Keri Brewer, Data Analyst for Bridgestone/Firestone
How did you get started in your career?
"I went to MTSU Career Services on campus and registered for
interviews. A representative from Bridgestone/Firestone Corporate HR
came to interview students for their new hire college grad program and an
internship position. I was hired as an intern, which later evolved into a
consulting position within the same department. I was mostly
involved in projects dealing with recruiting, interviewing, and affirmative
action. As my organization and diplomacy skills developed I was given the
opportunity to transfer into the Corporate Quality Assurance department as a
Data Analyst/Statistician one year after I was originally hired. That is
where I am today and I LOVE MY JOB."
What have you found most helpful from your grad school
experience for the "working world"?
"The 'real world' projects we were involved with in our core
curriculum classes were immeasurably helpful. Those projects gave me a chance to
try out the new skills I was acquiring and to develop them in a non-academic
setting. This taught me some of the ins and outs of true application where you
must always leverage the demands of real business pressures and time
constraints. Perhaps more importantly, it gave me a wide range perspective of
different industries, management styles, business cultures, and employee
demographics from which I draw an aggregated perspective when dealing with
problems and making decisions in my current job. Furthermore, those projects
provided me with confidence in my abilities as a professional as well as a
network of other professionals from which to draw advice and support."
In what areas (in I/O and outside of I/O) would you
recommend that I/O grads prepare themselves well to work for an organization?
"I cannot stress the importance of practical abilities in the
real business world—things that managers often assume the young college grads
possess when, in fact, this may not be the case. Many people coming out of
school have a plethora of 'book smarts,' but the skills that will set you apart
from others are the ones that don't necessarily come from your textbooks. Good presentations skills, the ability to communicate your point succinctly,
working with Microsoft Office tools (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, and even
some basic MS Access skills), attention to detail (including grammar and
spelling), good organization and follow-up skills, and a sense of dedication and
pride in your work that shows can be very powerful tools. They can do nothing
but good things for the way people view your output and work ethics and,
ultimately, for your career. This may sound simple, but realize that many people
in the workplace have book smarts; you may be surprised how these practical
traits can set you apart from others and put you a in a position to take
leadership roles and gain involvement in visible projects."
What strategy would you recommend in searching for that
first job?
"The conventional resources of internet and newspaper can be
less than fruitful. I estimate that less than 20% of my interviews came through
these media. I found the Career Services office on campus to be very helpful
and, obviously, my most profitable experience was through them as that is the
job I chose. About 20% of my interviews came through this source but I could
have chosen more as the service was very good about keeping me up to date about
relevant job opportunities and upcoming corporation visits in which I might be
interested. However, typically the most advantageous means of job searching
comes through networking. This means using your resources such as professors,
members of a professional organization, fellow recent grads, and other persons
in the business community to further your cause. Though I did not accept any of
the positions I was offered through interviews via networking, I feel this was
the best source through which I was able to find job opportunities that fit my
personality and skill set. Plus, it felt comfortable in these interviews because
the person usually knew a bit about my background and had confidence in my
skills and abilities by getting information through my network; I felt I had to
spend less time proving myself and could focus more on assessing the fit between
myself and the proposed position with the company."
What should graduating I/O students expect regarding
base salary?
"Salaries vary so much among industries and job type that I
wasn't really sure what to expect coming right out of school. After interviewing
for a few jobs I had a much more concrete idea than the suggested 'range.' Most
entry HR positions that I interviewed for within an established organization
(100 employees or more) was going to yield $38-42K while I/O or consulting jobs
were offering closer to $45-$48K. My particular position is more related to the
technical side of business as it is within Corporate QA, so my salary exceeds
what I expected as a starting salary for someone with an I/O Master's degree.
Typically, technical positions like engineering and statistics will yield
$5-$10K higher than more 'people' oriented positions like HR."
What's your next step in your career?
"For right now, I am incredibly happy in my current job. I
recently received a prestigious award for my outstanding work (a CEO Award) and
feel that I am achieving both fulfillment and recognition in my job. If I were
to stay with Bridgestone/Firestone and remain in my current career path I would
aspire to become a Senior Project Director in the Market Quality Engineering
group of Corporate QA (this is the position to which I report), but after that I
think a lateral move would be good for me. I have developed a particular
interest in the research side of our business that might be best served as a
statistician in the Tire Development & Testing area. However, I am tinkering
with the idea of returning to school for a Ph.D. I taught a senior level
psychology
class at MTSU in Fall 2001 and absolutely loved every minute of it. If I return
to school, I will most likely study Social Psychology in order to become a
university professor in that arena. But I don't want to be rigid with my plans;
I figure my life situation over the next few years will decide what is best for
me and what will be most conducive for achieving the goals that are important at
that time."
Do you have a funny story to tell about your work?
"We have tons of fun where I work; I can honestly say that I
never dread coming to work and I find it easy to make the most of everyday. As
part of our 'Making It Right' program, Bridgestone is supporting various
initiatives inside and outside the company that are aimed at improving our
people and products. Our department has initiated a program where we have a
luncheon every week with our Japanese counterparts and these have turned out to
be a hoot. We share things about our cultures including language, history,
geography, holidays, and customs/folklore. I have had a great time getting to
know these guys and they are actually very witty and fun-loving. When they found
out that some of us sing karaoke they went crazy and wanted to have a party. So
we all went to Ichiban last week and ate sushi and drank sake and made idiots
out of ourselves for about 3 hours. We even had 2 reps from our parent company
in Japan that were visiting who joined our party and they had a blast as well.
The best part was when we all got up and sang YMCA together. The Japanese knew
every word and all of the dance moves as well (and were definitely not afraid to
prove it)! I only wish someone would have had a camera.…"