Students on the Blog: Conductor Site Visit

By Violetta Varkueva (MS Information Systems `19)

Violetta Varkueva (MS Information Systems `19),

The technology startup Conductor, which helps marketers create and optimize content, hosted a group of Zicklin students for a site visit at their office in New York City. The visit was organized by the Zicklin Graduate Career Management Center (GCMC), and included presentations by Baruch alum and Conductor’s CFO Bennett Theimann (MBA '92), Sarah Kirell, Design, Marketing, Employer Branding, and Events, and Patty Kim, Senior Director, Talent Acquisition. The presentations were followed by a networking session between the students and Conductor.

The conversation started with Mr. Theimann, who spoke about the company, shared experiences from his career, and recounted obstacles he overcame throughout his history. What resonated with me was Mr. Theimann’s sharing that throughout his career, he has always valued attitude and ethics in candidates, namely people with a “can-do” attitude who produce results and can keep calm in a storm. Of course, it is also important that the candidate has an interest in the company and its culture. Mr. Theimann talked about the benefits of people with “scars,” that is people who aren’t afraid to fall off course by trying their best. It`s okay to fail as long as you learn from it.

(From Left to Right) Zicklin graduate students Brian Narcisse (MS Marketing '19), Sanket Saha (MBA '20), Violetta Varkueva (MS Information Systems `19), Faroz Mohebban (MS Information Systems '20) and Varshita Jain (MS  Information Systems '19)

After Mr. Theimann, Sarah Kirell shared her experience with the company. She showed a funny video about how companies can make themselves visible and promote their business. Ms. Kirell said that for companies out there, it’s important for them to analyze what people are searching for as well as finding their audience. She then talked about search optimization strategies and how Conductor excels in this field. For me, it was worth hearing from a professional about marketing strategies and techniques that can help companies grow their business.

CFO Bennett Theimann (MBA '92) speaking to students.

After a lunch break, Patty Kim told us about career opportunities at Conductor. She noted that Conductor was named a top 5 best technology company to work for in New York City. She spoke about the corporate culture, as well as gave insight on how to apply for a job at Conductor. Ms. Kim explained that they are not bound by recruiting cycles; if the right candidate applies, they will hire them, so available opportunities are definitely worth checking out!

It was a pleasure to be able to visit Conductor. I’d like to thank everyone from the company, Mr. Theimann, Ms. Kirell, and Ms. Kim for speaking with us and sharing their insight. I would also like to thank the GCMC for organizing the visit. It was a great experience!