Meet a Member: Crystal Sackman

Crystal Sackman, Senior Marketing Coordinator, Kennedy/Jenks Consultants

Years of Experience in the A/E/C Industry:  5.5 Years

Total Years of Experience:  5.5 Years

How long have you been an SMPS member?  5 Years

Why did you join SMPS?  As a newbie marketer, joining SMPS was the perfect place to learn more about the A/E/C industry and the role marketing plays, as well as to get to know my peers!

What services does your firm provide?  Engineering and scientific solutions for water, energy, and environmental projects.

What are your firm's target markets?  Government agencies, private utilities, industry and business, and transportation clients.

What's the best advice you've ever receivied?  "It is not about the cards you're dealt, it is how you play your hand." This was the basic message that my grandparents and favorite aunt impressed upon me when I was growing up. I see this truth everywhere.

What is the most creative thing you've ever done as part of your career? In 2008, I was graduating from the University of Washington-Bothell with a BA in Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences with a focus on Culture, Literature, and the Arts. (You're probably thinking "a degree in what?") Up until this point, my work experience included Child Care Provider for a fitness club, Food Server for fairground concessions, Birthday Party Hostess and DJ for a skating rink, and Receptionist/Sales Coordinator for an equipment manufacturer's representatitve. With zero direct marketing experience, the most creative think I've ever done as part of my career was the very thing that brought my career to life - having to creatively spin my non-marketing experience into something relevant, interesting, and meaningful, enough to get noticed and interviewed for what would be my very first professional marketing job. I am still not sure exactly what did the trick, but something in my resume caught my boss's eye enough for her to want to take a chance on me. For this, I am very grateful to her, and she's still my boss to this day! The rest is history (and a very sucessful one at that!).