Greyhound Grad Lindsay Bost found the perfect match for her thriving business career by joining the similarly named Linnworks, an eCommerce technology company in Austin, Texas, as an operations coordinator.
Lindsay graduated from Eastern New Mexico University with a bachelor's degree in business administration with an emphasis in general business in 2017 and is contemplating pursuing an MBA.
She and fellow Greyhound Grad Justin Banister have led a 3-part virtual workshop series with the ENMU College of Business to help prepare students for the business world.
Lindsay discusses the series, her blossoming career and more with the ENMU News.
Lindsay with her significant other, Justin Banister.
Tell us about your job.
At the risk of sounding cliché, I wear a lot of hats. I work on projects that range from HR, recruiting, finance and business operations and global communications. I partner with departments across the business to get business objectives completed that don't quite fit into a specific department.
A couple of things I've done in the past include creating a new hire onboarding plan for all remote employees, managing our employee merch/swag process from ordering to fulfillment, planning and hosting our U.S.-wide employee offsite, looking over the day-to-day function of our U.S. office, which is currently fully remote, revamping our recruiting process with clear SLAs and building out our company-wide internal communications tool.
It really is a fun job because I've been able to help multiple departments at Linnworks with projects that needed time and resources dedicated to it. It was a position that I always thought a business could use but wasn't sure if it was even feasible. I will admit that operations roles are few and hard to come by; it's more about who you know than having the right background, and that's exactly how I got my job now!
I think after college, I always knew I wanted an operations role or something dealing with the people inside an organization. I was never passionate about finance, marketing, engineering, sales, etc., but was interested in how to make it work cohesively.
Which aspect of your career is the most rewarding?
That's a tough question because there are areas that are equally rewarding for different reasons. I love getting the chance to learn how our business ops work, like how each department plays into our customer and business life cycle and how they all intertwine and cross over enough to where each department must work together to be successful. That knowledge alone is priceless when it comes to shaping my career.
Being able to work with many different employees and personalities has given me so much joy. I've learned more about successful communication now than I ever have before, and it's been rewarding to "have wins" with multiple people at Linnworks. My role allows me to have a wide network at our company, and to get to know people from different walks of life is one of the main reasons I love what I do.
The last part of why my career is rewarding is because of the autonomy. Operations must plug in and fill in the gaps – when there's no one else to do the work, we do it. It's not glamorous, but we get to work on our own terms and get to have autonomy over our projects in different ways than most.
I've been able to think freely and be innovative with my work in a way that other jobs don't have the ability to give.
What are your short- and long-term career goals?
Short-term, I'm going to be open to my opportunities, and if the right opportunity comes along, I won't be afraid to try something new. Your 20s and 30s are for figuring out what you like, what you're good at, and honing in on that!
Long-term: I think I'd like to have my own business and use what I've learned in operations and my different backgrounds to build my own future. Life is crazy, and things change, but, as of right now, that's what I'd love to do in the distant future.
Lindsay with Lola.
Tell us about your previous jobs.
I worked as a lifeguard for two summers at Cannon Airforce Base in Clovis – some of my favorite summers I've ever had!
At the Four Seasons Resort in Santa Fe, New Mexico, I worked in everything in Food and Beverage. I was the in-room dining coordinator and server, banquet bartender and server, server assistant and bartender assistant at the main bar. I even briefly worked in the Finance Department as an accounts receivables clerk.
I've worked at Target during the holiday season once. I've been a technology recruiter in Austin for a recruitment agency (which is a very heavy sales job), and strategic projects lead for the same company doing a lot of the same type of work I'm doing now. Before Linnworks, I briefly worked at the University of Texas at Austin in the HR department that serviced 20,000-plus staff employees.
Discuss your 3-part COB workshop series.
Justin and I have had quite the experience in the workforce over the past five-plus years. We've learned a lot about what we were not prepared for, lessons we learned the hard way and realized what we wish we knew before graduating. We had talked about this over the past couple of years and wished someone could have given us more insight into what developing our careers would look like.
One day, we realized that we could be that voice for students. We want to share our experience and hard lessons so that other students don't have to do it the way we did. We've got very different, unique career experiences and plenty of stories about the working world.
Nothing gives you real-world experience like jumping straight into the deep end by moving to a new city with no job, experience and zero network – so why not us? That's when we got back in touch with the COB at Eastern, and the rest is history.
Why did you choose to attend ENMU?
Fun fact: my original plan was to go to the University of New Mexico. However, during the spring of my senior year, Head Coach Sia Poyer saw me at a volleyball tournament and asked me to visit Eastern. I went and fell in love with the small campus and felt at home with the volleyball team. I could really see myself maximizing my college experience here, and it was an easy decision after that visit – so glad my initial plans fell through!
How did you choose your field of study?
Another fun fact: like many other people, psychology was my initial major when I started at Eastern. I loved sports and loved the way the brain works, so I wanted to be a sports psychologist.
It was during my freshman year spring semester that I started realizing that I didn't want to be in school for eight-plus years and get a Ph.D., just to find out there are only a handful of jobs in a niche market like that. Some people are up for the challenge – my best friend is getting her Ph.D. this spring in neuropsychology and starts her postdoc this year; proof that it can be done – but it wasn't for me.
I've always loved strategy, knowing why things work the way they do, why people are the way they are (especially in the workplace) and taking advantage of a good business opportunity, so going into business was a natural choice.
Which activities were you involved in at ENMU? Which academic honors did you receive?
I was on the ENMU Volleyball team, on the dean's list every semester, part of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), in the Business Club, in the Business Honor Society Delta Mu Delta and worked at the MaxPac at one point.
I was inducted into Phi Kappa Phi. I also got to speak at the Graduation Honors Banquet spring of 2017 and represented the College of Business, which was a very proud moment for me.
Sounds like a lot… it didn't seem like it at the time!
Discuss your Eastern Experience.
I cannot say enough about the business program. The college is tight-knit between the students and the professors, and by the time I graduated, I had a huge bond with everyone in that program. I loved all the professors we had, but there were a few that really supported me during my time at Eastern that I have to give a shoutout to.
Dr. Schneider was a great mentor and a huge help throughout my 300- and 400-level classes, especially when I was working full-time and going to school full-time. During my time at Eastern, I can say I learned the most when I was taking his management courses while working my senior year. I'm very grateful for that time.
Dr. Pat and Dr. Haney made learning fun and were huge in helping me land an internship at the Four Season in Santa Fe. That changed the course of my life, and I wouldn't be in Austin if I hadn't gotten that internship.
And Corey Cole, who was there from the beginning of my time in the Business Program. He always made class entertaining and helped me pass my finance classes. Enough said.
As for activities, volleyball was the center of my life, but some of my favorite memories center around comedy shows at the CUB, midnight breakfast during finals week, snowball fights when the campus was closed and the infamous mud volleyball.
How did ENMU prepare you for your career?
We talked about this is in the first part of our series! The smaller classes sizes made a huge difference.
Large universities can have class sizes of up to 500-800 people. To compare, the smallest class size I ever had at Eastern was three of us. Being able to have relationships and getting one-on-one time with professors is something I took advantage of.
As much as seniors in the Business Program will probably dislike me saying this, the Final Capstone for the Business Program was a realistic look at what entrepreneurism is and how a business functions altogether. It takes a village, and each department has to do its part. I learned so much from that program, and it may not make sense right out of college, but five years down the road, I have a better understanding of my company because of the capstone.
I also took advantage of every career advancement opportunity I had at Eastern and now have a chip on my shoulder from coming from a small-town school. We're not handed much coming from ENMU, but I was taught the value of what it's like to have an opportunity and make sure I put 100 percent effort into everything that I do.
We're competing with students from UT, Texas A&M and Texas State, so I work that much harder to stand out from the crowd – I think that's what has helped me the most over the past four years.
What advice would you give to a student interested in working in your career field?
Working in operations in tech means that you wear a lot of hats. Stay open-minded about the projects you work on since they will vary day to day.
You also may have to try out working in different departments before landing in this role. I worked in sales and HR roles before landing operations, so you may not have a linear path to this type of role.
Tell us about your family and background.
I'm originally from Phoenix, Arizona, where my brother, sister and I were all born at the same hospital. I grew up moving around so much; everyone thought I was military, and we mostly lived in the Southwest or Pacific Northwest.
We eventually landed in Rio Rancho for a few years, and I eventually graduated from Cleveland High School.
My mom is an aerospace software engineering manager, and my dad is a finance, audit and compliance manager – the business world has always been in my blood, and over the years, they have shared a ton of lessons/insight about their fields.
My sister is a piercer, and my brother-in-law is a tattoo artist, so we actually have a pretty eclectic family.
Who is your role model?
It's a tie between my mom and my dad. My mom showed me every day how to have a have a strong career and be an amazing leader, mother and wife at the same time. She taught me that, despite your background, determination will help you achieve your goals and is living proof that women are just as strong as men in the workplace.
My dad taught me how to dream big and never settle for anything less than what I deserved. He showed me the value of being an athlete and a competitor and how to relay into the working world. He's tenacious and goes after what he wants in life, and I thank him for giving me those same ideals.
What are your hobbies?
I still love volleyball! I've played in multiple sand and indoor leagues since I've moved to Austin. I love being outside, hiking, and hanging with my pup, Lola. I relax by binging a new series and watching copious amounts of trash tv. And I love a good podcast.
Share some interesting facts about yourself.
My favorite place I've ever traveled to was New Zealand. Italy is a close second!
When I was three, I was electrocuted by grabbing onto a lamp with a chewed-up cord.
In recent years, I've really gotten into watching anime.
I am obsessed with Mini Australian Shepherds – my pup, Lola, is spoiled because of it.
Despite having a speaker series at ENMU, I am terrified of public speaking!
