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Paty Arias

What does a typical day for you consist of?
As the Director of Customer Success, no two days are the same. My work is largely driven by customer needs, and those needs change depending on the time of year. Our clients are school districts, so right now we are busy preparing for the upcoming back-to-school season. This involves working closely with sales representatives, understanding our upcoming product roadmap, meeting with internal teams to provide feedback on platform features, and forecasting our workload for the next few months to ensure that we’re staffed appropriately. I lead a team of 10 people, so part of my day usually involves 1:1 meetings and coaching with my direct reports.
 
What advice would you give someone considering this career?

I would strongly encourage those who are interested in getting into the tech field to consider the Customer Success track. If you have good communication skills, can build relationships with a diverse group of people, enjoy solving problems, and excel at managing multiple projects at the same time, this might be the career for you! This path can lead to a management role or it can open doors to other fields within tech, such as product management, sales, project management and even technical roles if you are a diligent learner. The skills you gain working in Customer Success are also transferable to a number of different industries.

What is a book or movie that has inspired you?

Never Split The Difference by Chris Voss taught me that everything in life is a negotiation. Reading his book opened my eyes to the power of emotional intelligence as it relates to conflict resolution and communication.

Do you (or your company) offer internships or job shadow opportunities to high school students? If so, how would a student go about applying for one of those?

Internship opportunities have been offered in the past. I would recommend following McGraw Hill on LinkedIn for company updates and potential opportunities.

Links:

LinkedIn

McGraw Hill Website