A day in the life of an Acclaro project manager: Elissa Whelan
Hello! I’m a senior project manager at Acclaro. In this post, I’ll take you through my typical day. I work with clients big and small, from marketing translations into a few languages, to complex software localization and testing engagements in over 30 languages.
I believe that creativity and balance are key. When I have a complex issue to solve, I find it important to take a break and come back re-energized to see the issue with a clear mind.
When working as a localization project manager, my advice is to be as flexible and curious as possible. The technology is constantly changing, and the role comes with an assortment of challenges. In other words, it’s never boring.
Outside of work, I love to write, cook, and spend time with my husband and two young sons. This includes a great deal of sports and superhero playtime.
A typical day
On a typical day, I first check emails and various collaboration tools. I respond most urgently to customers, colleagues, and linguists in Europe, as they will soon be offline for the day. Next, I move on to contacts in closer time zones.
After morning check-in, I list out my priorities and meetings for the day, including live project work, meeting preparation and follow-up, and longer-term improvement strategy work. My priorities are constantly shifting. As I complete each task, I return to my list to triage.
Typically, we have regular meetings set up with our customers who are working on more complex localization initiatives to discuss strategy, provide insights and experiences from the localization side, go over milestones, deliverables, and keep all stakeholders in the loop.
Some of the localization programs I work on are well-defined, while others require input and expertise from me and my team to help the customer get from point A to point B with their localization strategy.
Highlights of my job
My favorite aspect of my job is the people I collaborate with, both internally at Acclaro, and externally with linguists and customers. I love the international community we have and enjoy hearing about what’s going on in different corners of the world, from tropical birds tweeting outside the window of a colleague while I am looking out the window at snow falling, to different holiday traditions. I also love constantly learning about rapidly evolving technologies and how localization fits into them.
