- Being a member of the Stadium Scholars Program, a scholarship housing dorm, has enriched my life here at The Ohio State University. SSP has given me a close niche of friends and a sense of belonging. We volunteer throughout the Columbus area, bring in professors and other guess speakers to hold riveting discussions, and are provided opportunities to connect with alumni. My first year at OSU would be extremely different without belonging to SSP.Informational Interview
- Being a member of Media, Marketing, and Communications Scholars Program, we were asked to interview someone in the field we are planning to break into after graduation. I interviewed Mark Vaughn from Great a
During this past summer I worked for Great American Insurance in Cincinnati. I was a member of the ClaimCenter team where I would beta test their system before releasing it to the consumer. This site is how workers could make a claim if they were injured on the job. We had to make sure it was user friendly and with limited glitches and bugs. While there I tried to network with everyone I could. Our team was over thirty strong and Mark Vaughn was one of our members.
I was interested in interviewing Mr. Vaughn because he is a project manager which is a position I am considering not only as a future internship but maybe as a career. When I asked my boss who he would recommend as one of the top project managers, he said Mark Vaughn was the man for me.
The Great American atmosphere is semi-professional. Most people dress slightly more professional than those who are going to the country club to play a round of golf. They have two buildings. There is a massive skyscraper that is adjacent to the Red’s Stadium. It has a structure atop that is supposed to resemble Princess Diana’s crown. This is what the majority of people think of when picturing GAIG. Few think of Dixie terminal that is only a few blocks away. It is an old bus turnaround station with amazing architecture. This is the building I held my interview. The inside was renovated after the completion of the tower so it felt new and exciting. Mr. Vaughn and had our interview in one of the conference rooms which looked sharp and clean.
At university, Mr. Vaughn majored in communications. Following graduation, he became the manager of a restaurant. However, he found that he did not like being responsible for many people. Dealing with emotional issues and constant debate over wages was too stressful. He found his niche when he became a project manager and spent most of his time dealing with technical difficulties rather than personal contact. Before GAIG he worked as a consultant for another company. There he became an expert in the field of consulting and was promoted to the department of coordination, taking over the project manager’s duties.
At Mr. Vaughn’s last company his position was vital to the overall operation; there were only two project managers on the entire team. This lead to many sleepless nights, lots of overtime, and missing holidays and weekends that should have been spent with his family. At Great American there are fifteen project managers with two working specifically for the ClaimCenter team. This is one of the main reasons he truly enjoys his job. Mark Vaughn has worked with Great American for eight years. Currently, we both work on the ClaimCenter team run by David Gerth.
Mr. Vaughn enjoys his position with GAIG. Great American Insurance focuses on the field of property and casualty for specialized commercial products. Mr. Vaughn enjoys the that the divisions of labor are found as lateral approach. GAIG is formed to resemble a small business in a larger scale. It is just as easy to reach the head of your division as it is to reach an intern. With the instant messaging system installed on every desktop, receiving feedback on a quick question or to make a quick meeting is simplified. Mr. Vaughn is fascinated with the technology he is working with because it is constantly growing and changing. In the future his position appears quite stable. In our current society, technology is developing at a rate that is almost too fast for most. With this in mind, Mr. Vaughn’s field will need to advance just as quickly as the technology they use. There will be strong need for people who are ready for the challenge of learning a new coding language or simply understanding how to run an entirely new system. The future of this job appears quite stable.
When asked what were his favorite parts of being a project manager he said that he likes how it is repetitive and yet constantly changing. Knowing exactly what must be accomplished each day is a relief rather than wasting time trying to sort out they day’s tasks. He likes the adventure and challenge of needing to constantly adapt. His ability to change keeps him motivated because there is always something new to learn. At Great American the Lidner brothers believe in work-life balance. This means that they respect holidays and understand the commitments parents have to make to raise their children. Work-life balance promotes stopping work on Fridays and enjoying your weekend work-free until Monday. This creates a warm and encouraging atmosphere that people, like Mark Vaughn, appreciate working in. Compared to his last job, not only is his current work done more efficiently, but he also enjoys the tasks he is assigned. One of his favorite parts of his job, when he is not working on his assignments, is 4:30 on Fridays; that is when the Nerf gun war begins. It is mostly interns who play, nonetheless it is pretty entertaining to watch the bullets fly between cubicles and hear muffled cries of victory.
Mr. Vaughn’s typical day consists of providing status on projects he is in charge of and designating open tasks to those who are equipped. At the beginning of everyday, all of the Great American employees must attend Scrum meetings. Scrum meetings are common in many companies. Usually there is at least one manager per meeting and the rest are coworkers. Each person takes about two minutes to explain what they accomplished yesterday and what their objective is for today. If there are any new deployments that were sent to run over the past night, Mr. Vaughn is scheduled to test those environments. Consequently, his most important task to finish each day is to answer emails. This can end up taking the bulk of his hours but it is vital for the company and the fluidity of information throughout, not only his team, but for the customers.
When asked what Mr. Vaughn likes least about his job he replied with a quick quip saying, “Where I sit.” This summer, we worked two cubicles away from each other. He actually enjoys the people that he works with regularly. The cubes have shortened walls. This promotes dialogue between coworkers and brightens the space.
Nonetheless, Mr. Vaughn can find himself becoming frustrated with close-minded business owners. Sometimes there are new programs or simply a more efficient way to solve an issue but the business owner will claim that their certain way is the only way and ignore all input from Mr. Vaughn. In some cases, if the business owner is too head-strong and continually clashes with the project manager the project manager may be removed from the task and placed elsewhere.
The skills most important when looking at a career as a project manager is adaptability, quickness, and being able to prioritize tasks and compromise. One must be able to adapt and change their patterns in order to learn a new system or language and keep the company moving forward. One must be able to prioritize their tasks based on its deadline and the urgency it is needed. If there is something in development that has to be run that night but is not finished, that becomes top priority. A trend I have found when talking to coworkers is that replying to emails is one of the most important aspects of their day. If they miss an email that is time sensitive, it is going to affect not only their operation but the operation of many other departments and sometimes it affects the clients. The ability to compromise is important not only for the company but for the client. It can speed up the claims process and lead to a faster resolution.
To succeed in any career Mr. Vaughn believes that it is vital to walk in other’s shoes. If you learn the basics of what your coworkers do you can assist them when there is a time crunch. You will be able to sympathize with why it may be taking them longer than expected to complete certain tasks. It will lead to a greater understanding of how your team functions and the level of difficulties everyone faces.
Mr. Vaughn suggested that I read PMBOK. It is the Project Management Book of Knowledge. It is the number one book recommended when trying to become PMP certified. Mr. Vaughn recommends memorizing most of the book because the test is intents and basically exactly like the book. He also would stress becoming Agile certified. Having this on your resume is helpful although maintaining the certification can be difficult. In fact, this style is slowly fading out of style because of its constant requirements and updates.
A resource manager is rather similar to that of a project manager. The main difference is the amount of physical, social interaction. A resource manager talks directly with the client at all times. The project manager mostly converses with their team and spends more time at their desk on their computer.
Mark Vaughn suggested Kathy Willwerth and Becky Birch as his colleagues that also have a good source of information about this field. Ms. Willwerth was originally a resource manager but in recent years has drifted toward a project manager position. She originally hired Mr. Vaughn. Becky Birch is one of the heads of the financial group at Great American and has plenty of experience in lead roles at the company.
This experience was not only exciting, but informative. I enjoyed the atmosphere of the work place. I was less nervous attending this interview compared to others because our roles were switched. I plan to have more informational interviews in the future. It helped me begin to understand what it feels like in a position of power at a large company. This opportunity was well worth a trip back to Cincinnati.
