We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Annmarie Fauske a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
AnnMarie, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How did you get your first job in the field that you practice in today?
Long, long ago… I attended Illinois State University for undergrad – the first school in the country to offer Public Relations as a major and became president of the largest chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA). I had 2 internships in the Chicago area, but knew I wanted to work for a public relations agency in Washington, DC. So, in my last semester, I got a list of every agency, big or small and sent a letter to every single one – there were about 100! I called almost all, as well. I heard back from about 20 and had interviews with 5. I received 2 offers. I graduated on a Friday, bought my first car and drove out, moved into an apartment and started on Monday! It was very exciting to work on a variety of projects for corporate, association, political and non-profit clients. It prepared me for thinking on my feet in both in crisis mode as well as long range strategy. Coming full circle, I would highly recommend snail mail in addition to electronic applications for a similar position today! Hardly anyone receives unsolicited applications in the mail anymore – so you will stand out!
AnnMarie, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
InBloom Autism Services is a leading brand in the Applied Behavioral Therapy (ABA) industry specializing in the earliest treatment (18 mo – 5 years) of autism. Since 2015, our team of dedicated specialists work to help the child as well as the whole family by quickly developing a personalized treatment plan from earliest diagnosis. Early diagnosis is crucial because this is when a child’s brain is developing most rapidly. The challenge of my job is getting the word out to parents so they might be able to recognize when milestones are not being met and encourage them to go for a diagnosis ASAP. Many do not realize that diagnosis can be provided as early as 18 mo! Then, the joy of my job is watching our teams go to work with the personalized care and communication to the families who are reassured of the pathway to success and see amazing outcomes!
If you could go back, would you choose the same profession, specialty, etc.?
I would chose marketing (with my MBA) again and again. It’s constantly changing which makes it exciting and challenging. It’s allowed me to serve others. I’m a big believer in “You make a living by what you get, you make a life by what you give”. Telling the story of and spreading the word for a great brand like InBloom Autism Services is a privilege.
Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?
Always be willing to learn. Keep reading, taking courses or tutorials and speaking to others in your industry. In particular, marketing tech and attribution data changes by the minute! Constant changes in Google algorithms and AI, etc make it very hard to follow a customer’s journey, so you have to learn new ways to study multiple buyer habits in every age group. Enjoy the challenges and try to hire great people smarter than you in every area! Be a humble servant-leader.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.inbloomautism.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/inbloomautism/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/inbloomautism
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/inbloom-autism/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/InBloomAutism
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@inbloomautismservices
