Career Path of a Director of Sales and Strategy at Draco Natural Products
Russell's career path, beginning with a biology degree and a first role in quality control, unexpectedly veered into sales after realizing "I really like interacting with people." This led to a sales representative position at Draco Natural Products, where increased responsibility over the years culminated in the current Director of Sales and Strategy role.
Career Development, Sales, Communication, Problem-Solving, Career Exploration
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Russell Zhang
Director of Sales and Strategy
Draco Natural Products
UC Davis
UCLA MBA
Biology & Related Sciences
Food, Beverages & Alcohol
Sales and Client Management
Video Highlights
1. Russell's career path started in quality control, which unexpectedly led him to discover his interest in customer interaction and sales.
2. His transition from quality control to sales demonstrates that unexpected opportunities can arise from initial career choices.
3. His career progression within a small company showcases the possibility of increased responsibility and career advancement through taking initiative and demonstrating capabilities.
Transcript
Awesome, Russell, could you walk me through your career path? Let's start with your experiences in college, any internships, or jobs you had before your current role as Director of Sales and Strategy.
I graduated with my undergrad in biological sciences. With that type of major, without going to grad school, there aren't too many options, essentially.
There are two main ones: one is going to a lab, and the second is working in quality control somewhere. I basically started in quality control without really knowing why I wanted to do that; that was my very first position.
Part of my quality control role for the company I worked for at that time actually had me communicate with external customers, solving some key issues. I realized I really liked interacting with people. I found that to be a lot more interesting than just crunching data all day.
So for my next role, I wanted to move to sales. That's how I landed with my current company. They hired me as a sales rep to start, and with a small-sized company, you essentially take on a lot more responsibility. It's not just what you were hired to do.
Over the years, I gradually took on more responsibility and ultimately ended up where I am today. Back in college, I didn't really do any internships, so this career wasn't like an internship; it was completely random in my case.