In case you haven’t heard, we kind of love our jobs here at VFA HQ. We get to hang out with our incredible Fellows, identify the next generation of entrepreneurs, find founders and teams who are building something great, and proudly shout from the rooftops about our work in some of the coolest cities across the country. But the best thing about being part of Team VFA has to be spending every day with the talented, hard-working, epicly hilarious crew that makes the program happen.
Want to see for yourself? You’ll get the chance to meet the whole team, but we’re kicking it off this week with with Laila Selim, our dog- and VFA-obsessed Community Growth Manager who has more energy on her worst day than most of us have after three venti coffees, a red bull, and a good night’s sleep. (Oh, and did we mention Laila and her team are hiring? Visit www.ventureforamerica.org/careers for more information on joining our growing team!)
Name: Laila Selim
Position at VFA: Community Growth Manager
Department Name: Community Growth
College or University: Tufts University
Job before VFA: Paralegal (Editor’s note: we still have trouble picturing this one…)
What does your team do and why is it awesome?
As our name implies – we grow our community! We’re tasked with finding future Fellows and educating them about VFA, walking them through the application process, and helping them transition into the Fellowship. We canvass the country recruiting Fellows, building relationships with great schools and organizations, and telling the world who we are and why we exist. Part of the awesomeness of our department is the people; you’d be hard pressed to find a more passionate, witty or dedicated bunch anywhere else. But the other part of the awesomeness comes from being the engine of VFA (or at least, without knowing a lot about engines, a big piece of the engine); it’s incredible to be a driving force of an organization that changes people’s lives.
What do YOU do?
I help people learn about VFA! I get to talk to incredibly smart, talented people all over the country, and help them decide if they’re up for the challenge of becoming a VFA Fellow. I recruit Fellows and forge relationships with Colleges, Universities and organizations across the country that are as passionate about entrepreneurship as we are.
How did you come to work at VFA?
- Step 1: Move to Cairo 5 days before the Egyptian Revolution to start a concert promotions company with my best friend.
- Step 2: Accept failure and return to the US to find a “real” job.
- Step 3: Realize, 3 weeks in, that becoming a lawyer would be masochistic. I miss building things.
- Step 4: Start the soul searching and the job hunt. Reach out to friends and family.
- Step 5: Remember VFA from an article I read in 2012. See that a friend from college worked there – and that my sister had been a volunteer for VFA at one point.
- Step 6: Interview. Fall in love.
- Step 7: Get hired. Buy a ticket for Vegas to join a team trip my second week of work.
- Step 8: Don’t get fired in Vegas 🙂
What’s your typical day like?
It’s tough to lay out a typical day – I know it’s cliché, but one of the best parts of my job is that there is no typical day. Key elements, however, are: coffee in the office; checking emails in the morning, afternoon, and evening; planning recruitment events; digging into recruitment data; creating spectacular content; and talking to Fellows and candidates alike (That is, when I’m not on the road). A day never goes by that I don’t get to talk to someone more brilliant than I.
One part of your job you wouldn’t know from your resume:
Hangin’ with the Fellows! We have the pleasure of teaming up with Fellows who want to go back to their alma mater and spread the word about VFA.
One thing you do every day that you probably couldn’t do at another job:
Sit on a couch and talk to people about things I love. My *technical* desk is rarely used (embarrasingly so..) since I spend most of my time on a couch or at a standing desk.
What you’re known for at the office:
My teammates like to parody me by running around saying, “It’s gonna be GREAT”. And, you know what? IT IS.
Favorite part about working on Team VFA:
So cliché…but the people. So smart, so dedicated, so funny.
One reason your friends get jealous about your job:
The fact that, although I’m not a morning person, I’m happy on the walk to work because I know my job matters.
Favorite VFA tradition:
Fireball at all occasions.
Favorite Training Camp memory:
Being added to the Fellows’ GroupMe on the last night of Training Camp – and then finding out (in some funny ways…), months later, that they had forgotten they added me. 🙂
Best tip or life hack for increasing productivity during the work day:
Make a list of to do’s the night before; that way, you can dive right in when you get to work.
What newspapers, websites, or blogs do you kick off your day with?
The New York Times, Quartz, The Skimm, and Slate.
What are you reading and/or watching right now?
I’m reading Americanah by Chimamanda Adichie, and also a Mary Higgins Clark mystery.