Southeastern is nothing without our team members. We strive to build a tight-knit community with a team that feels like a second family with the added benefit of doing really interesting work. We sat down with our client services director to learn more about what a typical day in her role is like.
A Day in the Life of a Client Services Director
MaryJo “MJ” Lynch is a client services director who started out in public relations. A benefit of a midsized company is that your role can evolve, and you have the opportunity to learn a lot of things you never thought possible, and MJ is proof of this. Read our Q&A with MJ to learn more!
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What is your role at Southeastern?
I’m the director of premedia. I handle client service and was part of the implementation team as we transitioned our management information system (MIS). I assisted with the setup of the system and training staff. Southeastern values technology and automation, and I am proud to be involved in executing these advances.
What does a typical day look like?
No day is exactly the same ever. I make sure clients are super happy, which is pretty fulfilling. Daily activities include helping my team and working with the management team to ensure we are meeting all our clients’ and employees’ needs.
How did you land your job at Southeastern?
I’ve been with Southeastern for just over 25 years. I started out in public relations in Buffalo, New York, and moved to Florida. I held several part-time jobs, and I started working for Southeastern in a temporary position. I advanced to production coordinator, customer service, and production services.
While handling the details of printing projects, I continued learning printing and the details needed to produce successful projects. As my experience evolved, I began servicing our very high-profile professional sports teams and enterprise-level accounts. It was very exciting to work with those industries all year long.
My job continues to be exciting. The printing and marketing industries are rapidly changing. Everything is digital and electronic. We’ve evolved and are more customer-centric than ever.
Southeastern continues to recruit great candidates that are willing to learn a new craft. . Learning printing is not easy, but you do not need to know all of the fine details that you used to, to be successful in this position. A positive attitude and willingness to learn are the only prerequisites. Southeastern has apprenticeship and career ladder programs that allow everyone the opportunity to grow.
What surprised you most about working at Southeastern?
How reactive our leadership team is to the times and how they’re changing, keeping us successful during COVID-19. We are fully staffed, and our hours were never cut. We continue to grow; leadership has continued to invest in the company and update the equipment. COVID has caused us to be more automated and look at processes. We’ve been able to succeed and grow during these times.
Coming from public relations, I wanted to be on the writing side rather than being in sales. When I got into printing, it was a complete 180 for me, but it helped me become a better communicator. I was surprised I liked it; it was something that never occurred to me to choose as a career. Back when I started, I always pictured big, giant machines and never understood how things could fold or how a book got put together until I started at the design end of it. It opened my eyes to new processes.
What is your favorite part of working at Southeastern?
There are many! No day is ever the same, which keeps it very interesting! I enjoy the people I work with, the team that I have, and the company as a whole.
Interested in Joining Our Team?
Interested in doing exciting work for the fashion, sports, and travel industries and more? Check out our open positions! We look forward to hearing from you!
