That fear could end up being fortuitous. That was the case for Fran Katsoudas, Cisco’s chief people, policy, and purpose officer, who started her three-decade career at the digital communications giant after experiencing such a mix-up. She spoke with HR Brew about how that mishap led to her career, and how she’s thinking about opportunities for today’s entry-level talent amid AI’s labor upheaval.
Call center to HR. Katsoudas, who had been working in business development for a startup, thought she was interviewing for a similar role when she discovered she was actually interviewing for an entry-level customer support job at Cisco’s call center, a position that would require her to answer as many as 80 calls a day once hired—many from unhappy customers.
While the gig was below the pay grade for the role she intended to interview for, and she wasn’t familiar with Cisco’s technology, something about the job called to her. “I recognized that it was just a really cool opportunity for me to learn something new. It’s funny, because I think it was the first time where I actually trusted my gut,” she told HR Brew.
Katsoudas took the job, and the next year was promoted to team supervisor. She was later offered a role as a director with that team, but turned down the opportunity. It worked in her favor.
