Natasha Chan (MBA/MPH) is a Johns Hopkins Carey Business School and Bloomberg School of Public Health Alumna who recently made an internal career change at Salesforce. Natasha was previously a Customer Success Enablement Manager, and is transitioning into a new role as a Lead Creative Strategist. She was kind enough to share her insights on navigating this process, and how she utilized her past experience and skills to successfully land the position.
MBASchooled: You recently made a move to a new role. Congratulations! Before we dive into that, can you talk to us about your previous role? What were you doing, what did you like about it and what did you learn from that role/experience?
I joined Salesforce in April 2020 as an Enablement Manager within the Customer Success Group (CSG). In this role, I designed, delivered, and scaled our global suite of Soft Skills programs to serve 8,300 CSG employees across AMER, LATAM, APAC, and EMEA. Our offerings are meant to help employees become stronger strategic consultants and trusted advisors that not only influence, but also inspire our customers. Through instructor-led workshops and self-paced e-learning, participants are able to up-level their customer engagement skills in areas like executive communication, effective storytelling, and navigating difficult conversations.
I loved facilitating workshops and witnessing “a-ha!” moments. It’s a great feeling to hear participants say that they learned something new about themselves, or that they have more meaningful interactions with customers because of our programs.
MBASchooled: You started right as COVID-19 hit – how was it onboarding remotely? How did you go about getting acclimated to the new company and new company culture?
As a global tech company, Salesforce adapted quite seamlessly to a virtual environment. Even without the pandemic, a majority of our team worked remotely as we are located in offices all around the country/world.
I’ve grown to really enjoy working from home, but I will say that it can be quite challenging to build rapport and meaningful relationships in a remote setting. “Water Cooler Chat” no longer exists – in the past, I was often able to get context or debrief a conversation as I walked to and from meetings with colleagues, or naturally over lunch/coffee. Now we have to schedule meetings to connect, and it all feels very formal. I’ve found myself prioritizing time to just chat with teammates to make sure that we get to know each other on a basic human level. It seems like so many others crave this too, and most are very appreciative when you take the initiative to do so!
MBASchooled: As you were going through your prior role, when did you realize that a new role or opportunity could be an exciting or relevant next step in your career? Was there anything particular that led to realizing that you were ready to take on your next challenge?
I was first drawn to Salesforce when I was a Career Coach at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business. I partnered with some Booth Alum at Salesforce Ignite to host a 5-Week Design Thinking Bootcamp for the Innovation and Design Club. I didn’t know much about the intersection of business and design, and loved seeing these two worlds collide at Salesforce to solve complex business challenges.
When I first applied to Salesforce, I was interested in becoming an Instructional Designer, building learning materials for Customer Success; however, after going through the interview process, the team felt I might be a better fit for Enablement and leading our Soft Skills Programs. I was always open with my manager that I was interested in taking on any creative or design-related projects so that I could learn more and build my skillset. I’m really grateful that the culture at Salesforce supports career exploration – leaders encourage you to pursue your passions, whatever and wherever they might be.
MBASchooled: You previously advised and coached thousands of MBA students on job and career changes. What did you take from that experience that helped you navigate through this time?
After interviewing and reviewing resumes of so many top candidates, the two most valuable lessons I’ve learned are to be concise, and to be human. Many candidates think that they need to list every accomplishment they’ve ever achieved, or share their entire life’s story during an interview. There is only so much you can cover in 30 minutes, but dominating the conversation or not allowing time for questions and organic conversation can be detrimental.
While it’s important for you to convey why you’re a good fit for a role based on prior experience, it’s equally important to communicate why this new role sparks joy or curiosity in you. Sharing what makes you feel alive, or discovering what makes your interviewer tick is always a natural launching point for more meaningful connection. I tried to keep these two things in mind during my interview process, and made it a point to keep my responses brief but impactful. I also did a lot of research about each interviewer and their work so that I could ask specific and insightful questions.
MBASchooled: How did this new opportunity or role come about?
Truthfully, it was quite serendipitous. I am a Leader for our Asian Equality Group based in Chicago – we have a monthly coffee chat program where we randomly match members with one another. A few months ago, I was matched with a Creative Strategist on a team within Sales that I had never heard of. After hearing about her work and learning that there was an open position, it seemed like an amazing fit.
MBASchooled: Can you talk about the process for transitioning internally to a new role, team, or organization. What did that process look like?
My connection referred me to her manager, and we met for an initial conversation to see whether I might be a good match for the role. From there, I had a few other 1:1 interviews with other team members. At the same time, other internal candidates were also being interviewed, as well as external candidates who applied directly through the company’s job board. Eventually, I made it to the final round interview where I had to complete a design challenge. I was given a prompt and a few days to put together a presentation that I would deliver to a panel of 8 Creative Strategists, Technical Strategists, and Leaders on the team.
MBASchooled: Something that is interesting about transferring to a new role internally is that not all of the opportunities are immediately just presented to you on a silver platter. How did you go about finding opportunities that were a good potential fit for you?
If I hadn’t been a part of our Asian Equality Group, I really don’t know if I would have ever crossed paths with the person who eventually referred me to the role. I had no idea this team or this position existed. I occasionally browsed roles on our internal job boards by typing in keywords like “Creative” or “Design;” I might have eventually landed here, but having a personal connection and being able to pick their brain throughout the interview process was invaluable.
With an organization as large as Salesforce (we’re about to hit 75,000 employees, I believe), there is truly a world of possibilities at our fingertips. My biggest piece of advice is to stay curious – don’t be afraid to reach out to others to learn more about their roles if something catches your eye. There might be jobs available in the pipeline that haven’t even been posted yet, and getting on a hiring manager’s radar early is always helpful.
MBASchooled: Tell us more about this new role! How do you see this fitting into your own career development plan? How does this align with some of your bigger career goals?
This new role truly feels like I’ve stumbled upon a unicorn! Somehow, all the industries and professional skills I’ve picked up along my career thus far are all colliding with my own personal and intellectual passions.
As a Creative Strategist, I’m part of a global internal agency made of creatives and engineers, dedicated to supporting the Sales Team. Using compelling storytelling, visuals, and product demos, we equip Account Executives and Solution Engineers with tools to inspire and connect with their customers – bringing to life what the future could look like with Salesforce. I constantly feel like I’m learning and doing something new. There is such a variety of experiences and backgrounds on our team, and I’m inspired by every person I work with. In terms of future career goals – the world is kind of wide open for me. I could see myself being in this role for a very long time, and I’m excited to see how I grow into it!
Previous Posts Featuring Natasha:
By, Julia Posz