How Are You Keeping Your Skills Up-to-Date?

Loraine Kasprzak

Managing Director
Advantage Marketing Consulting Services


Loraine Kasprzak, Advantage Marketing’s Founder and Managing Director, is a Certified Management Consultant (CMC),  MBA and ChemE with over 17 years of hands-on experience in marketing communications and strategy. One of Loraine’s strengths is her ability to help her clients clarify their thinking so that they can focus and fine-tune their message for the marketplace.

Prior to beginning her management consulting career in 1995, Loraine worked for 12 years in corporate America, advancing through various engineering, marketing and management roles. She started as an R&D engineer at Hercules Chemical Company, Wilmington, DE, then joined Con Edison’s Management Intern Program, and worked in the company's R&D department.

Loraine rounded out her corporate career at BOC Gases, Murray Hill, NJ, where she held commercial development, product management, business planning, and marketing services positions.

As a consultant, Loraine has facilitated the strategic development and implementation of communications programs for a variety of professional service and small business clients, including engineering and environmental firms, healthcare and information technology companies, and startups.

Her clients have included Aujas Networks, the Entech Group, MXI Environmental Services, Monarch Electric, and Quest Diagnostics.

Loraine served on the Social Media Committee and was National Marketing Chair for the Institute of Management Consultants USA (IMC USA), as well as executive editor for IMC USA's monthly Connector newsletter. She has also served as vice president of public relations as well as a board member and certification chair for the IMC New Jersey chapter. She received IMC’s 2009 Distinguished Service Award for continuous outstanding service.

Loraine blogs at The Marketing Advantage is a frequent public speaker. She has authored a social media for professionals article series  for the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Chemical Engineering Progress magazine and now writes CEP's Career Corner column.

She has presented talks on social media, marketing and branding at regional and local business conferences and was a guest lecturer for the Prudential Young Entrepreneurs Program. Loraine was a business columnist for Union County Voice magazine and has written for the Princeton Packet Business Journal.

Loraine holds a degree in Chemical Engineering from Manhattan College and an MBA in Marketing from New York University’s Stern School of Business.

http://advantage-marketingblog.com/

For an upcoming Chemical Engineering Progress (CEP) Career Corner column, I'd love to hear from you:

o What are you doing adapt to the changes in your field? o Have your efforts to stay up-to-date had a positive or negative impact on your career? Why? o What advice would you give others about continuous learning? When you comment, please include your full name, city & state in your post - so that I can quote you in the article. Thank you!

Share your thoughts by clicking here.

Comments

Submitted by Nemoy Rau (not verified) on Thu, 10/10/2013 - 23:29

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For a lot my technological needs, I have found specific MOOCs classes extremely helpful in my current needs in specific algorithms and big data applications. I also have found Medical Statistics and some medical overview classes to be good refreshers as well.

Submitted by James (not verified) on Tue, 10/15/2013 - 10:23

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One way I keep my skills up-to-date is by being the trainer. A very effective way to learn a topic quickly is to conduct a training on it. Writing an article about a topic is a similar way to stay on top of a subject. Another way is by networking with both experts and the end users. This can be done at trade shows, company meetings, site visits, and professional social media. Lastly, learn by giving. Give of your talents and knowledge to your colleagues freely (or as freely as your business model would dictate). Become the "Technical Resource" that others go to when they have a question or need help. Just knowing the expectation that others have of your abilities is a real motivator to stay on top. James McDonald, Dayton, Ohio

Submitted by Santi (not verified) on Thu, 10/17/2013 - 04:51

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In my opinion, learning is an endless activity. There are more things that must be learned after graduating the university if we want to survive and flourish in our career. So far, what I do as a chemical (process) engineer: (1) Read chemical-engineering related magazines. (2) Joining a group of some topics that I like in Linkedin. (3) Having discussion from senior engineers. (4) Read the global news, in order to get some ideas about what is going on and how it will affect your future. Santi, The Netherlands

Submitted by advantagemarketing (not verified) on Thu, 10/17/2013 - 09:46

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Thanks everyone, for your comments. I think you raise some excellent points about learning being a ongoing endeavor. I'm also a big believer in teaching as a way to learn more. I know I have to really brush up on a topic if I have to stand up in front of an audience (or present a webinar) and sound like I know what I'm talking about! Great idea also to become known as the Technical Resource - you become like a central clearinghouse for all information related to a certain topic.

Submitted by Chris McConville (not verified) on Fri, 10/18/2013 - 14:02

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Lots of good points here, continuing education is expected for life to maintain professional licensure. Not many Chemical Engineers get their PE certification as we often operate within industry exemption in many (most?) states. Eleven years after graduation I took the exam for the PE license. I studied my head off for 110 nights to prepare. I felt like I had to re-learn the whole ChE curriculum again but I succeeded on the first attempt. It was a great refresher and the licensure cannot hurt my career. I like having the extra impetus to earn/maintain Professional Development Hours.