Career Path of a Retiree at AT&T
Frances's 41-year career at AT&T began straight out of high school in a call center, progressing through roles such as "coach" and area manager while simultaneously pursuing a business and management degree part-time; this ultimately led to a specialized performance management role and, finally, a fulfilling career in marketing, a field the retiree "just loved." While advising students to "get as many internships as you can," the interviewee's unique career path highlights the possibility of alternative routes to success.
Career Development, Customer Service, Management, Marketing, Higher Education
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Frances Groeneman
Retiree
AT&T
University of Redlands, 1994
University of LaVerne MSLM
Business Management & Admin
Advertising, Communications & Marketing
Communication and Marketing
None Applicable
Video Highlights
1. Frances's career path demonstrates that a four-year college degree isn't always necessary to start a career in a specific field. Although she didn't complete her degree until later in her career, her persistent work ethic and job experience in the call center prepared her for promotions and increased responsibilities.
2. Frances's experience highlights the value of on-the-job training and career progression within one company. Her journey from a call center representative to area manager and eventually into marketing showcases the potential for growth and diversification within a single organization.
3. Frances strongly recommends internships for students seeking to gain professional experience, even though her own career path differed. She emphasizes the value of the experience an internship can provide and contrasts this with her own path of part-time education while working full-time.
Transcript
Could you walk me through your career path, starting with your experiences in college? Please include any internships or jobs you had before your current role.
It goes way, way back. I spent a 41-year career at AT&T.
I didn't have any internships. Straight out of high school, I was going to college part-time and needed a job to support myself. I started at AT&T in the call center.
In those days, people would call in to get home phones. I was in the call center, managing customer inquiries and collections. I progressed my career through the call center, becoming a coach who supervised the representatives who answered the phones. Then, I became an area manager.
All this time, I was going to college part-time, working on my degree. As soon as I got my bachelor's degree in business and management, which was relevant to the industry I was in, I was promoted to a special position.
This position was in performance management. They would send me to call centers that weren't performing to par to see if I could fix them. I did that for a while, and then I moved to marketing, which was my love. I did several aspects of marketing.
The question about internships wasn't really relevant to my trajectory because I was pursuing my education part-time while working full-time. That served in lieu of an internship.
If a student has an opportunity to do an internship, I say absolutely, you should do that. Get an internship, get as many as you can. My experience is kind of unique, but if you have an opportunity for an internship, absolutely go for it. The experience would be invaluable. I highly recommend it, even though I didn't do it.
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