with the other teams to find out what they are doing so they can align. From there, I started talking about how I can see that having an organized project management plan everyone can see would help with that so you can see when may be a "hot" time for overlapping projects so you can flex those dates to take a little pressure off.
I shared that I love logistic puzzles and that I have stage managed in my past. I told her that the first director I worked with asked if I liked puzzles because I had to coordinate a rehearsal schedule based on 50 different people's schedules when we only had certain days and times we could rehearse in specific spaces, but I LOVED putting all those pieces together. She said that creative types often aren't great at that type of thing and shared that her daughter is a theatre fan.
I had prepared a lot of questions about how things run and what team handles what. She covered a lot of it, but I also let her know what some of the things had been on my list that she'd covered so maybe she could see the direction I was thinking in. I did ask one or 2 new questions about systems that she had not covered.
She said that she was doing a few more phone interviews but was planning to have a decision about next steps next week. I definitely think we hit it off on a personal level, but I'm not 100% sure I sold my experience well enough since it isn't as formal as how they are organized. I KNOW my brain would work well as organizing their needs and implementing systems, but I'm afraid the other people she's talking to have that kind of 1:1 transferrable experience. I guess we'll see!
