Alexandra Gudmundsson — Year Review
During her first year at Little Taller, Alex has already started plotting of how to take over Little Taller… while we’re not quite sure how that will all work out for us, we did find out how her first-year experience at Little Taller was a learning curve.
One Year Reflection — Alexandra Gudmundsson
Little Taller: What is your title, and what is it that you do every day?
Alexandra: My title is account manager, but with that comes a lot of project management. I talk to a lot of people all day and try to figure out what they need, whether it’s with the client or internally with our team.
Little Taller: How do you explain your job to other people who don’t quite understand?
Alexandra: I still struggle with this. My family does not understand what I do at all, and I haven’t found a good way to explain it. I guess the best way to describe it is that I help navigate conversations and provide new options or ideas to get an end result that everyone is happy with while keeping it all on track.
Little Taller: I feel like that was a good answer. You make sure everything gets done. So you recently passed your one year in April, did you even notice?
Alexandra: Yes and no. It still feels like I’ve only been here for two months, but at the same time, it feels like I’ve been here for two years. I don’t know how to explain it. I noticed, but not really.
Little Taller: So what from that “two months in two years” is your biggest takeaway?
Alexandra: I think my biggest takeaway is to ask questions because you don’t know what you don’t know. Even when you think you do, you don’t. Also, a big takeaway that’s been helpful for me this past year is learning how to get into someone else’s specific perspective. Having a solid understanding of that individual’s perspective is helpful when I’m talking to four people about the same project and trying to get everyone on the same page.
Little Taller: Can you talk about the learning curve from being a student and now working?
Alexandra: I had a really fun learning curve. It was truly baptism by fire. I don’t even know if there was a learning curve. It was very, “this is everything I need to do, and I need to do it now.” I’ve never experienced baptism by fire more than that. Part of it I think was because I was still in school and doing this and trying to balance it all but it was definitely the fastest way to learn.
Little Taller: That must have been overwhelming. I know that I averaged 12 or more assignments a week during my senior year, so I couldn’t imagine doing that on top of work with Little Taller.
Alexandra: It was a lot, but it also really prepared me for what I’m doing now. My job didn’t change that much, but I was doing all my classes and putting my portfolio together, and I wasn’t sure if I was going to work here when I graduated. So I was trying to have all my ducks in a row and also still perform well at work and in school, and get passing grades. It was very much so “and, and, and.” Which made things more of a learning spike than a learning curve I guess.
Little Taller: How are you balancing remote working in your everyday life?
Alexandra: I think that I’m a terrible candidate for this question because I don’t balance it at all. I love working remotely because I’m able to sit and get work done anywhere, and I have a lot of flexibility in that. But one of the downsides of remote working is you never turn your computer off, and you never have your phone off. There’s never a true “unplugging” moment. I have to be really cautious or diligent about forcing that upon myself. So work-life-balance, that’s a learning curve for me and something that I need to figure out. Suggestions welcome.
Little Taller: I feel like that’s something that everybody has to figure out. Especially whenever you are just now getting into the workforce. What is it you like most about working with Little Taller?
Alexandra: I think it’s just a really fun environment. There’s an interesting level of transparency and ownership that we’re given, and I don’t think I’d get to experience elsewhere. I like that I’m able to own a project or a client. It’s very “yeah go run with it,” which at 23, I wouldn’t be able to get that first-hand experience elsewhere. We have a really fun and dynamic team. I work with my best friends from college, which I never knew was an option. It’s pure madness but so far we’re getting away with it.
Little Taller: So looking to the future, what are you looking forward to in the next year?
Alexandra: I’m looking forward to seeing where we’re at next year. I know our goals as a company, the steps to get there, and where we’re at in achieving those things, it’s really exciting to see those come to life.
Little Taller: So, what are some things that ensure you can do your job effectively?
Alexandra: Coffee. Lots of coffee. I think having open communication with our team is the most helpful. I know that’s a cliche answer, but the fact that I can communicate with you, Kendra, Karissa, or with any developers to the level that I can, is something that I find really valuable. I think it’s helped that so many of us have had classes together, we were able to see how each other’s brains work. It makes communication, specifically about things we may not easily understand so much easier.
Little Taller: How did you and Kyle get connected?
Alexandra: There are a couple of funny stories here but it was really through Murphy. I was leading Design United, that Murphy was the faculty advisor for, while he and Kyle were already building Little Taller. I came in a year after Little Taller started and interned for that summer and fall, and then was hired in January.
Little Taller: Now that you’re with Little Taller, what are some responsibilities you have that you enjoy the most, and what do you enjoy the least?
Alexandra: Oh, that’s such a good question. I really like that I get to be in communication with everyone on the team. I love that I get to form relationships with the clients to figure out what they actually need or get to learn their product or service and be part of that process. I really hate having to ping everyone for their work schedule, which is silly because that’s the easiest thing I do all week. Work schedules change, but not really. Because everyone’s contracted, I need to get their work schedule since it’s on their terms.
Little Taller: Looking at this past year, what accomplishments are you most proud of?
Alexandra: I was surprised at how much I’ve been able to grow and learn from being an intern to where I sit now. I think I was able to because of the level of ownership in transparency that we’re given here. I think that’s what I’m proud of because that was all within a year.
Little Taller: I think that’s one of the things I enjoy the most about Little Taller. I’ve had jobs where I was hired to do marketing, but then I was treated like the receptionist and wasn’t able to do the work I was hired to do.
Alexandra: Honestly, I think that’s why a lot of young people do like working at Little Taller. We’re heard and given the opportunity to share our thoughts and then implement them.
Little Taller: So this one has nothing to do with a Little Taller, but if you can be an expert at anything, what would that be?
Alexandra: I think I want to be a really good chef. Not necessarily a trained chef or a specialist, but if I could be a Bon Appetite-level home chef, that would be incredible. There are so many options with food and ingredients, and I think that’s also something that brings people together. Although, if I’m being really honest I think I missed my calling to be a funeral director.
