TJ Keitt (’03, ’05) Forrester Research
Career Spotlight
What has your career/education path been like since graduating?
I've approached my career opportunistically since graduating from COM — trying to sponge up as much information as possible at each stop I've made. When I left the master's program, I landed a job at a new product development consultancy, which taught me a lot about the challenges companies face when they are building product and services strategy. When I transitioned to Forrester, I approached it as an opportunity to expand my knowledge of how businesses apply technology to their business challenges. In my time with the firm, I've had a chance to develop expertise in gamification, business productivity and collaboration technology, cloud services and customer experience. I've been able to do this by never turning down an opportunity to expand my understanding of the business world.
Why did you choose your particular field of study at COM?
When I matriculated in 1999, I was a print journalism major. I switched to public relations because I was fascinated by the concept of crisis communication. I then went on to pursue a graduate degree in Applied Communication Research because I believed that a market research foundation would make me a stronger public relations candidate.
What skills from the program have you found most valuable?
In my current role, I think the analytical skills I picked up in COM have been very useful. Throughout my career, though, I think what I've benefited most from was how my professors helped me be a better thinker. Being able to construct thoughts and make arguments that are logically consistent has been essential to my professional achievements.
