Name: Barbara Gaskill
Return Path position: Sales Operations Analyst
Career past life (what did you do?): Sales Operations Manager and Demand Manager in the Semiconductor Industry
How long were you out of the workforce?: I was out of the workforce for almost one year
Return Path role (what do you do each day?): During my first few weeks at Return Path I cleaned up the pipeline within Salesforce, ensuring data integrity within each open opportunity. This was a great way to step back into the workforce, as it gave me the opportunity to become acquainted with the Salesforce tool and become familiar with the Sales, Service, and Channel teams that we support. Currently, I write workflow documentation to support user case scenarios for Salesforce Opportunities and Zuora Quotes. Zuora is a finance tool, recently implemented, that interfaces with Salesforce. This has created new workflows for the business so, I am writing procedures to support this new process based on various use cases that apply. I published my first seven documents in week six and plan to publish additional documents on a weekly basis.
Crossover (what skills from your past life do you use in your new position?): Several acquired skills come to mind that have assisted in my role so far at Return Path. My professional approach and leadership, along with good organization skills have been key in launching newly documented workflows. My communication skills and ability to collaborate with other stakeholders within the organization have also been key to the projects I have worked on so far.
What does the Return to Work program mean to you?: This is a great opportunity to apply my skills and expertise in another industry, not to mention being able to work for a great company. Return Path has welcomed those of us in the program with open arms.
What do you hope to get out of it?: I hope to gain product knowledge and become a more fluent user of Salesforce. I also expect to learn the business processes of the email intelligence field, and hope to add value to the current processes as needed. The ultimate goal is to gain a full-time position at the end of the program.
What advice would you give to future Returnees?: Enjoy every moment; don’t hesitate to ask lots of questions; learn, learn more and become as knowledgeable as you can about the business; collaborate with others; and just have fun while you are doing it.
Where did you hear about this Program?: I heard about this program through networking. I applied for a position at Return Path and noticed I had a LinkedIn connection with someone inside the company. I invited that person to meet for a cup of coffee so I could learn more about the company. My connection was Laura Harrison who had recently completed the Returnee program. She mentioned an event coming up on “Personal Branding” and recommended I attend. I attended the “Personal Branding” event and that is when I heard about the upcoming Returnee program and the expansion of the program with partner companies. I immediately applied for one of the Returnee positions that was posted.
Learn more about Barbara on LinkedIn.
**Update: After completing her returnship, Barbara was hired for a full time Sales Operations Analyst at Return Path. She is now working as a Sales Operations Analyst at SurveyGizmo. Congratulations on the new position, Barbara!