Tina So, BBA 2004
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Interactive Marketing Manager,
Procter & Gamble
Some people just have business in their blood. Tina comes from a business-oriented family, and all of her sisters have business degrees. She grew up with computers and was re-imaging software and optimizing system performance since Windows 3.1 was released. When Tina came to UT, she saw MIS as a great way to combine her interests in technology and business. Through a series of internships at places like Guaranty Bank, IBM, and P&G, she chose a position at P&G managing an interactive program for teenage girls at Beinggirl.com. Tina’s skills help increase return on investment (ROI) by leveraging technology to enable business decisions and creating valuable programs for key customers. In order to accomplish this difficult task, she has to clearly understand the teen consumer base. She increases trial and awareness of P&G brands through the website, online promotions, sampling programs, and the beinggirl monthly online newsletter.
Tina is a great example of how MIS students can turn small internship opportunities into full-time employment. She was impressed with P&G’s recruiting at UT with interactive presentations. Tina attended P&G’s three-day summer camp in Cincinnati during her sophomore year, which launched an interest that would carry her through to her first full-time job. She interned at the company her junior year, and was recruited afterwards to come back after graduation.
Tina sees P&G as a place with a good career path and opportunities to get experience with other brands. Her eventual goal is an international assignment where she can live overseas. One of the benefits of working for a large company rather than consulting for multiple clients is that there are plenty of ways to move up within the organization. Tina says that “international assignments have a steep learning curve,” and provide long-term P&G employees with a broad skills base to perform a variety of roles. She enjoys her current role because she can see the impact of her work in the marketplace. For her internship, Tina worked on a tool that helps enable business decisions at the first moment of truth—on the product shelf. She enjoys managing an interactive program that includes a website because the holistic approach gives her immediate feedback from girls to help change products, allowing Tina to quickly change things around and see results.
What advice does Tina have for MIS students and recent graduates? (1) Working in groups can be a pain, but it’s the reality of business. Learning to work well in teams can help you get work done efficiently. (2) Communication and time management skills are key to getting work done in a busy environment, so learn to set and manage priorities. (3) Even if you don't think you are ready yet for a job, check out the career fairs. Attending career fairs will help you get a good idea of what types of jobs are out there for MIS majors and what companies are looking for. Connecting with recruiters early on can help prepare you for the real thing. Tina feels that the MIS Program prepared her well for working with teams in her career, and says, “I don’t see any jobs in the real world without collaboration. The group work helps you build trust in others, learn how to manage work dynamics, and best leverage others’ skills.
Although she enjoyed all of her MIS courses, Tina found BA 324: Business Communication—Written and Oral the most useful because it helps her communicate in the business world. She says, “Clear communication is key. You don’t need all the fluff in the business world.” Tina also urges students interested in a job like hers to find their passion, noting that “If you don’t care for the role, you won’t be successful.” Having the energy and capacity to learn quickly allows people to build career skills and bring individual creativity to the job.
Now living in Cincinnati, Tina stays active in different sports leagues like softball, indoor soccer, and ultimate Frisbee. She also finds time for travel, snowboarding, horseback riding, and hiking. Tina recently went to Hollywood to attend The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants movie premiere for beinggirl. When choosing MIS as a major and career path, she never thought it would result in being invited to a movie premier in Los Angeles, a tour of the Warner Brothers Studios, and an after-party with celebrities.
