I roughed through it and hoped that my next marketing class would be better...

Prologue: The mission of The Underground Agency at NKU Haile College of Business is to create experiences that help people to bring to light their potential (i.e., who they are and who they want to become), learn how they can achieve that potential, and get them started on pursuing and fulfilling it. All within college classrooms. The interviews with our former employees aka students are just one way to reflect upon whether or not we are living our mission. Today, we sat down with Jordan Harwell from Quotient Technology Inc. who left us back in 2018 - the year she graduated from Northern Kentucky University with Bachelor degree in Marketing. So, sit back, and enjoy learning about how Jordan made it from Nursing student to Marketing graduate to Senior position at a company ranked as #7 in LinkedIn's Top Companies in Marketing & Advertising in 2022.

David: How are you, Jordan?

Jordan: I’m doing so good! 2022 was probably one of the craziest years of my life. I got engaged early 2022, traveled, accepted a new position at Quotient Technology Inc. , all the wedding planning, got married in October, and moved! This past year has been so good to me, I can only imagine how sweet 2023 will be.?

David: Wow! Your time and project management skills are admirable, Jordan! I have no idea how you did it all but I am beyond happy that you did it and still have energy left for 2023! Now, you mentioned accepting new position at Quotient. Can you tell us more about it?

Jordan: Work has been very good! For those who don’t know, I work at Quotient Technology?where I am an Account Manager for Shopper Promo. So day to day, I manage promo (coupons) across all retailers for a specific account and manage each offer from beginning to end. Whether that’s providing offer estimates, monitoring pacing, offer insights and recommendations after the campaign ends, etc. I truly do love my job. Day to day it can always look different and that’s what I think I like most. One day could look like working on estimates or the next could be working on a project to better processes with my team or walking a client through the performance on an offer. Some days it’s all of the above.?

As far as the company goes, I love that I work for a company that genuinely cares for my success and growth. Quotient has helped me grow into being a leader and encouraging me to be apart of the CX leadership program. It means so much to me that my company cares so much about me and my growth within the company to invest in me.?

David: I am so glad you mentioned personal success and growth. We just finished a project for one of our clients that focused on Generation Z and their views of ideal employer and manager. Growth and advancement opportunities emerged as #4 among top 10 attributes of an ideal employer. Whopping 56% of our Gen Z sample survey respondents picked it as #1! Which brings me to my next question. What did it take to get this job, a job you seem to love?

Jordan: Never in a million years did I think I would work with coupons. I didn’t graduate college thinking “yup, coupons is my route.” But now being in the industry and with a great team, I wouldn’t change it.?After leaving WCPO 9, I learned that I enjoyed being client facing and wanted to dive more into data and client relationships. I spoke with you, Dr. Raska, who introduced me to Quotient Technology Inc. and I dove right in with learnings.?

It took me 10 interviews (I think most ever LOL) to get me into the Customer Success Manager role. I continued to just be myself and with each interview asked more about culture, the day to day tasks and the team. After being in customer success for a year and a half, I was promoted to Senior Account Manager. But continue to flex your interview muscles, ask questions, share your experience, and be yourself. Just as much as you want a company that is going to be 100% transparent in the interview process with you, you want to be 100% yourself as well.?

David: Ten interviews? Serious? I need to talk to Jimmy Caccamo , Kristin Murphy , Lily M. , and Abby Bretcher to find out how many interviews they had to get their jobs at Quotient. Clearly, you carried yourself well throughout the interview process and being yourself must have helped a lot. However, being yourself is one thing, knowing yourself and the experiences that shaped you is another thing. What experiences had the greatest impact on your personal and career development and why?

Jordan: Honestly one of the greatest impacts on me choosing my career was when my dad passed away after my senior year. My major was Nursing until he was sick. Once he passed away, I changed my major to marketing. I didn’t have much history or understanding of what “marketing” entailed but felt called to pursue.?I remember taking the first intro marketing class and thought to myself “this is definitely not what I was thinking”.

I roughed through it and hoped that my next marketing class would be better. I gave it one more semester. I enrolled in your class, Dr. Raska, and that completely changed the game for me. To be so involved and work hands on with clients was inspiring. It was a class I’ve never had before. You gave me the hope I was looking for in marketing. I went all in.?

Post graduation I worked in real estate and transitioned into working at WCPO 9. I had a mentor there who truly believed in me and during the pandemic helped me learn more about digital marketing and client relations. From there, it led me to working at Quotient with coupons and account managing.?

Every journey is different, but that’s the best part of marketing. The umbrella of marketing covers so much. I would take time to learn, to research, to have an understanding of what you like and pursue it. By entering into a job or career, you aren’t committing the next 20 years of your life. It’s okay to build up to what your desire is. But with building, take time to learn. What did you like? What did you not like? You won’t know what path you like until you try. You didn’t like market research in school? I wouldn’t go down the path that’s solely market research.?

David: I am glad you roughed through it. And I am even more glad for mentioning how important it is to learn by doing and never stop asking those elemental questions such as: What do I like? What do I dislike? What am I good at or want to be good at? Speaking of that, what do you think is your element?

Jordan: I really enjoy data and client relationships (both which I do!). It’s fun for me to make numbers come to life! I love being able to take the numbers and data and to tell a story. What do these numbers mean? Why are they important? How to estimate a coupon based on activations and how many shoppers I think (based on historicals) will activate but also redeem. And then watching the coupon come to life and watch it on a shopper retailer site.?

What I want to be good at? I’ve taken steps away from social and would love to always learn more about social marketing. That world changes so fast and it’s so interesting to me. I don’t think social media marketing is going anywhere and will only continue to grow.?

David: You need to reach and connect with Jacob Arnold , Marketing Manager for Social Marketing at 亚马逊 , and have a chat with him. He loves it and I am sure he would love sharing his passion with you. So, you already told us about your amazing 2022. How about your future - two, five, or ten years from now?

Jordan: Now just stepping into being a Senior position at Quotient Technology Inc. , I’m very excited to help with new projects, innovation within, and help the team grow in product knowledge, etc.?I would love to be on project management side in the next 5-10 years. I love to pour into people and help them see things about themselves that they may not currently see. To help them believe in themselves, to guide and train.?

David: Sounds like you want to be me...lighting the spark from within to help as many people as possible to discover their potential and careers that feel more like a hobby than a job. It is a wonderful purpose and mission which takes a lot of time and faith (as we may never see the fruits of our impact). Go for it! We need people like you! Anyway, you are where you are because you were patient with yourself and have never stopped being curious about yourself. Any words of wisdom for our current employees (soon-to-be-graduates)?

Jordan: Get involved on that project you are working on at The Underground Agency . Help others. Lean in and ask questions. Meet with those who are ahead of you. Be bold! Be sure to talk about your experiences and learnings in Dr. Raska’s courses during your interviews. It’s very impressive and it helps those better understand your experiences. Trust your mentors! I can’t express that enough - trust that they’ve been there and done that.?

David: Looking at you, Jordan, and how much you have grown in just five years, I know or feel one thing: You look happy and living to your present potential. Speaking of that, I wonder what happiness actually mean to you, Mrs. Harwell?

Jordan: Happiness is temporary, very come and go. I believe the word happy came from the root of “good things happening”. The little things in life make me happy - a good cup of coffee, sunsets, hot Pilates, a walk with my husband around the city. But things happen and happy can’t be forever.?However, joy is long lasting. Joy is what fills my soul and how I stay grounded to life.?

David: Well, I am glad you live in a city filled with a lot of good coffee shops, Pilates studios, and one that is getting more and more walkable:) What about success? How do you define that?

Jordan: Success is obedience. Being obedient in the things that are important to you will bring you great success. Success isn’t tied to a dollar sign or ranking but the feeling in your soul when your head hits the pillow.?

David: I love that! It reminds me the quote by Dwayne Johnson:

"Success isn't always about greatness. It's about consistency. Consistent hard work leads to success. Greatness will come."

Anyway, I am glad to see that you are both happy and successful in your own world. Keep it that way! Jordan, thank you for your time and for never stop exploring, learning, sharing, and caring!?

"Another fun note is that Lily and I actually worked on the same team for a little bit and I worked on another team with Kristin! Such a small world."

Epilogue:?I could not help and end our interview with a few nostalgic photos.? Who would ever thought Jordan would end up working in the same company as Lily M. - the one Jordan worked with while she was with us. It's amazing to see how much each of them has grown. Whether it is Brittany Leonard , Katie Begley , Madison R. , Hailey DeWald , Kayla Combs , Nick Plageman or Haley B. Schroer , they all have grown and found their place in this world - their own happiness and success. Unique to them. Some of them already have kids and watching them grow has been bringing a lot of joy to my life. They are what sunsets are to Jordan. And for all those who made it this far, if Quotient Technology Inc. looks interesting to you, check their open positions on LinkedIn. And if you have more questions about life there, you know whom to connect with.