Sara O'Brien
Quality Engineer, Dancing Deer Baking Company
How I found my job...
Sara was selected for the position as a Quality Engineer at Dancing Deer Baking Company through BostonWorks' Big Gig competition. She was searching for Chemical Engineering jobs after graduating from Columbia in May of 2004 when she came across an advertisement for BostonWorks' Big Gig competition to be a cookie tester for Dancing Deer. Sara wrote an essay and e-mailed it along with her resume to BostonWorks, while continuing to search for other opportunities. A few months later, she received a call from Dancing Deer -- they wanted to speak with her. During the conversation, she spoke of her own baking skills and explained she used to blow up cookies in the family oven when she was younger. They liked her honesty because Dancing Deer selected Sara as a finalist and it was off to the Boston Globe for a photo. An online competition was next and Sara's photo, essay and resume were posted on BostonWorks where readers were urged to vote online. Sara received the most votes and began her internship on December 5, 2004.
What My Job is...
During the first couple of months, Sara fulfilled a variety of intern duties which included taking customer service sales calls, administrative work, and much cookie sampling. Her responsibilities progressed to cookie testing and working with outside consultants, where her science background came in handy.
"Toward the end of my internship, Dancing Deer decided to create a position for me and I have been working there now for over a year and a half," said Sara.
Today Sara is responsible for ensuring that every product that goes out the door is first and foremost safe to eat, aesthetically pleasing and tasty. "I am responsible for keeping on top of the new FDA laws and making sure that we are abiding by them, be it bioterrorism-related or trans-fat labeling." Sara also does nutritional analysis for all Dancing Deer products. Her job is constantly evolving and growing as the company grows.
Maintaining the quality that Dancing Deer has come to stand for while the company continues to grow is something I view as a personal challenge and work every day to try and improve," continued Sara.
"What I really enjoy about my job is that I get to touch every aspect of the company and I personally get to work with everyone -- bakers, packers, managers, and even the sales people."
Sara's goal is to be instrumental in assisting Dancing Deer's quality control department expand at the same rate as the company grows. Says Sara: "I would like be able to take this department into a place where outside lab testing is no longer required and we are able to grow into something that is comparable to ISO 9000 level."
