The Best

Smartly dressed in a blue suit (she later filled us in on a little tip: wear a blue suit when you want to stand out in a crowd), Gail Chandler stood in front of the class explaining how she found “the best communications job ever.” Now, that might sound biased, considering everyone thinks that they have the best job ever since the definition of best can vary from person to person; best can mean most successful, most fun, or maybe even most rewarding. But after listening to Chandler’s story, I came to agree that her claim was pretty much spot on.          

After working in the nonprofit, government, and education sectors, Chandler finally landed a job in the corporate world, working for Texas Instrument’s Public Affairs Communications department.  Her journey through each of her previous jobs helped her realize more and more what she wanted to do. For example, while working for Dallas ISD, Gail realized that the bureaucracy of education is unlike any other.  In the PR business, you’re not always going to be able to please everyone—someone is always going to angry or upset with certain decisions, especially when they don’t get their own way. 

Gail reminded the class, “life is too short to work somewhere you don’t like.” The generous and philanthropic nature of Gail’s current job allows her to not just please people and make them happier, but actually change people’s lives for the better. As she explained more about all the cool CSR initiatives and programs TI undertook, I realized there was a whole new possibility to consider: corporate responsibility communications. I had never considered a career that focuses solely on CSR, but truly being able to not just make a difference in one person’s life, but the whole world, does make Gail Chandler’s job the best job ever.