Jobs Landed

I was lucky enough to move back to Michigan in 2011 as part of the Detroit Revitalization Fellows Program, a network of professionals working to build capacity, foster collaboration, and accelerate progress across organizations engaged in revitalizing Detroit. As part of this program, I am employed by the Community Investment Support Fund (CISF), a non-profit subsidiary of Larson Realty Group. CISF is an emerging Community Development Financial Institution, providing below-market-rate loans as well as technical assistance to non-profit organizations that serve low-income communities.

My job is incredibly rewarding, allowing me to work with institutions that enhance the livability of our community and develop creative capital structures that ensures their sustainability. A major component of my position involves actively fundraising to capitalize the fund that allows CISF to make these investments into community projects. In my day to day work, I also draw from skills developed during my two years with a management consulting firm in Washington, DC, which have become useful in finding solutions for CISF's clients and to develop our organizational capacity.

I spent two years working in economic development in Pittsburgh, a city often described as being a model for Detroit, but always intended to bring lessons learned there back to Michigan as I build my career. I couldn't ask to be in Detroit at a better time or to be exposed to a more inspiring network of individuals working to make a difference in our community.

My love for cake design stems from an education in art, a passion for food, and a childlike refusal to believe that there is anything I cannot create. While attending the University of Michigan School of Art and Design, I packed up my paintbrushes and headed to Florence for a semester abroad. Though I had hoped that immersing myself in the realm of the Italian masters would rub off on my artistic prowess, I found myself more interested in the perfect foam atop my cappuccino. I began to cook, and realized that I loved it. My time in Italy began to revolve around trips to the local market, home-cooked multicourse dinners with my roommates, and weekend pilgrimages to sample different types of regional cuisine.

Upon returning to the States, my newfound passion for food seeped into my art making. For my art school thesis, I dedicated myself to forming the same connection to food in Michigan that I had experienced in Italy. After working with food producers and artisans in the Ann Arbor area, I created a series of edible monuments to honor each one.

Since graduating in 2007, I have had the to opportunity to work with Eve Aronoff as a cook at eve the Restaurant, as well as with Courtney Clark of Cake Nouveau on a series of Food Network Challenges. Both experiences have been influential in developing who I am as a cook and an artist.

I love what I do, and look at each new cake as a challenge to create something beautiful that will make someone’s day.

I am currently responsible for managing Lincoln brand digital projects. My role is to lead projects from ideation through launch. My projects include websites, enterprise site updates, sweepstakes sites, mobile sites, iPAD sites and game integrations. I work with teams that include: Digital Strategists, Information Architects, Creative Directors, Art Directors, Copywriters, Flash Developers, Tech Leads and Quality Assurance analysts.

One of my favorite things about being a Project Manager is working with such a wide variety of disciplines and subject matter experts. I feel I’ve learned a ton about the digital space during my time at Team Detroit. Since digital is constantly evolving, there are always new things to learn.

I was originally contacted by Team Detroit, (TDI), after graduating MSU regarding a Digital Intern position. The primary reason I like TDI is the people. There is very good collaboration and knowledge sharing between Project Managers and across all disciplines. There is a lot of pride in what we produce, and TDI celebrates great work. The clients I’ve worked with include: Ford, Lincoln, Starfish Family Services, SIRIUS Satellite Radio. I’m looking to continue to grow as a Digital Project Manager at TDI and see where it takes me.

I recently joined the Comcast Government Affairs team as a Government Affairs Associate.  In my new role I support federal, state and local government relations activities statewide.  I also research, monitor and analyze relevant regulatory and policy issues impacting the organization.

While I always knew that I wanted to pursue a career in science, during my PhD work I found that the parts of working as a researcher that I enjoyed the most were the communication aspects: analyzing, writing and presenting.  I also knew that while I love learning, teaching and speaking about science, I did not enjoy hands-on lab work.  I began to research career options and discovered many articles about medical writing.  I tried my hand at a few freelance gigs during graduate school, and I enjoyed the work so much that I decided to become a full-time freelancer after graduation this past August.  This was also a perfect opportunity for me to relocate back to my home state of Michigan, since I only work from home.

My job consists of writing and editing various types of media for medical communication companies, academic medical centers and researchers and publication companies.  I help my clients to create slide decks, manuscripts, needs assessments, continuing medical education (CME) materials, sales force training modules, patient information materials and posters.  I love the variety of not only the different projects that I work on, but also the many different subject areas that I get to write about.  One day I may be writing about cancer therapies, and the next day I am writing about autoimmune disorder treatment strategies.  The other great aspect of this job is that I get to work from home, according to my own schedule.  This career is a perfect fit for me and I am happy to say that I finally am working my dream job!

Upon graduating from Central Michigan University, I interviewed with various companies, focusing on project/account management within marketing agencies. Getting an interview is the easy part – the hard part is finding a company with an opportunity that is a right fit for you. After interviewing at Shift Digital, who I discovered on LinkedIn, I felt I had found my niche. They are a growing company that provides digital marketing and fulfillment for major Automotive OEM’s and other National brands. Shift Digital has many positives; there are opportunities to grow within the organization, and I have supervisors that care about my professional development and success. In addition I’m very pleased to stay in the metro Detroit area.

I promote and preside over all new development and redevelopment in the North End Neighborhood utilizing Federal, Philanthropic, State and City funds. I also manage existing company property portfolio and return challenged properties to sustainable operation.

I first became interested in becoming a QA analyst while in college. I had a few courses in Software Testing and one of my teachers was also QA Analyst. I really enjoyed the meticulous detail that went into the job and I really enjoyed all the documentation that went along with it. I have been doing QA for 5+ years now and it is still a very satisfying career. As a Quality Assurance analyst, you are responsible for making sure that all services and products are of quality and meet the client needs.  I was born and raised here in the Detroit Metro area and while I did move away for a while to live in Atlanta, GA. I returned not long ago to finally settle down here. That was always the plan and always my goal. I know there is a lot of skepticism about finding work here in the metro area, but I did not have that problem and I found a lot of work when I returned. I actually found my current job by applying on craigslist.org. I’m working as a Quality Assurance analyst at MRM Worldwide. I have been working here for about 5 months. I really enjoy working here not only because of the location which is in the beautiful city of Birmingham, MI right in the downtown area. But also because of our products. It is very exciting to be able to see and work with some of the most cutting edge technology that we use every day. It’s very enjoyable and I never get bored!

I am a junior attorney in a busy immigration law firm. I decided that I would be well situated to the field of immigration law because of my background and the opportunity working in this position would allow me to connect with my community here in Metro Detroit. I recently moved back into the area after living in the Lansing area for a few years and was thrilled to find something close to Detroit and the area I grew up around. I took a step outside the box and decided to draft a cover letter that really connected with why I wanted to be an Immigration Attorney and how I thought I would be well suited for the area. I had little experience in the Immigration Law Field and knew it would be a long shot but I sent my resume around to what seemed like every Immigration Attorney and Law Firm in the Detroit area. Instantly responses of support, and regret that there were no opportunities flowed in, as well as some requests for more information and eventually interviews. I was willing to start at the bottom and work my way up, having little experience and just starting out in the legal profession I was ready to do what I had to do, especially in this economy. I am currently working at a busy and knowledgeable Immigration Law Firm in Farmington Hills, Michigan. We serve clients in a variety of Immigration law related issues. From family based to corporate immigration law and we can provide our services worldwide, which was very appealing to me.

The Senior Attorneys at my firm have more than 20 years experience and have been great in offering me comprehensive training and opportunity for professional growth. I am very happy with my decision to remain in Metro Detroit, and look forward to the opportunity to grow as a young professional with this great state and metropolitan area.

hyperLOCAL Connections is my second, and now primary, venture. I am a "lean" startup enjoying the lean methodology to find market-fit for my idea. My startup is centered around the concept of city-wide loyalty campaign promoting the 'Buy Local' movement.  As founder of BuyLocalAnnArbor.com, I am 'discovering' the solution through customer development, a minimum viable product, interviews, iterations and pivots - all relatively fun stuff.  Until something amazing happens I've placed my architectural career into a holding pattern of sorts, but hope to get back into it after the economic dust has settled. 

I am responsible for creating and implementing full cycle recruiting strategies to meet near term and long term recruiting needs.  I work to develop local and national recruiting plans, partner with existing third party vendors and recruiters, employ traditional sourcing strategies and resources as well as develop new, innovative recruiting ideas. My position plays a critical role in ensuring that the organization is finding high quality talent.  I also have oversight of the immigration and work authorization visa processes for new employees and existing employees.

I worked as a Journalist for several years but moving to the US in 2008 put my life to a different perspective. I was looking for a way of expressing myself and the universal visual language of photography offered me a perfect creative outlet. After a couple of years of studying photography and assisting on sets in San Francisco, I relocated to Ann Arbor and decided to open my own photography studio. In my work as a wedding and event photographer, I am the observer, not the creator to an existing scene. I use visual language to tell stories and I pride myself in being able to capture the personalities of my clients. I had the opportunity to photograph celebrities on the Venice Film Festival`s red carpet this September 2011 and traveling, quite frankly, is the best part of my job.

I was very excited to have the opportunity to interview with CIBER. I found the position posted on LinkedIn and had my fingers crossed since my recruiting background was not in IT. I was very blessed to have received an offer and excited to start a new recruiting adventure! As a recruiter with CIBER I work on a team with twenty plus recruiters across the US. I am responsible for recruiting top notch IT professionals across a wide range of areas in the Technology industry. My job involves a lot more than waiting for someone to apply to a job posting. If I want to be successful, I need to go out and find the talent CIBER is looking for. I love what I do; it is a challenge, it is competitive and I get to meet new people every day. It is a great feeling when I match a candidate to their career!

I chose to work for CIBER because the company is growing, the office environment is cool, it is global, and it is full of innovative, talented, hard working fun people. At CIBER initiative, creativity and hard work will take an employee as far as we want to go! The company encourages new ideas, new approaches, and new abilities and believes an entrepreneurial atmosphere is a part of what makes a company a highly motivating place to work. It is never boring here!  Luckily, CIBER has an office in Southfield; I am a huge advocate of rebuilding Detroit and have no desire to leave Michigan anytime soon. There is so much going on in the city of Detroit right now and Michigan is an absolutely beautiful state.

I am a researcher with PhD degree in the field of Telecommunications / Antennas, working in the Radiation Laboratory of the University of Michigan. The Radiation Laboratory manages world-class academic programs and conducts research on all aspects of applied EM with state-of-art facilities. I am working among professors, researchers and talented students who are doing world class researches.

My research project is design, development and test of novel reflectarray antennas based on Miniaturized Frequency Selective Surfaces. This antenna has many applications in satellite and point-to-point communications as well as terrestrial and avionic radar systems. I really enjoy what I am doing and happy to be in such a scientific and friendly research environment.

They say journalism is no longer a field for finding your dream gig. They're wrong. I was recently hired by MLive.com, Michigan's largest news website (supporting the state's stable of Booth Newspaper titles), to cover arts and entertainment in Metro Detroit. While most MLive.com sites work in concert with a local newspaper, MLive Detroit is a different kind of idea -- providing round-the-clock news coverage without an accompanying print publication.

I function as the Detroit entertainment section's blogger, editor and photographer all-in-one (with the help of my supremely awesome news teammates, from whom I'm learning tons of cool stuff). I focus on Michigan artists, local events, trends in dining and living, and riffs on the local media. At any given time, you might find me posting a new video, shooting photographs of a touring artist downtown, covering a hearing for a local business, or sounding off my opinions -- often, all in the same day.

I probably wasn't ever on MLive's radar for candidates, until I wrote the editor-in-chief an incredibly impassioned letter about what I would do if I had the entertainment beat for his website. It took a while, but he remembered it and emailed me when a position became available. My advice? When you want a job, don't just talk about your resume. Tell them your ideas. That's what they're hiring you for, anyway.