LONGMEADOW – Former Longmeadow resident Jess Abbott traveled back to town this week from her home in Colorado for Springfield’s Grow with Google event, as Abbott is an employee of Google at their Boulder, Colorado office.

Following Abbott’s graduation from Longmeadow High School in 2008, she attended Northeastern University until May 2013 where she graduated with a degree in Business Administration with a Marketing concentration. While at the University, she took part in their Cooperative Education (co-op) program. Both of Abbott’s co-ops were at Johnson & Johnson out of New Jersey, where she worked in both Supply Chain and Sales Strategy. From there, she was able to work for Johnson & Johnson in Chicago post–grad. After a year and a half at Johnson & Johnson, Abbott applied for a sales position at Google.

“After a series for four in–depth interviews, I accepted the position as a Sales Strategist on Google’s Marketing Solutions team,” she shared. “I worked on a variety of different sales teams over the course of another one and a half years.”

Abbott explained that in her role at Google, she worked for small business sales and mid–market sales. This provided her with the opportunity to work with a lot of mom and pop shops, like many of the members in attendance at Springfield’s Grow with Google event.

“Being back in town and connecting with those customers again has been amazing and has allowed me to see the community I grew up in through a different lens,” she shared.

Currently, Abbott is the Site Program Manager for the Google office in Boulder. The office houses 900 Googlers who hold jobs in sales, human resources, engineering and more.

“I’m responsible for executing various programs, managing communications to the site, building efficiencies and creating community within the entire campus,” Abbot explained her position. “For us, community reaches outside of our doors and into the broader Boulder and Colorado communities, which is a large part of my responsibilities.”

Only a few years removed from college graduation, Abbott offered advice for those who may be interested in working for Google one day. She encouraged prospective employees to take advantage of the resources that are available to them and to network in sometimes unassuming places.

“At events like Grow with Google, school teachers and sports coaches, and networking workshops stand out, but often times it’s the people you meet at the park, the coffee shop, or the gym that may be the ones who help change the trajectory of your career and life,” she said. “Don’t be afraid to branch out and introduce yourself to someone new when you have the opportunity.”

At the Grow with Google event on July 9, Abbott worked one on one with attendees on their needs, which could range from organizing their Gmail to creating a presentation in Google Slides.

“Our hope is that every attendee, whether they’re a teacher, student, jobseeker, developer, startup or local business leaves feeling better prepared to grow their business and find success in today’s changing economy,” Abbott said.

“Google knows, firsthand, the role technology plays in today’s changing workforce and we care deeply about addressing the growing divide between those who have access to the latest, most advanced tools and resources and those who do not.”