In an astounding turn of events I have found myself in the market for a job.

In my 13 years in AV and IT I have been digitized, publicized, patronized, chastised, (and even Super Sized occasionally at lunch time), but I have never been right-sized. . .until now.

So far my AV community of friends and peers have been amazing at reaching out and trying to find me a home.  Within a couple hours of announcing my new circumstance, a dozen people contacted me to see how they could help.  The first question they all had for me was where do you want to work?  Given that I had not planned this transition, I didn’t have a stock answer.

I knew that with 3 kids in school, I want to stay in Southern California, but really that was about all I knew.

I thought the best way to identify what I want my next position to be would be to look at what I liked about previous positions and what factors I thought made me successful there.

Mentoring- I love people, and as such, I get a kick out of helping others succeed.  From being team lead at IBM to helping new AV sales people learn the company’s offerings to running a division for ONteriors, the opportunity to mentor new employees always filled my fulfillment bucket.  Any role that gives me an opportunity to mentor new employees would be amazing.

Education- I have always been successful at sales because I see it more as educating someone on what’s available and them helping them decide what route is best for them.  Whether it is an intense customer proposal, a lunch and learn with an architect, or consulting with a small design team, I shine when I get a chance to come to the table as a resource.  Any position that involves client presentations, public speaking, or educating either a client for an integrator or a base of dealers for a manufacturer would lend itself toward a fit.

Creativity– Coming from a non AV background of Zoology, (I always thought I would be a veterinarian growing up), I see most things in terms of systems.  Circulatory systems distribute video throughout a facility just as AV control systems actuate potential across membranes in the building’s nervous system.  For this reason, I typically see technology as the function first, (as opposed to the stated use case), and can put together system designs in ways that others may not see.

I remember the Elan rep. coming into the office one time, looking at my diagram of a system, and saying “I never knew you could use our product to do that!”  Working in the museum space with some extremely bright engineers gave me a broader experience in this as well.  Anyone doing highly creative AV work for retail, museums, universities, or innovation labs that needs a sales or marketing person who thinks “differently” should contact me for sure.

Cross Training-  I have worked for companies of varying size, but consistently I have done very well in positions where the employer needs a Swiss Army Knife.  Because I retain most of what I have learned over the last 13 years, I can bring relevant knowledge to almost any problem that arises.  I have historically been of the most value in roles where the company needs someone who will take the reins and find solutions.  I have done this in everything from engineering my own projects, to negotiating pricing, to getting labor resources aligned, to resolving customer and subcontractor conflicts, etc.  If you are an organization who has a couple of gaps they would like to fill with a single employee, I may just be your guy.

So whether you know a manufacturer needing someone to support and train dealers or educate people on your products, or an integrator who needs a strong Sales and Marketing Manager with the potential to engineer projects and build a stronger team and more loyal customer base, I would welcome the opportunity to speak with them.  Feel free to send people to my LinkedIn profile here or to email me directly at mark@marketexplosion.me.