CTG at Work: Jenny C.

Name: Jenny C.

Company Title: Client Partner

Years at CTG: 1 year and 1 month

Hometown: Homegrown Alaskan

Current City: Anchorage, AK

Favorite Song Right Now: Oh my, I cannot pick just one. I have a song for every mood, but right this moment it’s “Save Your Tears” by The Weeknd as it reminds me of 80s music.

Favorite thing to do outside of work: Before COVID-19, I was a lead singer in a developing band that included some of my long-standing customers. I hope we can get back to that as I love to sing. I also like to spend time with my kids—ages 19, 18, 16, and 7—as much as I can. You can also find me at a local ice skating rink, or playing volleyball or soccer. I love the outdoors and playing as many sports as possible.

A typical day for me during this weird time starts around 7:00 a.m. There are some days where I need to start a little earlier since Alaska is the last time zone, and I want to accommodate other areas within CTG as much as possible. I start by getting myself ready, then I pack my second grader’s lunch and get him ready for the school day. Just recently, he started going to school in person again. Before that I was logging into Zoom for him, as I had my own various video conferencing calls. I have a lot of respect for our CTGers that were working from home along with teaching our little ones as well. It is a challenge and we all need to stick together.

After coffee, I get on my email and sync my reMarkable to start my notes for each meeting on my calendar so I can hit the ground running. My afternoons are usually jam-packed with developing opportunities internally or talking about CTG and our capabilities to clients. I like to be involved in every step, from pre-sales to delivery, as I find it extremely valuable. You never know who is going to ask you the status of a project; if I can answer directly without going to another resource, it builds trust with the client. In the middle of my day, I pick up my son from school and take my youngest daughter to cheerleading practice, then I come back and finish up all my tasks for the day and prep myself for what lies ahead for the next day.

My typical evening involves helping with homework, making dinner, doing household chores, and spending quality time with my family. There are times where my evening is consumed with a request for quotation (RFQ), request for proposal (RFP), or request for information (RFI) response, but my team is right there with me which makes me feel supported in everything that I do. After the kids are asleep, I try to do some partner training (ServiceNow, Eggplant, Bizagi, etc.) to make sure I understand what they offer to ensure success for both of us. 

Personally, the job I have at CTG is incredibly rewarding. I am able to meet people and find them a project that either fills their skill sets or challenges them to try something new. Especially during COVID-19, finding jobs for people who were laid off or did not have the flexibility to work from home has been one of the most humbling experiences of my life. That being said, one of my favorite quotes is, “take care of your employees they will take care of the clients.” I am committed to making sure to talk about each individual opportunity with each person to ensure this is something he or she want to do, as I think passion sells itself.

Being that I have only been in this role for a year, my career advice would be that change starts with you. Just because we don’t have an out-of-the-box solution doesn’t mean we don’t have the capability. Bring every opportunity forward and talk to the team, as there might be a gap for which CTG can develop a solution. Don’t just talk to the c-suite when developing opportunities; talk to everyone from help desk to human resources, as they have the behind-the-scenes knowledge that will make us more successful in our proposals. Understanding the business as a whole helps strengthen our knowledge to bring businesses more success, and in turn be a vendor of choice for all solutions. I have learned to talk to everyone at CTG as there are so many smart people, and knowing them will make you more well-rounded, not only an employee but as a human. Always assume positive intent and remember teamwork makes the dream work.