Jessica Finman

JessicaMeet Jessica Finman

Jessica Finman worked for Yaskawa America, Inc. as a marketing communications intern during the summer of 2016. Later that year, she graduated from the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire with a Bachelor’s in Integrated Strategic Communications and she accepted a full-time position at Yaskawa as a marketing assistant.

The phrase “having a seat at the table” comes to mind when I think about my first couple of years at Yaskawa. Since I started as a marketing communications intern in May 2016, I’ve always had a chance to express opinions in meetings. I get to take part in conversations, brainstorm – and basically make my role what I want it to be.

Yaskawa provides me with so many opportunities. My thoughts are valued equally with those of an employee that has been with the company for years. Over my first summer, I worked on various marketing projects, including research on social media in the industry, content collections for the website launch, SEO updates and more.

By completing projects quicker than expected, I was given further opportunity to increase my skill set learning new software systems and taking on more challenging projects. As the end of the summer approached, I moved back to UW-Eau Claire. Thankfully, Yaskawa offered me a part-time position to continue working remotely as the marketing communications intern. 

In January of 2017, I was hired as the marketing assistant. Fresh out of college and excited to start my first real job, it was an easy choice to begin my career at Yaskawa. Not only do I enjoy the duties of my position, I enjoy the culture the employees create on a daily basis. Because the company is so supportive toward individual growth, I knew I would be pushed to do my best. Always continuing to learn more and grow.

While my career is still young, the largest benefit I have received is being able to be versatile. Not only have I been given responsibilities within my field, I have been given opportunities to learn from other departments by speaking with different managers, receiving field experience, and taking training classes such as inside sales training.

I have often heard my fellow recent graduates discuss how they are nervous to speak in meetings or that they are lower on the totem pole at their companies. I have been blessed that I do not share that experience.

My main advice to someone establishing their career is to talk with everyone and take every opportunity that you can. Whether it is learning more about how the product is assembled on the floor, having lunch with those who sit at the desks next to you or striking up a conversation with Mike Knapek -- there is a wealth of knowledge that fellow employees want to share with you. Creating relationships internally will benefit not only your career at Yaskawa but also your personal growth.