Women in Marketing: An Interview with Krystal De Jesus, Director of Customer Support for TVI MarketPro3
Welcome to the first of my new series: Women in Marketing!
Through the next few blog posts, I hope to explore different positions held by marketing professionals, taking a closer look at the career paths that led them there. Personally, I’ve been working hard to figure out my next career move and a good part of that has been talking with other professionals. Last month, I had the opportunity to connect with Krystal De Jesus, Director of Customer Support for TVI MarketPro3 based in Texas.
Krystal has been with TVI MarketPro3, an automotive marketing company specializing in service marketing for 6 years. She recently completed her Associates in Digital Communication. Here’s what she says about her day-to-day responsibilities:
“I oversee a team of 9. 3 Graphic Designers, 1 Xerox Press Operator, 1 Office Admin, 4 Dealer Support Representatives. My main responsibility is customer satisfaction from every aspect of our marketing. We provide dedicated websites, email campaigns, and direct mail. From design to print production and in-house mailing, I develop and improve the processes used. I help my team resolve issues via email and phone calls. We deal primarily with the Service Directors and occasionally the General Manager or Dealer Principal. The biggest part of my role is reviewing and approving orders and artwork for production.”
Her favorite part of the job is the people that she works with. She loves her team and company, but there are difficulties that come with working for a small business:
“Since it is a family owned business, we lack some of the corporate luxuries. In order to grow we must succeed, and sometimes that growth is slower than I would like. We develop all software and maintain our websites in-house with a crew just large enough to get us to the finish line of projects, but we are missing the improvement and maintenance aspects. We have to adapt the quick growth which means constantly changing our processes, procedures, and building new tools.”
Taking Risks
My favorite part of her career story was that she took a risk from what was safe to try a career that was more interesting to her. After becoming a seasonal team member in college at Target, she was asked to stay and quickly moved up. She became a team lead in the Softlines (Clothing) department and then in Guest Services. Although she was offered further advancement and she learned many valuable leadership skills, she knew she didn’t want to pursue a career in retail. She moved on to a home health company for a year, and when they decided to move she had already been applying elsewhere.
To conclude this interview I asked her about her best advice to those searching for a career they enjoy.
She had three things to say:
When interviewing try to ask questions that give you some insight to the people who work there. I found myself walking into offices where the receptionist looked as if she would rather be anywhere else. Even though it may seem like a great opportunity you want to make sure that the environment fits your personality.
It is difficult to fit the details of the job position in a job posting. Make sure you understand what will be required from you, and what skills make you successful in the position. Get an idea of your primary responsibilities. Ask how they measure success within the company.
For a career, you need to find a place where advancement is possible. Consider the pros and cons of a corporate company vs a family-owned company.
As for other general advice to those looking to find their path, especially recent graduates, she says:
Do not be afraid to take a position even if it is not your dream job. Consider it a learning experience and gather notes on what you love or don't love. You can use those notes on your next search.
Broaden your horizons. I expected to settle into a graphic design position, but I realized that in order to achieve my goals of success I needed to push myself to do more.
Stay positive. You may discover new interests.
Thank you, Krystal for your positive outlook and for your valuable input! I appreciate you taking the time to speak with me.
If you would be willing to answer a few questions about your career please contact me with this form! I look forward to speaking with you.