Over the past year, there has been much talk on Twitter about getting into tech. Many of these conversations are centered around getting into the tech industry because of the salary and perks. Here is my experience in one of my best roles working in a technical position, IT, at a famous Beauty and Skincare company:
📝🇩🇪🇷🇴How did I get the job?
The company reached out to me on LinkedIn for Entry-Mid Level IT Support for a $55k/yr + bonus (the median salary at this time). My Linkedin was optimized with IT skills, Networking, coding skills. I studied Romanian and German at the time, which meant I wasn't exactly bilingual but demonstrated adaptability and the ability to integrate with international clients and employees.
🥞The EXACT Skills That Made Me Stand Out
At the time, I was A+, Network+, and Mobility+ certified. I had hands-on experience in the following:
- Programming: SQL, MySQL, Workbench, HTML, CSS, and a tad bit of Java
- Networking: LAN, DHCP, Ruckus AP's and Switches, Ubiquiti AP's, Barracuda Firewall, Barracuda Exchange Email Archiver, Rackspace, Wireshark, Zimperium, and Metasploit
- IT: Active Directory, Windows Server 2012, Meraki Mobile Device Management, managing a mixed environment; Windows, Mac, Linux; and printer troubleshooting
👩🏾🔧My Core Responsibilities
- Managing & supporting the network infrastructure for all office locations; Build the network and workstation infra for the new New Jersey warehouse.
- Providing support to offshore employees & offices in Asia
- Managing all mobile devices for sales employees and influencers
- Managing IT vendor relationships; Working closely with the regulatory teams on inventory and compliance
💃🏾💅🏾💋Makeup, Modeling, and All The Perks
While I had quite a lot of fun with the IT side of my job, I ended up… modeling! On my very first day, the Head of Creative design said to me, "omg, you have a nice face... and hands. Can we hire you as a model instead?" 😅 Thus, 5-10% of my work hours were spent on my upkeep, modeling, keeping my skin clear, and getting my nails done to be ready to do a shoot when needed.
As I modeled often, I was taught by the best of the best how to do my makeup to create symmetry and complete the natural look in under 5 mins. The woman who taught me was the head makeup artist at the company and moonlighted as Zoe Saldanas makeup artist when she was in NYC.
And best of all, I had free skincare and makeup products for years to come; any new product that came out, employees were able to get a few sets. 😉
📸 Celebrities
After offering to segment the network to reduce latency during live streams, I quickly grew trust with the company's CEO! They ever so thankfully trusted me to manage all the tech behind the celebrity and influencer visits. This meant I met one of the Kardashians* personally. And the coolest of them all - Nikkie Tutorials, who acknowledged me and was the sweetest person! 😀 Unlike some influencers who were only nice when the cameras were rolling.
*I don't remember if it was Kylie or not, I believe, before she started her brand. I also had never known of any other Kardashian other than Kim at the time as I don't watch tv.🤷🏾♀️
