October 2, 2020 • 32 mins
This week, I speak with Julie Dick, Sales Enablement Specialist. Julie has a background in psychology and educational counselling and has moved into a career in sales and training. We discuss this shift in industries and the skills she engages with daily to build relationships with her team and clients.
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Episode Transcript
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Heather Woods (00:01):
Hello, you're listening to the SEL in Action
podcast, the podcast where weexplore what social and
emotional learning looks like ineducational and professional
settings. I'm your host, HeatherWoods. And today on episode six,
we'll be talking to Julie dickabout her position and the
skills that she enacts as asales enablement specialist.
Thank you so much, Julie, forjoining us today. I'm really
(00:23):
excited to have you here.
Julie Dick (00:25):
Yeah. Thanks so much. I'm really excited to be
here.
Heather Woods (00:27):
So can you tell me a little bit about what sales
enablist or enablementspecialist does?
Julie Dick (00:35):
Yeah, absolutely. So a sales enablement specialist is
something that I really didn'thear about before I started in
sales. Basically, what it is,it's kind of a whole bunch of
little things. When I firststarted hearing about it, I
thought it was a lot abouttraining, mostly, you know,
focusing on that, but there'salso a lot of strategy behind
(00:55):
it. And you're working withdifferent departments as well.
So working closely withmarketing and product about what
you know, you're actuallybuilding and how to talk about
it. So there's a whole bunch oflittle things. And it really
does change, depending on youknow, what kind of company
you're with what their goalsare, but you're basically
helping sales get what theyneed, so they can be the most
(01:18):
efficient and effective at theirjob.
Heather Woods (01:20):
So what I'm hearing there is like, it seems
like there's like a lot ofcollaboration and communication
that's needed. So can you kindof tell me a little bit about
maybe what that looks like on aday to day? You know, situation?
Julie Dick (01:34):
Yeah, absolutely. So I'm still very new in my
position, I've only been in theposition for actually less than
a month now. So it really isdifferent. And the company that
I'm at, this is the first salesenablement position that we've
ever had. So we're also kind ofbuilding it together. And so so
far, what I've been working onare some different projects that
(01:57):
work with, you know, newindividuals who are using our
tech, but also helping, youknow, other sales agents get a
little bit better or learn alittle bit more about the
position. We have bigger plansin the future. But short term,
what I've been doing is actuallyworking on some training modules
(02:17):
for an individual who's going tobe joining us, they're an
internal, an internal hire. Soum, yeah, I've been doing a lot
of training some of the shorterterm projects that we have, but
it's been a lot of adapting sofar, because it's a pretty busy
and there's always seems likethere's something else kind of
around the corner.
Heather Woods (02:36):
Yeah. So it's really interesting. Like you
mentioned, the adapting and kindof building this position
together is like the company'snever had it before. So I wonder
like, what kind of problemsolving skills are you facing?
Are you like navigating as yougo through this?
Julie Dick (02:52):
Yeah, it's really interesting, I find, and right
now, it's a lot of kind ofprioritizing. So you know, I'm,
I'm given a number of differentprojects. And it's like, Okay,
what should be done first, butalso trying not to leave things
on the backburner, so they'reforgotten about. And so I find
for me, I'm having to be reallyorganized and work on my
(03:13):
organization, the position I wasin before, I was working
directly with our customers. Soyou know, I was used to the
position, I had a certain, youknow, certain routine for my
day. And then now it's very muchthings pop up. So you kind of
have to roll with it. But thenyou still have to use the time
that you have to get thingsdone. And so yeah, I think for
(03:36):
me, it's been working on thatorganization, but also figuring
out how to be organized. It'slike a completely different,
different thing now. So yeah,it's been interesting. It's a
learning process.
Heather Woods (03:52):
So being organized, like how would you
say that's changed? And like,how are you thinking about it?
How are you learning to, like,manage all these new tasks and
everything?
Julie Dick (04:01):
Yeah, absolutely. I think, um, I mean, I think
everyone, you know, when youstart working, as you get more
responsibilities, you start tojust kind of, you know, you got
more on your plate, and you juststart to do a little bit more
here and there. And so I think,for me, it's just using, I don't
(04:22):
know, it's kind of using theskills that I've had before
because like you, you know, likeI said, as you move on, and you
you do more stuff you and you doyou you find what works for you,
but then you kind of have tochange it up each stage, right.
So I feel like I'm at this newstage of, you know, doing this
new position I've never donebefore. And so it's like you
(04:44):
kind of just you have yourcertain skill set, but then
you're starting a lot lower thanwhere you think you are, right.
So like, you have certainskills, they were great in your
previous position. Now you'restarting something new and so
you really don't have a lot ofthat experience. So Right now
for me, it's really aboutbuilding my kind of what I have
(05:04):
in my head is like a knowledgebase. So getting really familiar
with the projects that peopleare doing things that I didn't
know about before, and thenlearning how to incorporate that
into my day. So maybe findingthings a little bit more
quickly, or, um, you know, if Ican't, for me, personally, I
would have to organize somethingaround that, right. So it's,
(05:26):
it's about what I'm missing, butalso then what I can fill in so
that I can help the next person,whomever, you know, whatever
position they are, and sales,the next person kind of find
things easier or? Yeah, fill inthose gaps, I guess.
Heather Woods (05:42):
Yeah. So it's really, I think you highlight an
important part about kind ofmoving positions, or like even
getting a new job or something.
There's like this whole newlevel of like, self awareness,
and like, kind of re evaluatingyour skill base. You know, so
you're talking about, like,you're having to adapt and
improve upon your problemsolving skills and your
(06:05):
organization skills. And I mean,it's something we deal with, I
think, all this time is likegrowing up and becoming adults
and like, moving into thesehigher positions all the time,
right. But I also think, like,perhaps even related to, you
know, everybody says that we'removing into, like, this gig
(06:26):
economy, or, like, you know,it's not uncommon for people,
you know, of our age, to or,like, even older to, like, have
multiple careers over theirlifetime. Right. And so it's
almost like, there's always thisopportunity for, like, building
that self awareness and, andshifts and things. So it's
(06:49):
really interesting that youbrought that up, is there like
something that maybe other thanthe problem solving skills that
like, has really stood out toyou in like, being like, oh,
like, I need to work on this?
Julie Dick (07:02):
Yeah, definitely. I find it's funny, because, um,
you know, when you start Yes,it's, I guess, in this position,
I'm going to eventually belonger term goals responsible
for Yeah, like, filling thoseknowledge gaps, that kind of
thing. Something else? Yeah, I,I'm just kind of thinking about
(07:24):
what you said, Yeah. Like interms of career changing, and
that kind of thing. And, youknow, using different skills,
like, I never had a backgroundin sales, like, my background
was in psych, and I didcounseling, and then, you know,
I got a customer service job byfluke, and then moved on to
sales. And now, you know, kindof building my career that way.
(07:45):
And so for me, it's also a lotof just strategies that I've
never been taught or that I'venever really thought about, you
know, we use certain strategies,but there's oodles of them,
right? So I find for me, it'sjust kind of, you know, getting
used to a different, almost likea different kind of language,
right. So really, reallylearning more about sales as a
(08:11):
as a job, but strategy, theirmanagement, you know, so it's
really cool that way, becauseI'm learning a lot. But you
know, I might be a little bitfurther behind than someone
who's had tons of experience insales, right. So for me, it's
kind of catching up that way, aswell. But it's been really neat.
It's just, you know, trying togo with the flow, keep that
(08:34):
canoe afloat. But yeah, justkind of going that way. But
that's been something else too,just kind of making sure that I
know, making sure that I knowwhat's going on and being on the
ball that way.
Heather Woods (08:47):
Mm hmm. Yeah. And they think, like, there's a few
things that you've mentionedthat I want to like, roll back
to a few times. But I think justkeeping with this thread of like
switching the the careers andeverything. You know, there's
this openness, and, you know,acceptance of your own
(09:12):
knowledge, but then an opennessand eagerness to learn, right,
which I think is really, reallykey for that kind of mindset in
approaching this, like you said,a position that is not something
you went to school for.
Julie Dick (09:25):
Yeah.
Heather Woods (09:27):
And maybe later, we'll kind of round back to a
little bit of the educationpiece and stuff. But yeah, I
think it's really interesting,like that eagerness to learn.
Would you say that that's like askill that you've developed over
time? Or just like, Is itsomething that, you know, once
you started with this company,you kind of were very curious
about, you know, the next thingand the next thing and this next
(09:49):
thing? Or is it How has it beensomething that you've developed
over like, you know, youreducation and time and whatever
it might have been?
Julie Dick (09:58):
Yeah, great question. I would say Something
that I have developed over alonger period of time, like a, I
think, you know, I think, wayback when, when I started going
into psych. And you know, I justreally I think a part of that
was I just wanted to know moreabout people. I'm, you know,
(10:18):
very much a people person, Ireally enjoy working with
others. And I think kind of as Iwent along, I knew that I wanted
to stay with people and workthat way. But yeah, I think it's
always been like, I've alwaysbeen interested in learning
more. Because, you know, you'renever, like, there's always
(10:41):
there's always someone who'sgoing to know more, there's
always someone you can learnfrom. So I think it's really
interesting to try differentthings to meet different people.
I think a lot of the friendsthat I've had over my academic
career, at least, and then my myprofessional career, have done a
lot of different things. And soI've always found it really
(11:03):
interesting. And the team thatI'm on now, going from a
different part of sales is verytechnical. So that's also
something that I'm reallylearning I didn't I'm not I'm
not I'm more of a feel kind ofperson. I'm not super techie.
Um, so yeah, that's been kind ofa big adjustment as well. But
it's really learning a lot aboutwhat they're doing, what they're
(11:25):
working on, but also just awhole different side of the
product that we have things thatI might not have learned about
before. So I think that's beenreally interesting. So the long
answer was that the short answeris, yeah, I think it's been
something that, that I've kindof had throughout my life. And
yeah, I don't, I don't see thatchanging anytime soon. Because
(11:49):
I'm still curious.
Heather Woods (11:51):
Yeah, and I think I mean, I've known you for a few
years, say a few. But you know,I think in that talking about,
like learning and open opennessto learning, and you bring up
the people around you, and Ithink that is definitely one of
the skills that I've seen inyou, and I think is really
(12:13):
beneficial in sales. I mean, Ihave a background in sales from
another lifetime. But you know,and I think that relationship
building is so foundational,
Julie Dick (12:25):
absolutely,
Heather Woods (12:25):
you highlight a really important piece, that
it's not just building therelationship with your clients,
that's building the relationshipamongst your team, right. And
then that way, you can kind ofhave that support, and they're
able to support you and learningthis new thing is really, really
interesting to say, See, howthat kind of comes together? And
(12:47):
how much you're seeing this inyour own learning and building
relationships and being aroundpeople. It's just part of who
you are. I think, um, but yeah,I think, like, do you see that
having an influence on yourcareer trek trajectory? Or like,
even from when you started withthe company, like to where you
(13:09):
are now? And maybe where you seeyourself in the future? Like,
yeah, I love that relationshipbuilding, you know, how do you
see that being a piece of it?
Julie Dick (13:19):
Totally. I think it's a huge part of it, to be
honest, at least for me,personally. You know, I started
Yeah, like I said, I started incustomer service, I, you know,
was just curious where I couldgo next, I really liked the idea
of sales, because we were stillworking with some customers, but
it was a little bit different.
And then I started to get toknow the team a little bit
better. So I was like, you know,where can I go from here? What
(13:41):
can I try? What would I beinterested in and I was always
interested in some form oftraining or coaching. And so the
more I started to talk to mycurrent manager, my new manager,
and you know, he was interestedin having a sales enablement
position open, and so started tolook into it. And it was a lot
(14:02):
of different things, things thatI hadn't tried before, but that
I really wanted to, and then Ithink, working specifically with
him, but also with my previousmanager and my lead, you know, I
tried to be in my relationships,you know, I tried to be
dependable, reliable, so, youknow, they would come to me with
(14:24):
a problem or something to workon, you know, in terms of work.
And I would try my best to solvethe problem or to do what they
were talking about. And so Ithink there really started to be
more trust there on both sides,you know, I could go to them if
there was something that wasn'tworking for me, and they could
come to me if they, you know,had any even feedback or
constructive criticism oranything like that. But I think
(14:47):
that relationships are superimportant, no matter where you
are in life, so I think Yeah,professional relationship for
you know, they can really theycan really help in in kind of
lighting the way of where youwant to go, you know, like, I
might never have heard aboutsome of these options if I
hadn't been open with mycolleagues.
Heather Woods (15:07):
Mm hmm. For sure.
And so in buildingrelationships, maybe taking a
step back to like even buildingrelationships with clients, and
how maybe you're finding thingsnow. I believe you're working
from home. And so like, but thecompany you work for is a
virtual company. Yeah. And solike, you've had to build these
(15:28):
relationships with clientsinitially, when you started with
the company. And then now like,you're not necessarily working
in the head office, or whatever.
So you're now working with yourcolleagues virtually? Like how
have you seen that shift? Howhave you kind of negotiated
that? Or what kind of skills?
Have you seen shift maybe in avirtual setting? Then, like, if
(15:51):
you were to meet colleagues orclients face to face?
Julie Dick (15:57):
Yeah, absolutely. So we never really met clients face
to face. So it was all virtualover the phone. And so you know,
that that wasn't a huge shift.
Fortunately, we were very luckythat way. But yeah, in terms of
professionally, we have, we haveour headquarters here, but we
also have a US headquarters. Sofor a lot of my colleagues, even
(16:22):
on my team, some of them are inthe States. So we're kind of
used to having some virtualmeetings, right. And we've
always been able to work fromhome a couple days a week. So
that wasn't an enormous shift,but not being able to see
anyone, right, like not runninginto people in the kitchen or
walking by your desk, that'sbeen a bit of an adjustment. And
(16:44):
as a kind of more of anextrovert is, you know, you
know, I really enjoyed that kindof interaction, you know, just
seeing someone in your day orjust being able to say, hey,
having someone face to face. Sofor me, it's been really, it's
been interesting, because I findI'm almost sliding more to like
(17:05):
the introvert kind of end of thescale. I see it as a sliding
scale, with, you know, differentends. But yeah, so I find it's
really interesting, because, um,you know, I'm very grateful that
we can work from home and I'mgrateful that that, you know,
didn't impact what we're doing.
But yeah, it's kind of weird.
It's it's definitely different.
(17:27):
not seeing anyone ever, but Ithink our company along with so
many others are adapting, right?
Like, they're doing in differentthings. Zoom like crazy, you
know, Google Hangouts, we use,you know, slack to communicate.
So I don't know if I can dropbrand names or company names,
but I did.
Heather Woods (17:51):
Oh, it's all good. Um, but I think, is your
organization doing anything? Orlike, have you noticed anything
that's happening to kind offacilitate those like water
cooler, or like passing someonein the kitchen, kind of like
discussions, like a more laidback place where you guys can
still go and chat and kind offoster that social community?
Julie Dick (18:12):
I'm finding Yeah, so we do, we have like a town hall
every Friday. So virtually. AndI know that some people have
organized like a, an apres townhall that they go to. So
they'll, you know, chat togetherthat way. We do a lot of like,
on my team, we do a lot ofmeetings. And so we'll do work
meetings, we'll also have likesocial time we check in how
(18:34):
people are during the week, I'lldo virtual coffees with people,
even if it's just, you know, 15minutes of your day, kind of
breaking it up and seeing themas you would. So I think there
are certain things in place. Andthen in terms of the
organization, you know, we'redoing show and tells and some
different things.
Heather Woods (18:52):
So, yeah, you mentioned, like, you know,
having the virtual coffees and,you know, meeting with people
and having these socialinteractions, and, you know,
judging from what I understandof your position now that you're
kind of working with multiplestakeholders within the company,
those things I'm sure must nodoubt be, like, so important to
kind of get a sense of wherepeople are at and like a little
(19:14):
bit of perspective taking.
Julie Dick (19:15):
Absolutely, and I think for me, um, you know, it's
just been such a weird time foreverybody. And so, on a personal
level, I was doing a lot ofcoffees with people just to, you
know, check in see how you'redoing, you know, it's just
everyone kind of reacts towhat's going on right now in a
different way. But you'reabsolutely right, in terms of
(19:36):
now this position. Yeah. Likeyou have to collaborate with a
lot of different people and youcan do tons, you know, via email
or, you know, texting orwhatever. But sometimes you just
need to have that face to face.
So, you know, we're lucky thanin a time, like now where
there's a lot of technology tosupport us, you know, it's just,
(19:57):
it's I think it's great that alot of companies are jumping on
that and being able to, youknow, keep things going and even
to to do really well. So, yeah,I think it's it's definitely
different. But you know, it getsus by and do I miss people? Yes.
Do I get my job done? Yes.
Heather Woods (20:19):
Yeah, no, it's it's really interesting. And,
and so I wonder, going back tokind of your education. So you
mentioned being in psychologyand counseling, are there skills
from that training and educationthat you are finding, like, so
critical in your currentposition in sales?
Julie Dick (20:41):
Yeah, I, I have operated in sales a little bit
differently, I find that really,I think being genuine is huge,
whether it's with your customer,or with your, you know, your
colleagues or your boss, I thinkif you're able to be genuine,
(21:03):
but also show somevulnerability, I think that that
goes a long way, at least it hasin my experience. So I think
that, that in turn, a lot of mytraining, of course, has been
in, you know, being empatheticto people being an active
listener, you know, you hearabout that all the time. But
putting those skills to use helpevery day, whether it's in your
(21:26):
personal relationships in yourprofessional relationships. So I
think that those have made mebecome better at communicating.
So I think there's, it's funny,I think there's kind of a fine
line between, like, being apersonal communicator and then
professional, right. So like Isaid, learning kind of that more
tech language, but then learninghow to, you know, filter that
(21:49):
through for maybe someone who'snot so techie, that's going to
be a huge part of what I do aswell. So I think, yeah,
Heather Woods (21:56):
yeah, I mean, so there's, like, you know,
listening and having thatempathetic, but like being in
counseling, you also have thatlike lens of kind of active
listening, and kind of engaging,you know, that way. So you're
not like thinking multiple stepsahead, which in sales can be
quite difficult sometimes,right? Like, you're thinking
about, like, Oh, I need to pitchthis, I need to, you know, do
(22:17):
this add on, or whatever. And,like, get them interested in
this sweet package,
Julie Dick (22:24):
I'm glad you bring that up, because you're
absolutely right, because thenyou're actually listening to
what they want. Right? And thatat the end of the day, is what's
going to get someone to, youknow, buy in or purchase or just
to feel heard, like, really? Soyeah, you're absolutely right,
is is actually listening to whatthey want to see. I think that
that's also helps me be prettysuccessful. I mean, I hope
(22:46):
fingers Fingers crossed. But youknow, I'd like to think I am but
who knows? But yeah, no, I thinkthat's definitely helped in my
career trajectory. So yeah, Itotally agree.
Heather Woods (22:57):
And so if you were to kind of think about,
like, key skills that like ifsomebody wanted to be in the
position that you're in and dothis sales enablement, and, you
know, working with multiplestakeholders in the group, and
organization, what kind of wouldthose skills be like, if you
were to kind of narrow down onlike, Okay, I need to work on
(23:19):
these three top skills to becomea sales enablement specialist.
Julie Dick (23:24):
It's tough, um, I will preface this for anyone
listening by I still have a lotto learn. But in my, in my
experience, I think that therehas to be, I think you have to
be aware of yourself. Like, Ithink you have to have a lot of
self awareness, I think thatyou, you know, you pinpoint what
(23:45):
you're what you're good at, andyou, you roll with the things
that you're successful at. But,you know, there's always going
to be somewhere where you canlearn and improve, right, so
being aware of both of those isreally key. And I think that
prioritizing, like I mentioned,so you know, coming up with, you
(24:06):
have to make some decisions,right? So I'm have good decision
making options there. And sothen you can decide what you
actually want to work on whatyou want to do. And in that, I
think as well being flexible,and adaptable, you know, I can
have my day, you know, routineout and I can decide scheduled
(24:26):
that for it. I want. I can havemy day scheduled. And, you know,
I can decide what I'm going todo. I can see it ahead. And then
all of a sudden, I have youknow, three meetings booked last
minute and they're about, youknow, competing priorities, but
very important thing. So, Ithink that being flexible is
also really important. You kindof have to roll with what you're
doing. And I think that's, Ithink those are really in any,
(24:50):
in any but in a lot of differentpositions. You know, in a lot of
professional settings. I thinkthose are just going to be
things that will carry someoneto do well.
Heather Woods (24:59):
Mm hmm.
Certainly. And so it's like,interesting because you said you
kind of haphazardly ended up inthis sales position, even though
you're, you know, trained inpsychology and as a therapist,
and researcher as well, right.
And so it brings up theimportance of, like you said,
(25:22):
that self awareness and knowingyour self and what you're
capable of. And so I wonder,like those transferable skills,
and so like, taking that andwhat you've learned from your
training previously, youracademic training, and then
translating that into, you know,finding these positions that
(25:44):
maybe you didn't even think werea possibility before.
Julie Dick (25:47):
Yeah, totally.
Heather Woods (25:48):
And so, I wonder, was there any, like, during that
time, when you were moving intosales? What like, what was your
thinking process? Maybe this isgoing back, like a while,
because you've been in with thehere position for a while. But,
you know, what kind of thinkingdid you go through to kind of
make yourself marketable to, youknow, this kind of other
(26:13):
industry?
Julie Dick (26:14):
Yeah, great question. I think, um, yeah,
like, when I went throughschool, you're absolutely right.
I think like, psych andcounseling really appealed to
me, because, um, like I said, Iliked the idea of, you know,
learning more about peopleworking with people, etc. So
throughout my career, I'vealways wanted to kind of come
back to that, um, but I thinkjust kind of changing my
(26:36):
mindset, right, like, realizingthat there's not going to be
there's definitely not one pathcoming out of psych, there's a
whole bunch of different stuffthat you can do. And I think, as
I went along, I was like, Well,what exactly is that? What are
some of the skills that I canuse here a while I'm still
working with people, I likethat, I can still build
(26:57):
relationships with people, eventhough we're not actually
together, and we'll be you know,virtual over the phone,
whatever. You know, I can stillhelp people at the end of the
day, that's, that's maybe thebiggest thing, right? Is I
really like the idea of helpingpeople. And I think that still
fits in my position now, becauseI'm actually helping my team
members. And so I think thoseare some of the the things that
(27:22):
I really like, to my core, youknow, or that I, that I take
with me. And so realizing that Icould still do this, this
different option that I neverwould have thought of before,
still really appealed to me,because I could see what the
value was for me as a person. Soyeah, I think that's, that's
kind of what what I liked aboutit was that I could, I could, I
(27:46):
felt like I could make it myown. But it still felt like I
was, you know, being true towhat I wanted.
Heather Woods (27:53):
Yeah. And I mean, just hitting me kind of now,
which is silly, because I am aresearcher, you know, your
experience and doing research,like, I just see so many
parallels in the problemsolving, and like, you're
learning new skills, you'relearning about this whole new
area of I mean, in this case,technology, and, you know,
(28:15):
technical terms and stuff andsales stuff. But you know, like,
I think being a researcher setsyou up for being able to explore
those and, you know, gather thatinformation, synthesize what
you're learning a little bit,you know, it certainly doesn't
hurt. I think, know that. That'sfantastic. Any other kind of
(28:39):
like, final thoughts about like,different social emotional
competencies that maybe you see,or think are, you know, pivotal
to either shifting kind ofindustry or, you know, in sales,
that type of thing?
Julie Dick (28:54):
Yeah, I think it's funny, it kind of made me think
of it when when, you know, youwere chatting there, when you
were like, I think it takes alot of reflection as well. And I
think that's really in any, anyprofessional setting. I think,
if you can, you know, take thetime to think about what you're
(29:15):
doing and what you want to do,and trying something new, while
figuring out what it is thatthat you that you want or that
works for you. I think if youcan reflect on that. And, you
know, come back to what it isthat that drew you there and
what it is that you want to try.
I don't know, I think that couldbe helpful as well. Or maybe I'm
rambling.
Heather Woods (29:38):
No, I think I think that level of reflection
is like pivotal to finding thoseopportunities that may be
outside of what you thought,were the only possibilities like
what do you do with a psychdegree? Well, you go into
counseling, you go into somesort of support work or right
like human services. Some sort
Julie Dick (30:00):
and then what do you do? it you know, what do you do
if that's not the way you wantto go, you know, you want
something new?
Heather Woods (30:08):
Yeah, taking that step back and reflecting on what
you really like about, you know,psychology or whatever your
training was in think is such animportant message to thinking
outside the box a little bit.
Julie Dick (30:22):
Thanks friend.
Heather Woods (30:24):
So thank you so much for sharing. And thank you
so much for joining us today,Julie, really appreciate it.
It's so fruitful and interestingto kind of see where you're at
these days, but also just, youknow, learn about how these
these skills and processes areworking in a different setting
that's outside of academia orteaching and, you know, that
(30:48):
sort of thing. So it's veryrefreshing. And I really
appreciate you taking the timetoday.
Julie Dick (30:53):
Thanks so much for having me. It's a lot of fun. It
was, it's nice to chat aboutsomeone who, you know, knows my
background. And you know, it'snice to have that conversation,
see it a little differently. Sothank you.
Heather Woods (31:04):
Thank you. Thank you for listening to the SEL in
Action podcast with your hostmyself, Heather Woods. And today
we're speaking with Julie abouther experiences, and shifting
kind of careers and thinkingmindset about you know, what
industry she would end up within her educational background
and then shifting intosomething, you know, that was a
(31:26):
little bit unexpected for her.
But then also what skills arereally critical for making those
shifts and being self aware. Andthen in sales, where she is now
really looking at thosecommunication and collaboration
skills, building thoserelationships with clients and
your colleagues to really exceland build those strong
relationships. Thank you again,Julie. And if you're interested
(31:49):
in furthering this discussion,feel free to reach out on
Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook.
You can find us atSEL-in-Action.com as well. Next
time we will be chatting with myteaching team from the
University of Ottawa, withmyself and my team teaching
(32:11):
assistants, about how weintegrate social emotional
learning and online learningsettings for graduate students.
Thank you so much, and we'lltalk to you next time.
Hello, you're listening to the SEL in Action
podcast, the podcast where weexplore what social and
emotional learning looks like ineducational and professional
settings. I'm your host, HeatherWoods. And today on episode six,
we'll be talking to Julie dickabout her position and the
skills that she enacts as asales enablement specialist.
Thank you so much, Julie, forjoining us today. I'm really
(00:23):
excited to have you here.
Julie Dick (00:25):
Yeah. Thanks so much. I'm really excited to be
here.
Heather Woods (00:27):
So can you tell me a little bit about what sales
enablist or enablementspecialist does?
Julie Dick (00:35):
Yeah, absolutely. So a sales enablement specialist is
something that I really didn'thear about before I started in
sales. Basically, what it is,it's kind of a whole bunch of
little things. When I firststarted hearing about it, I
thought it was a lot abouttraining, mostly, you know,
focusing on that, but there'salso a lot of strategy behind
(00:55):
it. And you're working withdifferent departments as well.
So working closely withmarketing and product about what
you know, you're actuallybuilding and how to talk about
it. So there's a whole bunch oflittle things. And it really
does change, depending on youknow, what kind of company
you're with what their goalsare, but you're basically
helping sales get what theyneed, so they can be the most
(01:18):
efficient and effective at theirjob.
Heather Woods (01:20):
So what I'm hearing there is like, it seems
like there's like a lot ofcollaboration and communication
that's needed. So can you kindof tell me a little bit about
maybe what that looks like on aday to day? You know, situation?
Julie Dick (01:34):
Yeah, absolutely. So I'm still very new in my
position, I've only been in theposition for actually less than
a month now. So it really isdifferent. And the company that
I'm at, this is the first salesenablement position that we've
ever had. So we're also kind ofbuilding it together. And so so
far, what I've been working onare some different projects that
(01:57):
work with, you know, newindividuals who are using our
tech, but also helping, youknow, other sales agents get a
little bit better or learn alittle bit more about the
position. We have bigger plansin the future. But short term,
what I've been doing is actuallyworking on some training modules
(02:17):
for an individual who's going tobe joining us, they're an
internal, an internal hire. Soum, yeah, I've been doing a lot
of training some of the shorterterm projects that we have, but
it's been a lot of adapting sofar, because it's a pretty busy
and there's always seems likethere's something else kind of
around the corner.
Heather Woods (02:36):
Yeah. So it's really interesting. Like you
mentioned, the adapting and kindof building this position
together is like the company'snever had it before. So I wonder
like, what kind of problemsolving skills are you facing?
Are you like navigating as yougo through this?
Julie Dick (02:52):
Yeah, it's really interesting, I find, and right
now, it's a lot of kind ofprioritizing. So you know, I'm,
I'm given a number of differentprojects. And it's like, Okay,
what should be done first, butalso trying not to leave things
on the backburner, so they'reforgotten about. And so I find
for me, I'm having to be reallyorganized and work on my
(03:13):
organization, the position I wasin before, I was working
directly with our customers. Soyou know, I was used to the
position, I had a certain, youknow, certain routine for my
day. And then now it's very muchthings pop up. So you kind of
have to roll with it. But thenyou still have to use the time
that you have to get thingsdone. And so yeah, I think for
(03:36):
me, it's been working on thatorganization, but also figuring
out how to be organized. It'slike a completely different,
different thing now. So yeah,it's been interesting. It's a
learning process.
Heather Woods (03:52):
So being organized, like how would you
say that's changed? And like,how are you thinking about it?
How are you learning to, like,manage all these new tasks and
everything?
Julie Dick (04:01):
Yeah, absolutely. I think, um, I mean, I think
everyone, you know, when youstart working, as you get more
responsibilities, you start tojust kind of, you know, you got
more on your plate, and you juststart to do a little bit more
here and there. And so I think,for me, it's just using, I don't
(04:22):
know, it's kind of using theskills that I've had before
because like you, you know, likeI said, as you move on, and you
you do more stuff you and you doyou you find what works for you,
but then you kind of have tochange it up each stage, right.
So I feel like I'm at this newstage of, you know, doing this
new position I've never donebefore. And so it's like you
(04:44):
kind of just you have yourcertain skill set, but then
you're starting a lot lower thanwhere you think you are, right.
So like, you have certainskills, they were great in your
previous position. Now you'restarting something new and so
you really don't have a lot ofthat experience. So Right now
for me, it's really aboutbuilding my kind of what I have
(05:04):
in my head is like a knowledgebase. So getting really familiar
with the projects that peopleare doing things that I didn't
know about before, and thenlearning how to incorporate that
into my day. So maybe findingthings a little bit more
quickly, or, um, you know, if Ican't, for me, personally, I
would have to organize somethingaround that, right. So it's,
(05:26):
it's about what I'm missing, butalso then what I can fill in so
that I can help the next person,whomever, you know, whatever
position they are, and sales,the next person kind of find
things easier or? Yeah, fill inthose gaps, I guess.
Heather Woods (05:42):
Yeah. So it's really, I think you highlight an
important part about kind ofmoving positions, or like even
getting a new job or something.
There's like this whole newlevel of like, self awareness,
and like, kind of re evaluatingyour skill base. You know, so
you're talking about, like,you're having to adapt and
improve upon your problemsolving skills and your
(06:05):
organization skills. And I mean,it's something we deal with, I
think, all this time is likegrowing up and becoming adults
and like, moving into thesehigher positions all the time,
right. But I also think, like,perhaps even related to, you
know, everybody says that we'removing into, like, this gig
(06:26):
economy, or, like, you know,it's not uncommon for people,
you know, of our age, to or,like, even older to, like, have
multiple careers over theirlifetime. Right. And so it's
almost like, there's always thisopportunity for, like, building
that self awareness and, andshifts and things. So it's
(06:49):
really interesting that youbrought that up, is there like
something that maybe other thanthe problem solving skills that
like, has really stood out toyou in like, being like, oh,
like, I need to work on this?
Julie Dick (07:02):
Yeah, definitely. I find it's funny, because, um,
you know, when you start Yes,it's, I guess, in this position,
I'm going to eventually belonger term goals responsible
for Yeah, like, filling thoseknowledge gaps, that kind of
thing. Something else? Yeah, I,I'm just kind of thinking about
(07:24):
what you said, Yeah. Like interms of career changing, and
that kind of thing. And, youknow, using different skills,
like, I never had a backgroundin sales, like, my background
was in psych, and I didcounseling, and then, you know,
I got a customer service job byfluke, and then moved on to
sales. And now, you know, kindof building my career that way.
(07:45):
And so for me, it's also a lotof just strategies that I've
never been taught or that I'venever really thought about, you
know, we use certain strategies,but there's oodles of them,
right? So I find for me, it'sjust kind of, you know, getting
used to a different, almost likea different kind of language,
right. So really, reallylearning more about sales as a
(08:11):
as a job, but strategy, theirmanagement, you know, so it's
really cool that way, becauseI'm learning a lot. But you
know, I might be a little bitfurther behind than someone
who's had tons of experience insales, right. So for me, it's
kind of catching up that way, aswell. But it's been really neat.
It's just, you know, trying togo with the flow, keep that
(08:34):
canoe afloat. But yeah, justkind of going that way. But
that's been something else too,just kind of making sure that I
know, making sure that I knowwhat's going on and being on the
ball that way.
Heather Woods (08:47):
Mm hmm. Yeah. And they think, like, there's a few
things that you've mentionedthat I want to like, roll back
to a few times. But I think justkeeping with this thread of like
switching the the careers andeverything. You know, there's
this openness, and, you know,acceptance of your own
(09:12):
knowledge, but then an opennessand eagerness to learn, right,
which I think is really, reallykey for that kind of mindset in
approaching this, like you said,a position that is not something
you went to school for.
Julie Dick (09:25):
Yeah.
Heather Woods (09:27):
And maybe later, we'll kind of round back to a
little bit of the educationpiece and stuff. But yeah, I
think it's really interesting,like that eagerness to learn.
Would you say that that's like askill that you've developed over
time? Or just like, Is itsomething that, you know, once
you started with this company,you kind of were very curious
about, you know, the next thingand the next thing and this next
(09:49):
thing? Or is it How has it beensomething that you've developed
over like, you know, youreducation and time and whatever
it might have been?
Julie Dick (09:58):
Yeah, great question. I would say Something
that I have developed over alonger period of time, like a, I
think, you know, I think, wayback when, when I started going
into psych. And you know, I justreally I think a part of that
was I just wanted to know moreabout people. I'm, you know,
(10:18):
very much a people person, Ireally enjoy working with
others. And I think kind of as Iwent along, I knew that I wanted
to stay with people and workthat way. But yeah, I think it's
always been like, I've alwaysbeen interested in learning
more. Because, you know, you'renever, like, there's always
(10:41):
there's always someone who'sgoing to know more, there's
always someone you can learnfrom. So I think it's really
interesting to try differentthings to meet different people.
I think a lot of the friendsthat I've had over my academic
career, at least, and then my myprofessional career, have done a
lot of different things. And soI've always found it really
(11:03):
interesting. And the team thatI'm on now, going from a
different part of sales is verytechnical. So that's also
something that I'm reallylearning I didn't I'm not I'm
not I'm more of a feel kind ofperson. I'm not super techie.
Um, so yeah, that's been kind ofa big adjustment as well. But
it's really learning a lot aboutwhat they're doing, what they're
(11:25):
working on, but also just awhole different side of the
product that we have things thatI might not have learned about
before. So I think that's beenreally interesting. So the long
answer was that the short answeris, yeah, I think it's been
something that, that I've kindof had throughout my life. And
yeah, I don't, I don't see thatchanging anytime soon. Because
(11:49):
I'm still curious.
Heather Woods (11:51):
Yeah, and I think I mean, I've known you for a few
years, say a few. But you know,I think in that talking about,
like learning and open opennessto learning, and you bring up
the people around you, and Ithink that is definitely one of
the skills that I've seen inyou, and I think is really
(12:13):
beneficial in sales. I mean, Ihave a background in sales from
another lifetime. But you know,and I think that relationship
building is so foundational,
Julie Dick (12:25):
absolutely,
Heather Woods (12:25):
you highlight a really important piece, that
it's not just building therelationship with your clients,
that's building the relationshipamongst your team, right. And
then that way, you can kind ofhave that support, and they're
able to support you and learningthis new thing is really, really
interesting to say, See, howthat kind of comes together? And
(12:47):
how much you're seeing this inyour own learning and building
relationships and being aroundpeople. It's just part of who
you are. I think, um, but yeah,I think, like, do you see that
having an influence on yourcareer trek trajectory? Or like,
even from when you started withthe company, like to where you
(13:09):
are now? And maybe where you seeyourself in the future? Like,
yeah, I love that relationshipbuilding, you know, how do you
see that being a piece of it?
Julie Dick (13:19):
Totally. I think it's a huge part of it, to be
honest, at least for me,personally. You know, I started
Yeah, like I said, I started incustomer service, I, you know,
was just curious where I couldgo next, I really liked the idea
of sales, because we were stillworking with some customers, but
it was a little bit different.
And then I started to get toknow the team a little bit
better. So I was like, you know,where can I go from here? What
(13:41):
can I try? What would I beinterested in and I was always
interested in some form oftraining or coaching. And so the
more I started to talk to mycurrent manager, my new manager,
and you know, he was interestedin having a sales enablement
position open, and so started tolook into it. And it was a lot
(14:02):
of different things, things thatI hadn't tried before, but that
I really wanted to, and then Ithink, working specifically with
him, but also with my previousmanager and my lead, you know, I
tried to be in my relationships,you know, I tried to be
dependable, reliable, so, youknow, they would come to me with
(14:24):
a problem or something to workon, you know, in terms of work.
And I would try my best to solvethe problem or to do what they
were talking about. And so Ithink there really started to be
more trust there on both sides,you know, I could go to them if
there was something that wasn'tworking for me, and they could
come to me if they, you know,had any even feedback or
constructive criticism oranything like that. But I think
(14:47):
that relationships are superimportant, no matter where you
are in life, so I think Yeah,professional relationship for
you know, they can really theycan really help in in kind of
lighting the way of where youwant to go, you know, like, I
might never have heard aboutsome of these options if I
hadn't been open with mycolleagues.
Heather Woods (15:07):
Mm hmm. For sure.
And so in buildingrelationships, maybe taking a
step back to like even buildingrelationships with clients, and
how maybe you're finding thingsnow. I believe you're working
from home. And so like, but thecompany you work for is a
virtual company. Yeah. And solike, you've had to build these
(15:28):
relationships with clientsinitially, when you started with
the company. And then now like,you're not necessarily working
in the head office, or whatever.
So you're now working with yourcolleagues virtually? Like how
have you seen that shift? Howhave you kind of negotiated
that? Or what kind of skills?
Have you seen shift maybe in avirtual setting? Then, like, if
(15:51):
you were to meet colleagues orclients face to face?
Julie Dick (15:57):
Yeah, absolutely. So we never really met clients face
to face. So it was all virtualover the phone. And so you know,
that that wasn't a huge shift.
Fortunately, we were very luckythat way. But yeah, in terms of
professionally, we have, we haveour headquarters here, but we
also have a US headquarters. Sofor a lot of my colleagues, even
(16:22):
on my team, some of them are inthe States. So we're kind of
used to having some virtualmeetings, right. And we've
always been able to work fromhome a couple days a week. So
that wasn't an enormous shift,but not being able to see
anyone, right, like not runninginto people in the kitchen or
walking by your desk, that'sbeen a bit of an adjustment. And
(16:44):
as a kind of more of anextrovert is, you know, you
know, I really enjoyed that kindof interaction, you know, just
seeing someone in your day orjust being able to say, hey,
having someone face to face. Sofor me, it's been really, it's
been interesting, because I findI'm almost sliding more to like
(17:05):
the introvert kind of end of thescale. I see it as a sliding
scale, with, you know, differentends. But yeah, so I find it's
really interesting, because, um,you know, I'm very grateful that
we can work from home and I'mgrateful that that, you know,
didn't impact what we're doing.
But yeah, it's kind of weird.
It's it's definitely different.
(17:27):
not seeing anyone ever, but Ithink our company along with so
many others are adapting, right?
Like, they're doing in differentthings. Zoom like crazy, you
know, Google Hangouts, we use,you know, slack to communicate.
So I don't know if I can dropbrand names or company names,
but I did.
Heather Woods (17:51):
Oh, it's all good. Um, but I think, is your
organization doing anything? Orlike, have you noticed anything
that's happening to kind offacilitate those like water
cooler, or like passing someonein the kitchen, kind of like
discussions, like a more laidback place where you guys can
still go and chat and kind offoster that social community?
Julie Dick (18:12):
I'm finding Yeah, so we do, we have like a town hall
every Friday. So virtually. AndI know that some people have
organized like a, an apres townhall that they go to. So
they'll, you know, chat togetherthat way. We do a lot of like,
on my team, we do a lot ofmeetings. And so we'll do work
meetings, we'll also have likesocial time we check in how
(18:34):
people are during the week, I'lldo virtual coffees with people,
even if it's just, you know, 15minutes of your day, kind of
breaking it up and seeing themas you would. So I think there
are certain things in place. Andthen in terms of the
organization, you know, we'redoing show and tells and some
different things.
Heather Woods (18:52):
So, yeah, you mentioned, like, you know,
having the virtual coffees and,you know, meeting with people
and having these socialinteractions, and, you know,
judging from what I understandof your position now that you're
kind of working with multiplestakeholders within the company,
those things I'm sure must nodoubt be, like, so important to
kind of get a sense of wherepeople are at and like a little
(19:14):
bit of perspective taking.
Julie Dick (19:15):
Absolutely, and I think for me, um, you know, it's
just been such a weird time foreverybody. And so, on a personal
level, I was doing a lot ofcoffees with people just to, you
know, check in see how you'redoing, you know, it's just
everyone kind of reacts towhat's going on right now in a
different way. But you'reabsolutely right, in terms of
(19:36):
now this position. Yeah. Likeyou have to collaborate with a
lot of different people and youcan do tons, you know, via email
or, you know, texting orwhatever. But sometimes you just
need to have that face to face.
So, you know, we're lucky thanin a time, like now where
there's a lot of technology tosupport us, you know, it's just,
(19:57):
it's I think it's great that alot of companies are jumping on
that and being able to, youknow, keep things going and even
to to do really well. So, yeah,I think it's it's definitely
different. But you know, it getsus by and do I miss people? Yes.
Do I get my job done? Yes.
Heather Woods (20:19):
Yeah, no, it's it's really interesting. And,
and so I wonder, going back tokind of your education. So you
mentioned being in psychologyand counseling, are there skills
from that training and educationthat you are finding, like, so
critical in your currentposition in sales?
Julie Dick (20:41):
Yeah, I, I have operated in sales a little bit
differently, I find that really,I think being genuine is huge,
whether it's with your customer,or with your, you know, your
colleagues or your boss, I thinkif you're able to be genuine,
(21:03):
but also show somevulnerability, I think that that
goes a long way, at least it hasin my experience. So I think
that, that in turn, a lot of mytraining, of course, has been
in, you know, being empatheticto people being an active
listener, you know, you hearabout that all the time. But
putting those skills to use helpevery day, whether it's in your
(21:26):
personal relationships in yourprofessional relationships. So I
think that those have made mebecome better at communicating.
So I think there's, it's funny,I think there's kind of a fine
line between, like, being apersonal communicator and then
professional, right. So like Isaid, learning kind of that more
tech language, but then learninghow to, you know, filter that
(21:49):
through for maybe someone who'snot so techie, that's going to
be a huge part of what I do aswell. So I think, yeah,
Heather Woods (21:56):
yeah, I mean, so there's, like, you know,
listening and having thatempathetic, but like being in
counseling, you also have thatlike lens of kind of active
listening, and kind of engaging,you know, that way. So you're
not like thinking multiple stepsahead, which in sales can be
quite difficult sometimes,right? Like, you're thinking
about, like, Oh, I need to pitchthis, I need to, you know, do
(22:17):
this add on, or whatever. And,like, get them interested in
this sweet package,
Julie Dick (22:24):
I'm glad you bring that up, because you're
absolutely right, because thenyou're actually listening to
what they want. Right? And thatat the end of the day, is what's
going to get someone to, youknow, buy in or purchase or just
to feel heard, like, really? Soyeah, you're absolutely right,
is is actually listening to whatthey want to see. I think that
that's also helps me be prettysuccessful. I mean, I hope
(22:46):
fingers Fingers crossed. But youknow, I'd like to think I am but
who knows? But yeah, no, I thinkthat's definitely helped in my
career trajectory. So yeah, Itotally agree.
Heather Woods (22:57):
And so if you were to kind of think about,
like, key skills that like ifsomebody wanted to be in the
position that you're in and dothis sales enablement, and, you
know, working with multiplestakeholders in the group, and
organization, what kind of wouldthose skills be like, if you
were to kind of narrow down onlike, Okay, I need to work on
(23:19):
these three top skills to becomea sales enablement specialist.
Julie Dick (23:24):
It's tough, um, I will preface this for anyone
listening by I still have a lotto learn. But in my, in my
experience, I think that therehas to be, I think you have to
be aware of yourself. Like, Ithink you have to have a lot of
self awareness, I think thatyou, you know, you pinpoint what
(23:45):
you're what you're good at, andyou, you roll with the things
that you're successful at. But,you know, there's always going
to be somewhere where you canlearn and improve, right, so
being aware of both of those isreally key. And I think that
prioritizing, like I mentioned,so you know, coming up with, you
(24:06):
have to make some decisions,right? So I'm have good decision
making options there. And sothen you can decide what you
actually want to work on whatyou want to do. And in that, I
think as well being flexible,and adaptable, you know, I can
have my day, you know, routineout and I can decide scheduled
(24:26):
that for it. I want. I can havemy day scheduled. And, you know,
I can decide what I'm going todo. I can see it ahead. And then
all of a sudden, I have youknow, three meetings booked last
minute and they're about, youknow, competing priorities, but
very important thing. So, Ithink that being flexible is
also really important. You kindof have to roll with what you're
doing. And I think that's, Ithink those are really in any,
(24:50):
in any but in a lot of differentpositions. You know, in a lot of
professional settings. I thinkthose are just going to be
things that will carry someoneto do well.
Heather Woods (24:59):
Mm hmm.
Certainly. And so it's like,interesting because you said you
kind of haphazardly ended up inthis sales position, even though
you're, you know, trained inpsychology and as a therapist,
and researcher as well, right.
And so it brings up theimportance of, like you said,
(25:22):
that self awareness and knowingyour self and what you're
capable of. And so I wonder,like those transferable skills,
and so like, taking that andwhat you've learned from your
training previously, youracademic training, and then
translating that into, you know,finding these positions that
(25:44):
maybe you didn't even think werea possibility before.
Julie Dick (25:47):
Yeah, totally.
Heather Woods (25:48):
And so, I wonder, was there any, like, during that
time, when you were moving intosales? What like, what was your
thinking process? Maybe this isgoing back, like a while,
because you've been in with thehere position for a while. But,
you know, what kind of thinkingdid you go through to kind of
make yourself marketable to, youknow, this kind of other
(26:13):
industry?
Julie Dick (26:14):
Yeah, great question. I think, um, yeah,
like, when I went throughschool, you're absolutely right.
I think like, psych andcounseling really appealed to
me, because, um, like I said, Iliked the idea of, you know,
learning more about peopleworking with people, etc. So
throughout my career, I'vealways wanted to kind of come
back to that, um, but I thinkjust kind of changing my
(26:36):
mindset, right, like, realizingthat there's not going to be
there's definitely not one pathcoming out of psych, there's a
whole bunch of different stuffthat you can do. And I think, as
I went along, I was like, Well,what exactly is that? What are
some of the skills that I canuse here a while I'm still
working with people, I likethat, I can still build
(26:57):
relationships with people, eventhough we're not actually
together, and we'll be you know,virtual over the phone,
whatever. You know, I can stillhelp people at the end of the
day, that's, that's maybe thebiggest thing, right? Is I
really like the idea of helpingpeople. And I think that still
fits in my position now, becauseI'm actually helping my team
members. And so I think thoseare some of the the things that
(27:22):
I really like, to my core, youknow, or that I, that I take
with me. And so realizing that Icould still do this, this
different option that I neverwould have thought of before,
still really appealed to me,because I could see what the
value was for me as a person. Soyeah, I think that's, that's
kind of what what I liked aboutit was that I could, I could, I
(27:46):
felt like I could make it myown. But it still felt like I
was, you know, being true towhat I wanted.
Heather Woods (27:53):
Yeah. And I mean, just hitting me kind of now,
which is silly, because I am aresearcher, you know, your
experience and doing research,like, I just see so many
parallels in the problemsolving, and like, you're
learning new skills, you'relearning about this whole new
area of I mean, in this case,technology, and, you know,
(28:15):
technical terms and stuff andsales stuff. But you know, like,
I think being a researcher setsyou up for being able to explore
those and, you know, gather thatinformation, synthesize what
you're learning a little bit,you know, it certainly doesn't
hurt. I think, know that. That'sfantastic. Any other kind of
(28:39):
like, final thoughts about like,different social emotional
competencies that maybe you see,or think are, you know, pivotal
to either shifting kind ofindustry or, you know, in sales,
that type of thing?
Julie Dick (28:54):
Yeah, I think it's funny, it kind of made me think
of it when when, you know, youwere chatting there, when you
were like, I think it takes alot of reflection as well. And I
think that's really in any, anyprofessional setting. I think,
if you can, you know, take thetime to think about what you're
(29:15):
doing and what you want to do,and trying something new, while
figuring out what it is thatthat you that you want or that
works for you. I think if youcan reflect on that. And, you
know, come back to what it isthat that drew you there and
what it is that you want to try.
I don't know, I think that couldbe helpful as well. Or maybe I'm
rambling.
Heather Woods (29:38):
No, I think I think that level of reflection
is like pivotal to finding thoseopportunities that may be
outside of what you thought,were the only possibilities like
what do you do with a psychdegree? Well, you go into
counseling, you go into somesort of support work or right
like human services. Some sort
Julie Dick (30:00):
and then what do you do? it you know, what do you do
if that's not the way you wantto go, you know, you want
something new?
Heather Woods (30:08):
Yeah, taking that step back and reflecting on what
you really like about, you know,psychology or whatever your
training was in think is such animportant message to thinking
outside the box a little bit.
Julie Dick (30:22):
Thanks friend.
Heather Woods (30:24):
So thank you so much for sharing. And thank you
so much for joining us today,Julie, really appreciate it.
It's so fruitful and interestingto kind of see where you're at
these days, but also just, youknow, learn about how these
these skills and processes areworking in a different setting
that's outside of academia orteaching and, you know, that
(30:48):
sort of thing. So it's veryrefreshing. And I really
appreciate you taking the timetoday.
Julie Dick (30:53):
Thanks so much for having me. It's a lot of fun. It
was, it's nice to chat aboutsomeone who, you know, knows my
background. And you know, it'snice to have that conversation,
see it a little differently. Sothank you.
Heather Woods (31:04):
Thank you. Thank you for listening to the SEL in
Action podcast with your hostmyself, Heather Woods. And today
we're speaking with Julie abouther experiences, and shifting
kind of careers and thinkingmindset about you know, what
industry she would end up within her educational background
and then shifting intosomething, you know, that was a
(31:26):
little bit unexpected for her.
But then also what skills arereally critical for making those
shifts and being self aware. Andthen in sales, where she is now
really looking at thosecommunication and collaboration
skills, building thoserelationships with clients and
your colleagues to really exceland build those strong
relationships. Thank you again,Julie. And if you're interested
(31:49):
in furthering this discussion,feel free to reach out on
Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook.
You can find us atSEL-in-Action.com as well. Next
time we will be chatting with myteaching team from the
University of Ottawa, withmyself and my team teaching
(32:11):
assistants, about how weintegrate social emotional
learning and online learningsettings for graduate students.
Thank you so much, and we'lltalk to you next time.
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