SPRING CLEANING:  

Dust off Your Resume

A wise thing to do is schedule a regular time of year to update your resume.  Why update? It's easier to remember accomplishments when they have recently occurred. And, "you never know," there may arise an opportunity to pass your resume on to someone when you least expect it.  In addition, when you are updating your resume, it's wise to make changes that will market you well and set you apart from your competition.

Here is an example of how dusting off your resume pays off. Today, a client emailed me with this exciting news:  "Square, Inc. contacted me again after seeing my updated resume, and scheduled a 4-hour interview with their IT team."  So, if you need any assistance with your "spring cleaning" just let me know. All the best,              Marianne  

408-295-6656  marianne@designyourdirection.com

IRISH TOAST ON ST PATRICK'S DAY

May this be a day of wonderful celebration for you. May it also be the start of a good week of work and / or job search and transition. The Irish Toast below speaks to me. If your are living your values and passions as well as living safely and have what you need for your daily well being, all is good. Happy St Patrick's Day to you!

~

" May your pockets be heavy and your heart be light, 

may good luck pursue you each morning and night."

~
Marianne  
408-295-6656  marianne@designyourdirection.com

Want a tip on how to move through a career change - whether planned or unplanned?

Take time to be creative and do something "outside" of the job search work you are up to. It gets your juices flowing, opening you up to new ideas. In fact, doing something creative will augment any work in ways you wouldn't imagine. 

I have a hobby outside of my work life. That hobby is music and specifically around Blues Music. Who knew when I delved more into my passion, that I'd be a founding member of the Silicon Valley Blues Society.  Check it out on www.facebook.com/SiliconValleyBluesSociety

You never know where your hobbies, interests, passion and creative outlets will take you~

May you have a productive & creative week~        
Marianne 
408-295-6656 marianne@designyourdirection.com

PLANNED HAPPENSTANCE

An expert in the field of career development, John Krumboltz out of Stanford, believed that one of the most important things we could do for a client was to train that person how to generate activities that produced beneficial, unplanned events. We rarely know what we are going to do at age 18 or after college. We start down one path and end up, very often, in unusually different worlds of work. I wouldn't have thought 30 years ago, that I would be a career counselor and yet it's my calling and passion. So, be open to trying new things, whether an activity or interest.

"In planning the future, it may be more

beneficial to think about the immediate future, asking instead,

 'What would be fun and helpful to try next?' "

Krumboltz , "Applying Happenstance"

Have a great week!         Marianne 

 

The snake is sometimes referred to as a little dragon because it is

the animal most closely resembling a dragon.

In that regard, snake years are considered favorable,

so 2013 should be a positive year for business and personal fortunes.

(USA Today, Feb 8'13)

May you have health and prosperity
as you continue into 2013,
the Year of the Snake.

 

  Marianne

  DESIGN YOUR DIRECTION

More Job Networking

Great company, great place to work. Sharing the lead. Pass it on.

Intuitive Surgical Customer Support and Services Manager Customer Service - Order Management - 120637  Description   Primary Function of Position: Provide strategic and tactical leadership for the delivery of world class service and support to customers in a highly advanced and rapidly growing industry. Roles and Responsibilities Collaboration within team to promote excellence in customer support, share ideas and knowledge, and contribute to the success of the organization Manage a team of 6-10 customer service representatives responsible for pre- and post- sales support of capital and consumable products. Develop and propose new and/or revised processes and metrics to support and reflect the strategic direction of the company Validate existing processes and metrics for all facets of operations and customer care. Review and analyze daily and weekly operations and customer care reports. Monitor operations performance and provide guidance and direction to direct reports. Recommends appropriate course of action to respond to customer complaints. Effectively partner and build productive working relationships with direct reports, peers, leadership, and other departments Manage all facets of customer retention including participating in the resolution of escalated customer issues. Understanding and correctly utilizing resources provided by internal systems, departments, policies, and procedures Work cross-functionally to identify, drive, and maintain key business opportunities/requirements Select, develop, and evaluate personnel to ensure the efficient operation of the function. Responsible for employee staffing and ensuring program training, including product knowledge, proper language/communication training and support of overall service requirements. Develop and maintain metrics to monitor department performance and effectiveness. Develop, evaluate and update procedures and processes to ensure regulatory and SOX compliance.

Qualifications

Requirements

• 6-10 years of experience working in Customer Service/Order Management environment with a minimum of 5 years in a management/supervisory position.
• Excellent leadership, communication, and analytical skills
• Ability to think strategically and deliver tactically
• Demonstrated ability to develop employees at all levels of the organization
• Solid understanding of statistical concepts and their application to operations along with expertise in the use of technical/statistical tools to drive quality and process improvement
• Experience with customer relationship management and software systems--SAP (ERP) and Clarify (CRM) a plus.
• Analytical, critical thinking skills and attention to detail are required
• Ability to lead cross-functional process teams.
• Strong ability to constructively challenge the process and make relevant and scalable improvements
• Enthusiasm, internal leadership, strong work ethic and a positive attitude
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Flexible and able to work and thrive in a dynamic, fast pace work environment
• Able to make an impact at all levels of the organization
• Resourceful and innovative at tackling complex challenges in a timely matter
• Minimum travel required

Networking into a Job

 It's all about networking to get hired these days. So, I'm sharing openings for Sales Coordinators. If interested, I'm glad to make the connection for you.  Best, Marianne        marianne@designyourdirection.com

 Regional Sales Coordinators  at Cepheid to help manage various activities related to supporting the field from  in Sunnyvale.  Mid range pay is 70K.   Looking for bright cheerful team players who want to join a

Very successful and rapidly advancing BusOps group.   Must be very comfortable with pivot tables. 

·       Assigned to support a specified sales region’s customers and sales associates.

·       Acts as escalation focal point for field sales personnel working closely with customer service personnel.

·       Receives inquires via email and telephone.

·       Responds to field sales associate quote requests and order-related inquiries, and addresses customer satisfaction issues.

·       Ensures requests for quotations are in compliance with company policies and practices:  Verify pricing, terms, and other items.  Assists in-process troubleshooting as required.

·       Receives, incorporates and disseminates information regarding pricing and promotions and related policy.

·       Coordinates Financing of equipment through third party banks or internally. 

·       Familiar with contracting processes issues and resources. 

·       Helps to coordinate activities which require special handling to ensure delivery commitments are met, communicates order status, and related items as required.

·       At the request for a sales associate, drives resolution to issues which delay order shipment.

·       Maintains sales RFQ records, provides reports on own areas of responsibility.

·       Effectively engage with external customers and partners, lenders and internal departments including shipping, finance, materials, technical support, service, sales and marketing, legal, and other departments as business needs require.

·       Meet quality, productivity, turn-around-time, and other related expectations.

·       Other responsibilities as requested

Required…

• Minimum of five years of experience in a fast paced Customer Service or Order Management role in the Medical Device industry, or high volume manufacturing environment.
• Knowledge of Group Purchasing Organizations (GPO’s) and Integrated Delivery Networks (IDN’s) is a plus.
• Competencies:
  • Demonstrated excellent utilization of corporate application programs with strong organization skills;
  • Ability to multi-task and work independently in a fast paced, time sensitive environment;
  • Proficiency in PowerPoint, Word, Excel (Pivot tables) and SFDC or equivalent CRM software.
• Superior skills with a commitment to meet and exceed customer expectations.
• Proven ability to function in a collaborative manner.
• Very strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Very strong telephone etiquette and ability to effectively engage with internal or external customers, peers and management.
• Strong ability to review and comprehend customer sales agreements, proposals, purchase orders, and related information.
• Strong attention to detail.
• Strong problem solving skills.
• Strong analytical and math skills to calculate and perform analysis.
• Excellent data entry skills to quickly and accurately review and input data.
• Ability to work well under pressure, effectively manage priorities, and maintain professionalism during stressful situations.
• Highly self-motivated, confident, and dependable with solid follow-up skills.
• Possess an outgoing, positive, team player attitude with a strong work ethic.
• Strong ability to exercise good judgment, initiative and assertiveness.
• Strong ability to follow procedural guidelines and respond to and/or research customer concerns / inquiries with urgency and accuracy.
• Subject Matter Expert knowledge of ERP and CRM systems such as QAD and Salesforce.com, and Microsoft Office products including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook