Hey, I'm Alexandra White.
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Blog posts on Work

August 17, 2014

To New Beginnings and Developing at WNET

oven mittTwo years, six months, and seventeen days ago I got off a plane at LaGuardia Airport with a backpack and two giant suitcases. I got in a taxi and we sped (well, probably no more than forty miles an hour, but you get the point) towards Brooklyn. I moved to New York less than two months after college, two weeks after returning from traveling abroad solo, to start my first job as Digital Marketing Associate at JCC Association.

After two years, six months, and three days as a working professional, I hugged my colleagues goodbye and took my cubical decorations and paperwork home. The very next day, I took my Michigan oven mitt and a three legged chanchitos figurine (thanks Alex, Sarah, and Tom) to my new job at WNET (also known as Channel Thirteen). I accepted a position as Associate Web Developer (sometimes in official paperwork known as Web Engineer), beginning the day after I left.

Over the past year, I had decided I really loved building for WordPress and wanted to focus on becoming a better developer. That being said, my resume still spoke volumes to my marketing and community management abilities, more than my technical skills. While I decided in the spring to start looking for a new position, I decided I would apply on both sides of my skill spectrum. I knew my next position would probably help steer the rest of my career, which was extraordinarily nerve wracking. I knew what I wanted, but I also knew that without a computer science degree or a host of previous developer roles I was at a huge disadvantage.

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June 10, 2014

Take Pride in Being a Generalist

This post was originally featured in my regular contributions to Grammar. Style. Life.

When I graduated from Michigan State University (was it REALLY two and a half years ago?!), my resume felt like a jumble of skills. I can build you a website AND write your tweets AND write instructions for using software AND build you an elaborate stage set. I have the skills to design a basic logo AND create communications strategies.

Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers suggests it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert (though a recent study disagrees). So how can one call themselves a specialist in something or an expert if they focus on so many different things? How do you communicate your expertise?

Take pride in being a generalist.

There’s a huge benefit to having a list of skills that are related. Particularly when going into a non-profit or a smaller company which may not have segmented out certain responsibilities, being able to say, “I can help you with your web communications AND your print” is hugely beneficial. Being “the best” can be nice, but tout your other skills as an added bonus.
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March 16, 2014

Building a Better (Post) Filtration for JCC Camps

I was first assigned the task of “build a website for JCC Camps” back in July 2013. When this happened, the talk was mostly emulating our existing directory website for JCCs, DiscoverJCC.com. That website was built before my time, using a software from our Preferred Vendor, Accrisoft. My boss would take the lead on the design, and we would create a modern website that tested the limits of our brand standards.

My goal was to create a customized directory profile that was broken up by lots of small pieces of meta data, with a lot of possibilities for searching. My boss created two mockups: the homepage followed the trend of the single page website, with four sections, and the inner profile page highlighting various pieces of information. It was my task to realize this design.

JCC Camps Website

The Building Process

I began building a custom WordPress theme for the JCC Camps website in August 2013. The most arduous task was creating a filtration system that not only worked, but that was actually useful for our intended audience, potential parents of campers. There was no point in having eight different options for searching, if parents only cared about location, type of stay (day or overnight), and specialized activities. Read More

February 26, 2014

Networking for People Who Hate Networking

This post was originally written for a blog I contribute to, Grammar. Style. Life.

I’m going to start this conversation with a bold, inflammatory statement: I hate networking.

People who know me often respond to that sentiment with, “But you’re so good at it! You’re friendly, and you talk to everyone. How could you hate talking to people?”

Gotta work on your people skills

I’d say I’m halfway between an extrovert and an introvert. I love parties and events where I know people in the room. It’s invigorating to be in a space where I’m comfortable, and talking about the things I care about. But the moment I step into a room where I don’t know people and the room is full of experts in my field, I’m intimidated. It can be exhausting to have to be “on” for several hours, trying to meet new people and either make friends or business contacts (or ideally, both).
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December 11, 2013

Lean Startup Conference

Lean Startup Conference

This week, I had the pleasure of attending the Lean Startup Conference in San Francisco. I’ll be honest: I knew little to nothing about Lean Startup practices and their terminology before I hopped on the plane from New York this past weekend. Now, I’m a convert. I’ll go back to my office, and hopefully be able to get some of the practices going within my department.

A bit of background, for those of you also unfamiliar with Lean Startup. Lean Startup is a business and product development methodology developed by Eric Ries (co-host of the conference). His theory is that through experimentation (think the scientific method for business), iteration, and early customer interaction, businesses can reduce risks and initial funding costs. This is based on lean manufacturing, production practices streamlined by Japanese automakers. There are a lot of big buzz words thrown around to help the concepts sink in to measurable action:

Minimum Viable Product (MVP)‘s are versions of the end-product which allow maximum data collection with the least amount of money/time. For example, starting with a landing page of a website to gage interest and find out if your hypothesis is correct before building out the entire database.

Continuous Deployment of code, so that small changes are adopted quickly. Why spend hundreds of hours on a huge single launch? There’s a greater opportunity for failure and to not know what piece of the puzzle didn’t work.

Actionable metrics versus vanity metrics. I’m perfectly guilty of subscribing and using the vanity metrics (the numbers that paint rosy pictures but may not reflect accurate engagement) for certain documentation. But, the actionable metrics are the ones that can paint a better picture and lead to smart decision making. Read More

June 21, 2011

7 Jobs? | Spartan Connect

This is a cross-post from my blog on Spartan Connect. Check out the original post here.

You may be thinking, “Seven jobs? No way that’s possible.” Well, ladies and gentlemen, you are looking at the one and only ridiculous person to have and maintain seven different jobs at once. Granted, two of the jobs are on hold for the summer, but will pick up once the fall begins.

What are these jobs, you ask?

  1. Resident Mentor in McDonel Hall (to be continued in the fall)
  2. Peer Writing Consultant & Social Media Coordinator at the Writing Center (to be continued in the fall)
  3. Social Media Intern at TechSmith Corporation
  4. Graphic Designer for Middle of the Mitten
  5. Professional Writing Events Coordinator
  6. Beer Rhetorics Intern
  7. Spartan Connect First Tier Engager

This has taught me a lot about myself. I am someone who hates being bored. Sitting all day and doing nothing does not appeal to me. At the same time, all of my jobs are things that I have found a deep passion and interest in. Everything will help me towards whatever my future career is. Furthermore, I’m not being paid for every job; the unpaid jobs will just further help me develop my skills.

Another really important skill this is teaching me: Time Management. That is something I have always struggled with, and I have a pretty horrible memory. Although I tried to use the planner we are all given Freshman year, or the mentor planner I am given at the beginning of the year, I realize that just writing it down in one place is not useful. I am now an avid user of Google Calender. Having my calender in a digital form means that I can take it everywhere: it’s on my laptop, my smartphone, and my tablet. I can check it on any device with access to the internet.

I’m not saying that is the right choice for everyone. Some people are better physically writing down their schedule. I also don’t advise taking on seven jobs without being fully aware of what you’re committing to and what you’re sacrificing. It means that I don’t necessarily get to have that extra hour of sleep. In addition, I didn’t work my first year at school. However, I did participate in three theater productions each semester. I’ve always kept myself busy.

I love every minute.

The most important thing to get out of this: do what you love to do. Don’t be afraid to take on a few extra responsibilities, because it’s possible to learn how to juggle it. On the same note, don’t overwhelm yourself with jobs that won’t make you happy. I have the habit of wanting to help people whenever I can, and therefore I take on too many responsibilities. It’s good to know when to say, “No.”

Happy scheduling!