Jessica Villa-Cruz
Account Manager, Client Talent Delivery, JobsOhio
Just a month into my job promotion last year I realized I was growing into responsibilities I hadn’t exactly aced in college. But here I am, thrilled with this position at JobsOhio and the work I’m doing in a field one of my professors kindly hinted might not be for me.
I was a business major with a focus on human resources. Economics 101 wasn’t my thing, though. When I had to retake the class, my professor basically said, yeah, economics is not going to be for you, and that’s going to be fine.
After graduation, I moved up through some staffing firms and then formalized the internship program at Huntington National Bank in Columbus. Through my experiences, I developed a real interest in project management.
That desire to expand into project management led to a new position creating talent strategies for JobsOhio, the state’s economic development arm. A few months later, in August 2019, a promotion put me in a place of helping companies with all of the things they consider in locations, talent included.
Then it dawned on me. I was dealing with the many topics we talked about in that econ class. Project management meant seeing the big picture, which is what the 101 experience was about. And I’m reveling in it.
It’s neat to be able to help companies over the course of about 20 months consider their options and find a great fit for their needs. Ironically, I’m realizing it’s actually a great fit.
My professor might not remember me, but I’m thinking about going back and talking with him. It would make an interesting conversation.
Jessica Villa-Cruz is an account manager, client talent delivery for JobsOhio. Her position is responsible for managing services and deliverables on talent projects as well as being the communication liaison among clients, vendors, and the JobsOhio team. She also served as program manager for Huntington National Bank’s University Relations program and was responsible for building, scaling and executing the program year-round. She graduated from Marietta College with a bachelor’s degree in Human Resources.