Meet Tiana Dame! Tiana is an Industry Community Manager with Autodesk and has been with Autodesk almost 4 years. In those 4 years she has had two different roles – originally starting her career as a Technical Support Specialist. Outside of work she’s focusing on learning American Sign language and keeps busy with her adorable Golden Retriever pup named Appa.
Question: What degree did you graduate with, and how has it affected your career? Or, what education / training do you have that has helped with your role?
Tiana: I got my degree in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Mathematics. Right after school I took an internship that led to a full-time position as a Design Engineer at a Lockheed Martin company in Connecticut, USA. This was a very typical engineering role that college prepares you for if you go into engineering but about two years into the position, I realized that it wasn’t for me. Around that time is when I realized that you could do a lot more with engineering that isn’t the “traditional” route. That led me to Autodesk, and from within Autodesk I realized that Community Management was the career path I wanted to follow!
Question: How would you describe your role as Community Manager at Autodesk? What does a typical workday look like? Which skills and qualities are important to be successful in your role?
Tiana: Community Management is truly a role where you never have the same day twice. While there are certain operational aspects that I repeat daily, Communities are dynamic and always changing, so you must be able to adapt to those changes.. Skills and qualities that are important, in my opinion, include being organized, having patience, embracing problem-solving, and being adaptive, creative, and understanding. Even though you may not be directly engaging with customers every day, the user experience should always be on your mind. It’s also critical to be authentic – no one wants to talk to a robotic person that has template responses and no individuality.
Question: What do you find interesting about your role? What are the challenges? What do you find satisfying about your work?
Tiana: I love how much this role changes, and this is also probably the biggest challenge. Every day I am not sure if I’m going to come in and wear my customer service hat, or my analytics hat, or my creativity hat. They all lend themselves to improving and growing and engaging a community – but every community is different so you have to approach each one in a different way. It can be challenging because it will feel like you are juggling a million different things at once – and usually you are – but it all comes together in the end. It feels great knowing that you are helping people find what they need and feel welcomed in the communities that you run!
Question: What advice would you give to a student who is interested in pursuing a role like yours?
Tiana: Honestly – do your homework. This goes for students interested in any role, whether it is in engineering or community management or even outside of these two careers. I think it is really important to do your research, not only on the role itself, but also the company that is hiring. It took me a while to realize that when you align yourself with a company that has a great culture code it can really make a difference in your day-to-day. If you are working somewhere that you feel comfortable and welcomed it will make whatever role you take that much better!
Remember to add any questions or comments to the thread below for @Tiana.D to answer! She’ll be around all week checking in.
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