Eric Swenson
Contributions Specialist
Capital One
Milestones
My road in life took a while to figure out.
Liked Numbers in High School.
First job was running reports in Operations.
Left after 8 years to pursue future wife.
Not sure about working for credit card company.
"Fell" into Community Affairs dept. at credit card company.
Realized ability to interpret data to solve problems is desperately in need.
Increased knowledge of Excel, process improvement.
I am now the subject matter expert on Capital One's volunteerism and grants data.
Education
High School
Career
Contributions Specialist
Volunteerism and grant-making data reporting and systems support.
Career Roadmap
My work combines:
My work combines:
Non-Profit Organizations
Technology
Problem Solving
Day to Day
I support users of our online grant-making and volunteer system for the whole Capital One company. I run grant and volunteerism reporting, trend reporting, reverse lookup participation reporting. I communicate the implications of data trends to Sr. leadership to help guide direction of overall program. I monitor processes for root cause analysis and improvement.
Advice for Getting Started
Here's the first step for college students
Knowing the basics of listening, problem-solving, basic math and algebra. Then couple those skills with the tools of MS Excel, MS Powerpoint, MS Visio and Six Sigma and Lean for Services training. Process improvement skills are highly transferable across an entire company, and being able to prove through numbers and process measurement of your effectiveness as of Business Process Manager is key.
Recommended Education
My career is not related to what I studied. I'd recommend this path instead:
Hurdles
The Noise I Shed
From Parents:
"You should stay at your current job."
Challenges I Overcame
Learning Issues
