Our monthly Company Spotlight articles are a chance for us to check in with the people of DiRAD. We like to highlight the people who work hard to make incredible things happen for our customers. One of the markers of a DiRADian is knowing that true expertise isn’t about knowing everything; it’s about embracing a mindset of continuous learning. A trait that our very own, Brandon H, exemplifies everyday. That’s why we’ve chosen to check back in with him years after his first Company Spotlight article.
You’ve been at DiRAD for almost 4 years now. How has your job evolved/changed?
My job constantly evolves. My role grows as my knowledge grows, which is the beauty of this job. If you’re willing to learn something, you become more useful and can apply that knowledge to do some cool things for our customers. Things that could only be possible due to our knowledge as well as our creativity. I’ve been more involved in bigger projects, as well as leading more meetings and trainings. I’ve been able to help customers get comfortable with Genesys Cloud before cutting over to it. I continue to educate our customers even after the cutovers are done when they are interested in more features that they were not already taking advantage of.
Looking back at your career journey so far, what key experiences or decisions do you believe have significantly contributed to your growth?
Key experiences are any times that I would sit and watch someone do something I am unfamiliar with. It was an opportunity to learn, and I took it. Key decisions are any times that I volunteer myself to do something that I might not be very familiar with yet. But through trial and error, videos, documentation, and asking others, I get the information I need to accomplish the task. Any opportunity to learn is a key experience or decision that contributes to my growth.
What are some of the skills or knowledge areas you are actively developing or plan to develop to enhance your career/skills in the coming years?
I am always actively developing my skills in all things related to Genesys Cloud. Genesys Cloud is always changing and it’s up to us to adapt to those changes. We find clever workarounds for the things that aren’t built in. I will continue to do that as long as we keep using it. I am also learning a little bit of JavaScript here and there to get the most out of Genesys Cloud.
What are your favorite aspects of your job?
My favorite aspects of my job are:
-Creativity. There is a lot of creativity required to do this job. I love being able to come up with interesting ways to solve problems.
-The freedom of choice. I get to make big decisions based on what I know about Genesys Cloud to benefit the customer.
-My level of involvement in making big decisions.
-Working from home, of course.
Are there any mentors, professional networks, or resources that have been particularly valuable in supporting your career growth, and what advice would you give someone seeking similar guidance?
Every single person here is a mentor in some way. There is something to learn from everyone and they will share their information. Documentation is almost always helpful. Where documentation fails, videos or random threads (usually reddit) will be useful. My advice to anyone seeking similar guidance is to take risks and be open to learning. Be open to educating yourself as well. The answers are always out there; you just have to put in the effort to not only find those answers but take that knowledge and apply it.
In your previous Company Spotlight, you said your favorite piece of technology was your custom PC. Is that still the case today? Any new technology take the top spot?
My custom PC still might be my favorite, but some new things that are cool are my universal remote and my 4k player and my Kindle.
In your previous Company Spotlight, you said one of your favorite quotes was “Get up on the Hydra’s back” from Kingdom Hearts 2. Is it still? If so, what’s an example of how its applied to your life? If not, what is your new favorite quote?
That’s still one of my favorite quotes. It’s hilarious and nostalgic to me. However, I’ve been reading and watching a lot of movies lately and now there are so many good quotes to choose from. One that sticks out to me is “To secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself” – Sun Tzu
That applies to my life because I see any challenge I need to overcome as the “enemy”. I can secure myself by gaining knowledge about the problem. There is always a solution within the problem, I just have to seek it out. It may also just present itself. Once the solution is exposed, I can overcome.