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Thursday 9th February 2012


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Company: Thomson Reuters
"...diversity makes for a better working environment and a solid baseline for teams to bring out their best."

Jeanine LongWho am I?

Jeanine Long, Programme Manager for Thomson Reuters.

I’ve had a variety of job experiences that I’ve built upon to be in the position I am in today. Before university I wasn’t sure what career path I wanted to take but instead wound up pursuing interests and hobbies I was drawn to. My hobbies are around artistic projects such as calligraphy, painting, gardening and decorating. My husband and I have been lucky to be able to travel a lot and really enjoy the chance to do so.
 
I’d like to think I planned my career but looking back I followed the paths that built my strengths and led me to even better paths. So in a way, looking back has brought me forward. Not really knowing what I wanted to do, I began my education with what I liked. My career path was a bit meandering but it had a common thread throughout it: building on my strengths. 
 

So what have I done?

  • Earned a BA in Fine Arts and worked in an art gallery
  • Use my degree and computer graphic knowledge and became a vocational counsellor for mentally ill adults teaching IT skills
  • Earned a Masters in Information Technology and moved into Project Management for an international company in the Finance and Reporting Industry
  • Obtained a good understanding of what customer service was about
  • Gained excellent communication skills and great personal interaction tactics
  • Learned to manage multiple tasks and requirements during tight timelines
  • In my global IT role, I worked on customer relation management software design and roll out for our administration group.  Working with our front end users to understand their needs and wants, I coordinated design, specification, user testing and deployment of the new software to our groups around the world. 
  • Today I’m in our MIS group working on the global migration of our legacy billing and invoicing systems onto one central, more dynamic system: SAP.
 

Looking back…

My masters degree programme was an excellent experience as they targeted methods for employing learned techniques to actual job roles. Look for professors who are still in their job role to share their own experiences. They helped bring out IT roles that I found exciting and build on my strengths. Who knew my natural talent for making lists would make me such a great project manager!
 

Looking forward…

My goal is to move into a high profile position, running a team within a project management structure. That being said, I want to be sure that I am open to new opportunities that may arise as I wouldn’t want to limit myself by being too specific. How I get there is something I’m always working on: reviewing my CV, networking and finding out what other people are working on.
 
It is important to embrace differences. Whether that is male to female or culture to culture, diversity makes for a better working environment and a solid baseline for teams to bring out their best. Our unique ways of working is an asset to anyone we work for.
 

Success tips:

  • Don’t doubt yourself, you really are much smarter and more powerful than you realize. People have underestimated me: at times that was useful, at times it held me back.
  • Build on your strengths: Model yourself for success, don’t compare yourself for shortcomings.
  • Spend time with people whose jobs you’re interested in. Informational interviews were a great experience for me.
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