FAMILY VOICES OF CALIFORNIA COMMUNICATIONS ASSOCIATE

Kyiakhalid Ruiz, MBA

THE EMAIL I RECEIVED…Hello:

We have received your resume. Thank you for your interest in the Family Voices of CA Communications Associate position. In order to assist us in finding the right match for our program, we ask that you answer the following questions. Please note this is NOT a remote position. We thank you in advance for your time.

1) What would you say are the primary information needs of families of children and youth with disabilities in our community?

2) What level experience do you have managing a website? Which content management system did you use? What feedback do you have for our web site? Which non-profit web site do you admire and why?

3) What is your experience with Adobe Suite (InDesign, Photoshop, Acrobat, Dreamweaver)?

4) What is your experience with Salesforce or a comparable database?

5) What experience do you have managing an organizational or brand presence on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter? How active are you, personally, on social media? And what social media platforms do you use?

6) Please describe your experience, if any, with email marketing programs. Do you have experience helping an organization grow its contact list? What strategies did you find most effective? Do you receive many emails from non-profit organizations? Which organization’s emails do you admire and why?

Thanks and Happy Holidays! Pip

…MY REPLIES TO FOLLOW 😉

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1) WHAT WOULD YOU SAY ARE THE PRIMARY INFORMATION NEEDS OF FAMILIES OF CHILDREN AND YOUTH WITH DISABILITIES IN OUR COMMUNITY?

Families in our community need…

➤ Clear, concise information re:

1. Event locations

2. Pricing (if applicable)

3. Eligibility requirements & obstacles

➤ Easy access to information

1. Information that finds them

➤ Email

➤ Direct mail

➤ Video

➤ Social Media

➤ Outdoor advertising

2) WHAT LEVEL EXPERIENCE DO YOU HAVE MANAGING A WEBSITE? WHICH CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM DID YOU USE? WHAT FEEDBACK DO YOU HAVE FOR OUR WEB SITE? WHICH NON-PROFIT WEB SITE DO YOU ADMIRE AND WHY?

➤ What level experience do you have managing a website? I managed the websites for my own Creative Media Director company as well as my personal resumé site, kyiakhalid.com.

➤ Which content management system did you use? I have experience with iWeb and WordPress.

➤ What feedback do you have for our web site? I think your website can use more graphics and images of the target families in our community to break up the monotony of endless blocks of text. The Home page images need more explanation (Who are those people? Why are they on the Home page?,…) and more images to cycle through instead of the current same two photos. I like the easy access to information.

➤ Which non-profit web site do you admire and why? I like the designs of many websites, but I admire the Friends of the Oakland Animal Shelter for the work that they do with neglected and mistreated animals in my community.

3) WHAT IS YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH ADOBE SUITE (INDESIGN, PHOTOSHOP, ACROBAT, DREAMWEAVER)?

I have some experience with those softwares, but there are plenty of other alternatives that allow me the same functionality. Luckily for me, I pick up software quickly and the learning curve would be relatively shallow for these specific softwares.

It’s like asking someone, “What’s your experience driving a Chevy, Ford or Cadillac?” If the person can drive, it doesn’t matter the name of the car. The real question is, “Can you drive a stick?” Yes, I can!

4) WHAT IS YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH SALESFORCE OR A COMPARABLE DATABASE?

😥 Unfortunately, I haven’t been lucky enough to have acquired database management experience yet.

😃 Fortunately, I can learn new software, processes and operations quickly. (Especially, with the easy access to training materials, videos, online courses/certifications,…)

5) WHAT EXPERIENCE DO YOU HAVE MANAGING AN ORGANIZATIONAL OR BRAND PRESENCE ON SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS SUCH AS FACEBOOK, TWITTER? HOW ACTIVE ARE YOU, PERSONALLY, ON SOCIAL MEDIA? AND WHAT SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS DO YOU USE?

➤ What experience do you have managing an organizational or brand presence on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter?

I managed the social media presence for my own Creative Media Director company as well as my personal brand’s voice.

➤ How active are you, personally, on social media? I am extremely active on social media, especially when I’m doing something that I want my friends to be jealous of (traveling, hiking, rafting,…) or when I have a message to promote.

➤ And what social media platforms do you use? It depends on what I’m trying to do. Of course I have accounts on all of the “standard” social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+,…) so that I can keep in touch with my friends.

Now, in my job-search mode, I spend a lot of time on LinkedIn. I also create and manage Facebook and Google+ pages for my professional persona (Kyiakhalid Ruiz, MBA).

When I have a specialty, I use one of the more specialized social media channels (Goodreads for my reading habits, Pinterest and Tumblr for my tastes,…)

To see all my Social Media accounts in one place, go to my website: kyiakhalid.com

6) PLEASE DESCRIBE YOUR EXPERIENCE, IF ANY, WITH EMAIL MARKETING PROGRAMS. DO YOU HAVE EXPERIENCE HELPING AN ORGANIZATION GROW ITS CONTACT LIST? WHAT STRATEGIES DID YOU FIND MOST EFFECTIVE? DO YOU RECEIVE MANY EMAILS FROM NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS? WHICH ORGANIZATION’S EMAILS DO YOU ADMIRE AND WHY?

➤ Please describe your experience, if any, with email marketing programs. Of the many email marketing programs available, I chose MailChimp for my company’s email marketing program because the price was right (free!), the templates were easily customizable and the analytics were readily available.

➤ Do you have experience helping an organization grow its contact list? Yes, from my prior entrepreneurial company, and from the MBA classes I’ve completed since then (Digital Marketing, Solutions Marketing, Strategic Brand Management,…) I also made a detailed database of email contacts, created innovative email marketing campaigns and tracked the analytics (open-rate, click-thru rate,…) for each.

➤ What strategies did you find most effective? Creating a compelling information-rich campaign is a key marketing strategy. The campaigns I created for marketing my company were effective in increasing my visibility, grew my reach and led to higher sales transactions. An effective strategy to build a detailed email database is to enable a Javascript pop-up on your website that asks for your email (perhaps using some creative copy.)

➤ Do you receive many emails from non-profit organizations? I receive many emails from non-profit companies. The ACLU is incessantly soliciting my contributions! (I’d recommend an email schedule that leans on less-but-more-powerful email campaigns rather than higher-frequency-that-loses-its-effectiveness campaigns.)

➤ Which organization’s emails do you admire and why? My undergraduate alma mater, UC Santa Cruz, sends interesting emails at a pleasant pace.

“I appreciate the opportunity to answer these supplemental questions and express my continued interest in the Community Associate position with the Family Voices of California. Please let me know if I can answer anything else for you. Thank you for your consideration!

-Kyiakhalid Ruiz, MBA