Informational Interview of Michelle Wu of the American Heart Association
By Liz Kislik

From the desk of Liz Kislik, a Career Center Advocate Email: advocate@career.ucla.edu

I am a first year UCLA student and work as an intern at the UCLA Career Center. This is part of a series of informational interviews I have conducted with prominent professionals in a wide range of interesting career fields. I have chosen to do this series in order to inform the UCLA student body about the advantages and disadvantages of certain careers. People who work in these professions will give their personal advice as to how to succeed in their fields. The purpose of this series is both to help you explore careers and to demonstrate informational interviewing. The interviews will detail the “pluses” and “minuses” of particular careers and what they entail. Hopefully, this will help you decide whether a particular career is the right one for you. I want students to know what is out there, in terms of career opportunities, and frequently, students do not consider job options that are out of the ordinary. I plan to raise awareness about non-mainstream professions. All the people interviewed are UCLA alumni.

Also, one of my goals is to inform you about the importance and benefits of informational interviewing and how to go about doing it. I received a great list of possible questions from Shari Cohen, a career counselor at the UCLA Career Center, and one of the advisors for the Career Center advocates. Tips for informational interviewing are listed on the Center’s web site starting at career.ucla.edu/OnlineInterviewWorkshop. I hope my informational interviews series are helpful and instructive. Good luck in your career searches!

Informational Interview of Michelle Wu of the American Heart Association
Previous Major at UCLA: Communication Studies
Job Title: Senior Director, Corporate Events

LK: Explain your position and the major responsibilities of your position.

MW: As Senior Director of Corporate Events:

- Profit & loss responsibility for Heart Walk LA, the premier fundraiser of the AHA.
- Fundraising through corporate sponsorships and community walk teams.
- Plan, implement and oversee the Heart Walk, with an attendance of 15,000 people, including logistics, vendors, city compliance, marketing, and volunteers.
- Develop media exposure for Heart Walk LA through partnerships with radio and print.
- Create and negotiate sponsorships.
- Build sponsorship, corporate relations, and employee participation partnerships with prominent companies in Los Angeles, including Bank of America, Boeing, DirecTV, Herbalife, Mattel, Northrop Grumman, Petco, Raytheon, and Xerox.
- Produce additional high-quality promotional and fundraising events such as the Leadership Breakfast, the “Queen of Hearts Floating Club and Casino” Kickoff, and the Heart Ball Galas.
- Write Walk Talk newsletters, develop print advertisements, and write radio PSA copy.
- Recruit, hire, and train staff and an executive committee who help to administer the event.

LK: How do you spend a typical day?

MW: Each day can vary a lot, though there are three typical types of days:

- Office day – Administrative tasks, forecasting and reporting, compile materials and prepare for meetings, internal meetings.
- Client meetings – Prospect new companies, meet with new clients, negotiate sponsorships, presentations to groups, recruit, train, socialize with corporate volunteers.
- Home office days – Strategy and planning, conference calls with existing clients, plan media, marketing, event concepts, lots of emailing.

LK: What skills and education are needed to enter your field?

MW: - Education: BA will help you get the job and accelerate your career.
- Skills: organization, prioritization, speaking and presentation skills, sales abilities, tenacity, professional demeanor.

LK: What are the challenges of your career? What are the rewards?

MW: Generally, the non-profit field is not as progressive, intelligent and innovative as for profit. The pay is lower, and it’s a smaller field than for profit, so less opportunities in the long run.

LK: What do you find most/least satisfying about your job?

MW: - Most: Flexibility. My particular job allows me a very flexible schedule. I can work whenever I want, and work from home often. I also have varying duties and different clients, which helps prevent monotony.
- Least: Conservative organization and management, not very creative or growth oriented. Status quo, not innovation and achievement, tend to be awarded. Fundraising goals can be unrealistically high.

LK: Do you spend most of your time at your desk? Moving around the company?

MW: 50%/50%. Depends on time of year.

LK: What hours do you normally work? Is there much travel involved?

MW: Standard office hours are 8:30-5pm, but my specific job is flexible. Travel is limited to Los Angeles County.

LK: Would you trace your own career path? Is this typical, and if not, what might a beginner expect today?

MW: My background is media and event sales and marketing. This is my first non-profit job. More typical for someone in my job is to have previous non-profit experience, but it’s not mandatory.

LK: What career paths are available? Are there opportunities for advancement?

MW: Management opportunities are available in marketing/fundraising/sales or Advocacy. Fundraisers tend to have the fastest rise. Upper management seems to be comprised of a few individuals who’ve been with the organization for many years, and must fit the style of the organization.

LK: Describe your workplace environment. Is it informal or formal? Do people work autonomously or in teams?

MW: It’s a rather formal office; we’re supposed to wear business attire (but rarely do.)
We work individually, and come together in teams to discuss points relative to us all, like marketing, media, long-term planning, and account management. We have individual goals.

LK: Can you give students advice on how to break into this field?

MW: It’s the same as getting a job anywhere else. It really helps to have someone internal recommend you. If there is a particular organization you’re passionate about, start volunteering. They always need good people, and it’s the best way to make contacts to get a job. It’s also a good way to discover if you actually want to work there.

LK: What kinds of entry-level jobs or internships do you think are good training ground?

MW: Anything will do. It helps to have some sales background, as non-profit organizations are driven by fundraising. Event planning skills are also helpful, and specific knowledge in the industry you’re interested in, e.g. health, cancer, animals, environment, and politics.

LK: What trends and developments do you see affecting career opportunities?

MW: Non-profits tend to follow the general economy. They depend on corporations and employees for money, so when businesses are doing well, non-profits do well. It can also depend on specific industries and developments within. For example, AIDS charities were very successful 10 years ago at the height of the media scare, but now that the disease is relatively controlled and the prevention methods known, those organizations raising money for AIDS have seen a decrease in support from its height. One other element that can create trends in non-profit is media/celebrities.