Senior Quality and Compliance Consultant Career Q&A with Joy
Joy, a senior quality and compliance consultant at Clarkston, shares her advice and passion for brilliant client service. Read how she once was a client of Clarkston’s, and now, as a senior consultant she gets to execute brilliant client service herself!
How long have you been with Clarkston?
I joined Clarkston just about a year ago, but in some ways, it feels like it has been much longer. I was a client of Clarkston’s years ago and had the privilege of keeping in touch with the Clarkston team on that project over the years, so it feels a lot like coming full circle and it’s a complete testament to the wonderful people here. I am as impressed now as I was then.
What is your role at Clarkston?
I am a senior consultant with focus on quality and compliance in Life Sciences. My background is in quality management in the Life Sciences industry and quality systems in both Life Sciences and Consumer Products. I am looking forward to both leveraging and broadening my skills here at Clarkston.
Tell us about a new skill you’ve developed recently.
My background includes managing people and departments, but I’ve had the opportunity to stretch those skills here at Clarkston to project management as well. I have also had the opportunity to take part in identifying leads, attending trade shows, and other aspects of the sales cycle — being able to develop multiple skills in parallel and pursue opportunities to get involved in new areas has definitely been beneficial to growth.
If you had to choose, which of Clarkston’s core values do you feel resonates with you the most?
I think that Brilliant Client Service resonates with me the most because it really was the reason that I came to Clarkston after seeing this core value in action when I was a client myself. The ability to build and maintain meaningful relationships with clients as a trusted partner by taking a uniquely hands-on approach to understanding and providing solutions for their business needs is truly rewarding.
Which internal initiatives, communities, or projects are you involved in at Clarkston?
I’ve enjoyed the opportunity to help develop materials and train consultants who are interested in learning more about quality management systems and, in particular, Veeva’s quality offerings. I am also involved in the Quality and Compliance Community.
What advice would you give to someone starting at Clarkston?
There are 2 pieces of advice I would share:
- Take every opportunity to participate, listen and learn even if it’s an area/topic that seems like a stretch from your own experience – you never know where there may be a chance to contribute or what you might gain.
- When you meet people at Clarkston and they tell you to reach out with any questions, they mean it. Everyone is incredibly helpful and supportive.
In your experience, what qualities make someone a good consultant?
In my experience, the simple skill of listening and then being able to turn listening into understanding is incredibly valuable. Another key quality is the ability to communicate in a way that is relatable and that builds trust.