Equal Opportunity Publications - Article Page - African-American Career World

Circling satellites, networks of cell towers, and strands of cable more complex than the fanciest snowflake keep us connected to nearly everyone and everything. Today’s cell phones surpass the processing capacity of yesteryears’ supercomputers, and television reception delivers resolution that make it seem as if George Clooney is in our living rooms. There are brillant people behind these global network and stunning devices. Meet some of them.

Paul Quick, senior vice president and general manager of Frontier’s Pennsylvania operations, began his professional life working for Hallmark, but he sees the telecommunications sector as delivering a similar service.

The connection is also varied, as Frontier delivers the Internet, media via a DISH partnership, and telephone services for both commercial and residential customers. Frontier also delivers cyber-security services.

“We’re a one-stop communication provider,” notes Quick. “We can take care of all our customers’ needs. I’m responsible for the state of Pennsylvania. I oversee field operations, residential, and commercial sales, service, all marketing. Overall, I’m responsible for every aspect of residential and business customers’ experience. I’m also responsible for the business side, the profit and loss statement for the state of Pennsylvania.”

“To prepare for this sector, students should be curious,” says Quick. “They should constantly ask, ‘Why? Why is business done this way? Can it be done differently?’ Learn. Ask questions. Talk to people in the business. Be open to new experiences. If you go to school to be a marketer or engineer, what will that mean? How can you apply it now and how will you apply it later? Be on time. Be respectful. Fulfill your commitments. We measure whether our techs keep their commitments to resolve troubles and arrive on time.”

“I love that we’re performance-based,” he says. If you’re a competitor, you’ll love it here. It’s about results and making a difference and driving sales. It’s also about putting up results that matter to the shareholder. We’re looking for people who have an athletic mindset, people who want to compete and perform and to be judged on their performance, people who want to be difference makers. We need people who want to make a contribution, who get up hungry to win. You’ll have to think critically and have a customer mindset. Be prepared to surpass the customer care of competitors. You’ll need to be good communicators, both verbally and in writing. Also innovation and a little bit of risk taking are needed here. If you bring these qualities, you will be very successful here. It’s a performance based culture, so if you produce results, you’ll get the recognition.”

To prepare for the daily learning required in the telecommunications sector, Quick advises students to get internships. “They’re valuable,” says Quick. “It’s experience for your résumé, but you’re also learning about what happens in the workplace. Internships in different places mean seeing the work world through multiple lenses.”

Even though Quick is at the forefront of communication technology, he asserts that face-to-face communication is still essential and powerful. “In your personal life and your professional life, don’t forget to look up (from the cell phone, computer, etc.),” says Quick. “Interact with people, your leaders, your peers, and your customers. Don’t ever say, ‘Didn’t you see that email I sent you?’ If you want to make a difference, go see people. Connect with team members and customers directly. Look them in the eye.”

Lisa Bradford Knight is in her 34th year with AT&T, an unusual occurrence in this era when folks flit from company to company. What’s also unusual is that happenstance nudged Knight to AT&T.

“I was working for a large, nationally- known retailer in the early 1970s,” says Knight. “It was a job with little advancement opportunity. I was ready for a change, One day I saw an ad in the local paper for a job as an operator with AT&T. I responded, and the rest is history. After a decade in that position, I had an opportunity to oversee a small inbound call center. In this supervisory role, I realized I had a natural ability and passion to lead and motivate people. Moreover, I enjoy serving people. Fast forward to the present and my job as director–service management, which has me leading a team of 12 service management professionals who are responsible for supporting 15 Fortune 500 companies. I thrive in solving complex business problems and delivering solutions that delight our clients. I often joke that helping customers is like my energizing B-12 shot.”

“I was promoted to sales manager to lead two call centers of 120 employees with low morale and productivity,” recalls Knight. “I was able to dramatically improve morale and increase productivity by showing my employees my work ethic and how much I cared about them. I’m a firm believer that people don’t care until they know how much you care.”

Knight believes AT&T is an excellent company to work for because of its rich legacy of diversity, the opportunities for personal and career growth, and its excellent compensation packages. “The most surprising thing about AT&T is the family culture that exists,” says Knight. “In this day and age, it is difficult to maintain that type of culture, especially in a Fortune 100 company. It’s also phenomenal that AT&T has invested billions of dollars in its network over the last five years, making it one of the top companies that have invested in the U.S. economy.”

Knight has found to invest in her career, she had to take a chance recently and literally move out of her comfort zone. “In 2009, after 30 years with AT&T in California, I stepped out on faith and moved to Texas,” she explains. “Here I quickly learned that in order for me to further my career, I needed to reinvent ‘Lisa.’ I was in a new city, newly divorced, and separated from a solid network of family and friends. I was working among new colleagues and a virtual unknown. In retrospect, the relocation was perhaps the catalyst to reestablishing and living my personal brand. My move to Texas forced me to rely on and appreciate my inner strength and to embrace my career journey with the company.”

Knight urges all jobseekers to embarce that opportunity— and risk—to evolve. “To succeed at AT&T, you need an innovative mindset, a passion for learning, high integrity, and a desire to evolve and grow,” she says. “The most important piece of advice I can offer our future leaders is to not become complacent in learning and growing your skills. One of my favorite quotes is by William Godwin: ‘Perseverance is an active principle and cannot continue to operate but under the influence of desire.’ I have been successful in this organization because I had a desire to never quit nor be complacent.”

Sprint, a global provider of voice, data, and Internet services, might have 40,000 employees, but it’s always looking for more talent. Passion is one of the key traits Angela Chammas, vice president – talent management and HR relationship management, looks for in recruits. Chammas is responsible for Sprint’s enterprise recruitment and staffing services and leadership and management development programs, while also leading the human resources account team for Sprint’s Enterprise Solutions division.

“When I interview potential applicants for positions within Sprint, one of the first questions I ask is, ‘what are you passionate about?’” says Chammas. “Following your passion and staying true to yourself is the best way to bring purpose to your life and value to what you choose to do. People who have an internal desire and passion for creating and delivering value to the world possess the traits critical to enabling Sprint’s success. We are inspired by and welcome individuals who want to make a positive difference while enabling business success.”

However, being passionate and inspired is just the beginning, notes Chammas. Having a love for technology, science, and engineering and the impact advances in these areas have on the world is also a desired quality. “I often share with others that you can only give more if you are willing to grow and become more,” Chammas explains. “You have to be willing to grow with the company by putting in the time and effort needed to learn and continue to develop yourself. Volunteering for growth assignments is a way to show that you value the opportunity and ability to continue to contribute to the success of the company.”

Chammas, who oversees 75 of Sprint’s professionals, also believes being a team player is essential. “Individuals who are self-motivated, action-oriented, and demonstrate strong initiative and drive also possess key traits important for success at Sprint. Individuals who are innovative and collaborative are in a much better position to generate ‘out-of-the-box’ thinking and innovative solutions, which have the potential to deliver game-changing results. They are seen as team players and success advocates who understand the importance of engaging with others within an organization, if that organization is going to be successful.”

A large part of what makes Sprint so successful is the shared dedication to excellence that pervades throughout the company. “I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to work at Sprint,” says Chammas. “One thing I love about working here is the great people I get to hang out with every day, individuals who are committed and dedicated to succeeding at changing things for the better. My life’s purpose and passion is to engage in work that enables me to help others and to be in a position where I can make a positive and measurable difference in the world. I can honestly say I am able to play in my passion while fulfilling my life purpose every day at Sprint.”

Chammas also loves being a part of a company that leverages advances in technology, science, and engineering to create and deliver new value to the marketplace. “There’s a strong innovative spirit within Sprint that drives a culture of freedom and opportunity to engage in awesome work,” she explains. “I think some might be surprised to know that Sprint is one of the top global telecom companies for innovation, with more than 600 U.S. patents granted in 2012. On average, we are granted approximately two and a half patents every workday. When it comes to innovation, we walk the walk.”

Sprint is also a leader in environmental and social responsibility, another reason Chammas likes working there. “Our focus on corporate responsibility and our commitment to the communities we serve is why I believe Sprint is a great place to work and launch your career,” says Chammas. “Sprint is dedicated to doing the right thing for our business, our employees, and within our communities.”

If you are interested in joining an innovative technology company, do your homework, advises Chammas. “Get to know the company, what they do, and why, really well,” she says. “Take the initiative to learn as much as you can about the industry and what value it creates for the marketplace. Understanding the work, products, and services a company creates can provide a glimpse into how your gifts, talents, and expertise could potentially be utilized to add value.”

Chammas also advises to develop your soft skills, even if you’re focus is high tech. “One lesson I learned the hard way when I started out as an engineer is not to forget to develop your soft skills,” she remarks. “Soft skills are the ‘people skills’ you need to get the job done.”

The name, Comcast, is an amalgam of communication and broadcast. The company, Comcast, is an amalgam of diverse industries, from theme parks to movie production to home security, but its heart remains in communication and broadcast, whether it’s digital cable TV, wireless Internet, or high-speed Internet. Comcast Corporation is the largest mass media and communications company in the world by revenue. One of its 129,000 employees is Ricky Frazier, Jr., regional vice president of Customer Care.

Frazier leads the call center organization, which handles inquiries from customers in Comcast’s Beltway Region, serving Maryland, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and parts of Delaware, West Virginia, and North Carolina.

In his role, Frazier has insight into the attributes that engender success at Comcast. “Comcast seeks people that are hard workers, innovative, willing to roll up their sleeves, and have a passion for the everchanging technology landscape,” says Frazier.

He admires that Comcast changes and evolves with the marketplace, customer needs, and technology. “It is a very dynamic and innovative company,” comments Frazier, who believes that Comcast’s customer focus drives its innovation.

“Comcast has a laser-like focus on delivering an exceptional experience to our customers,” says Frazier. “We are applying the same mindset of innovation and speed, which has been successful to us in bringing our products to market, to our customer service. I like being at the forefront of this ever growing company and having the opportunity in this role to partner cross-functionally to ensure we are delivering on this superior experience.”

On the personal level, Frazier likes that he is expected to deliver superior experience to Comcast’s customers. “I was challenged with taking on a business unit that needed to improve its overall performance,” explains Frazier. “I immediately set a plan into action that involved building a strong leadership team to support me in carrying out our vision. I also set clear, measurable, and achievable goals that employees could focus on and, most importantly, created a culture of accountability.”

If you’re considering a telecommunications career or working at Comcast, Frazier tenders some sage advice. “Be realistic about your goals and be honest with yourself about what you are good at,” he says. “For example, are you an individual contributor or a people leader? They may have very different paths depending on what your long term goals are.”

“For this sector and company, develop a sense of curiosity,” explains Lisa Crawford Bruch, vice president, sales and marketing. “Never be satisfied with what you know or what you think you know. Dream about how things could be different or better, and then strive to be a part of the solution and to develop a better approach. Challenge the status quo. When I started working for a different telecommunications company in the early 1980s, the technology that we take for granted today was still being developed in the lab and was considered a radical concept. Your success is largely tied to your ability to envision and adapt to an ever changing future.”

A multinational company, CenturyLink provides communications and data services to residential, business, governmental, and wholesale customers. Its 45,000 employees have diverse skills, but their core values connect them.

“We look for skills and resources in disciplines as varied as communications, computer networking, consulting, finance, government contracting, law, engineering, program management, public policy, and marketing,” says Bruch. “But the traits that we seek in our employees are exemplified by the core values that are embodied in CenturyLink’s unifying principles: fairness, honesty and integrity, commitment to excellence, positive attitude, respect, faith, and perseverance.”

Those core values have Bruch loving her colleagues and company. “I love the people with whom I work and appreciate CenturyLink’s vision and focus on improving lives and connecting communities,” acknowledges Bruch. ”It makes a difference to me that the people I see every day at work are committed to supporting the mission of our federal government customers and to providing top quality services to veterans, war fighters, senior citizens, students, and the American public. The people I work with care about the important work government agencies do every day for the country.”

Bruch leads the sales and marketing team that supports federal government agencies worldwide for CenturyLink, America’s third largest telecommunications company and a member of the Fortune 150. Whether it’s providing network services to customers as diverse as the U.S. embassy in Paris and the Department of Veterans Affairs, supporting the Department of Homeland Security’s cyber security programs, or supplying cloud and managed hosting services to the Federal Communications Commission, Bruch’s CenturyLink sales and marketing team of 150 supports these federal agencies’s missions and needs. “We are part of a larger team of 500 people who provide direct customer support to the federal government and are led by my mentor, CenturyLink Public Sector senior vice president and general manager, Diana Gowen,” says Bruch.

However big her team, Bruch never loses sight of the larger goal she serves. “With rare exception, I’ve spent my entire career supporting public sector clients,” she says. “I love that what I do means that a mother has an easier time connecting to her son or daughter serving the nation in a dangerous part of the world. I love knowing that what I do contributes to a veteran being able to obtain his or her benefits. I love that what I do helps entrepreneurial inventors submit their patent information. By working for a federal contractor that provides network and technology solutions, I get to support big ideas from behind the scenes and that is tremendously rewarding.”

“I like both our work environment and our competitive circumstances,” says Rawls. “Most of us know people in other companies who spend a fair amount of time concerned about how to navigate the corporate political landscape, including how much to trust fellow co-workers perceived of as potential competitors for accolades or advancement. That doesn’t describe this company—and the stress that’s avoided contributes to a more productive and satisfying—dare I say happy—work environment.”

As a smaller scale competitor among giants like Verizon and AT&T, there is a higher demand for strategic analysis and competitive creativity, says Rawls, “which makes my job challenging and interesting. We have fewer resources to throw at every possible idea and a smaller margin for error than do some of our competitors. Strategy is critical.”

“The telecommunications industry is very broad – meaning that there’s an awful lot to investigate and there are many different ways to participate,” says Rawls. “The industry is rapidly evolving and not all of tomorrow’s opportunities will look like those of today. Increasingly, companies that are not formally in the wireless business still need a wireless strategy – a plan for how they’ll enable their customers to effectively interact and transact with their organization irrespective of the device a customer chooses. This drives the need for wireless- oriented jobs in non-wireless companies, so students should not limit their search to the wireless industry.”

According to Rawls, what is even more compelling is the so-called “Internet of Things,” the many technologies being developed that will allow machines and objects to communicate with each other wirelessly and without continuous human intervention. “This will include machines, such as autos and appliances, equipped with self-diagnostics that communicate wirelessly with remote computers to optimize maintenance schedules or automate tasks. For example, we might see a refrigerator that can electronically assess its contents and automatically generate an order for a grocery delivery with quantities specified by the menu it received wirelessly earlier in the day.”

These references barely tip the iceberg of services that make up telecom’s future vision, explains Rawls. “The future of telecommunications will be about how to move big data around, assemble it and reassemble it in varying and customized combinations to enable more effective processes and to create new intelligence. Telecom is a foundational technology that will, increasingly, enable progress across industries.”

Working for a wireless provider like U.S. Cellular provides a broad array of experiences given the many functional disciplines involved, including engineering, research, product development, marketing, sales, and customer care. “But students can also investigate a host of other organizations playing central or peripheral roles in telecom,” says Rawls. “And because it’s a global industry, many companies playing a role in the U.S. telecom market are located in Asia, Europe, and elsewhere. Career opportunities may exist offshore or with on-shore divisions of foreign organizations, so do your homework. The fact that the eco-system is complex means that the opportunities are myriad.”

“Distinguish between things that are scary emotionally versus things that are legitimately high risk,” asserts Rawls. “Something might feel risky to you, but is it really high risk? Consider what it takes to get into the ‘big game.’ It could be as simple as raising your hand rather than waiting for an invitation, If you see a door open, run through it. Granted, one must pick battles and volunteer opportunities as wisely as possible, but try not to limit your pursuit of experiences by assessing whether or not you’re ready. Sometimes you have to actually play the game to become ready.”