Dana Olivas

Consultant

The below interview has been edited for brevity and clarity. 

How did you get to where you are today? What was your training or education?  

My career has been a journey beginning in finance after high school then sales, marketing, product management and finally technology. Each role advanced my career in a forward progression. The most important part of continuing to progress is being able to translate the work and skills from one job and apply it to the next, even if it is in a different vertical. 

Gaining certifications and degrees has helped propel my career forward and helped me stand out to employers. This began with an associate degree in web development and has continued with certifications in the technologies used most for my careerEloqua and Marketo. I am currently consulting as I work towards a bachelor’s degree in software engineering.  

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Describe your job. What does a typical week look like for you?  

I work for myself and provide consulting for companies that need an expert to fill a knowledge, skill or strategy gap within product, marketing or sales. This includes gaps in strategy, technology, data, employee management, processes, analysis, reporting and technical execution.  

The best part of consulting is that there isn’t a “typical week. Each week is very different and a new challenge. However, as a business owner and entrepreneur, each week also includes sales, marketing and product management for my own business while helping other businesses fill in the gap in theirs.  

What is something you find challenging about your job? 

Although companies follow a basic structure within sales, marketing and product management, the execution and customizations for each use case is very different. For each consulting job there are new technologies that I need to get up to speed with quickly in order to provide solid holistic consulting for each company. Additionally, I have to understand each company’s product, internal processes and use case in order to give solid recommendations. 

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What do you love most about your job?  

Ironically, what I love most about my job is the challenge of learning new technology quickly and understanding each company’s use case so that I can help them solve their pain points. I find great pleasure in helping companies solve problems, overcome obstacles and see additional revenue from my efforts. My consulting does not only give recommendations, but we roll up our sleeves and help implement what is needed to support the company and overcome the gap. It is extremely rewarding. 

What advice to you have for others thinking about working in Information & Communication Technologies and Digital Media 

Take the time to map how what you have done in school, and how previous jobs correlate to your dream job and build on those skills. Get certified in the technologies that will make you stand out. Understand that things change rapidly in the marketing and technology field, so never get complacent. Understand how you learn and retain information best and master it, because you will use those skills endlessly if you want to be one of the best in the space. 

Company
Self Employed
Education
Associate degree in web development from Scottsdale Community College, plus industry certifications