Rebecca Helms

Years with MIL: 5

What were you doing before joining MIL?

Working at Callaway Golf Corporate as their Quality Systems Manager in San Diego (Carlsbad), CA.

Why did you decide to join MIL?

We moved back to SC to help take care of my elderly Dad after Callaway experienced massive layoffs. I was pretty persistent in applying to MIL in Charleston, SC as a Technical Writer based off its website and how well it ranked in comments on Indeed.com.

What are you working on now?

Last year we did a major migration of our MILtranet to our internal SharePoint platform. So we are going back and giving each page a refresh to make each one more intuitive, visually appealing, and user-friendly. Nothing is more frustrating than not being able to find that one little form you need without having to call around to see if anyone knows where to click! I hope to make that whole process so much easier by the end of first quarter 2021.

What is important about your work?

As a “career” technical writer and information manager, I know how important keeping information safe and accessible. With the quarantine and all the remote working situations our company had to accommodate this year, getting everyone who needed it, comfortable with remote collaboration software and tools was my main focus this year—it helped a variety of team members meet deliverables to our customers and continue real-time collaboration in a virtual environment.

What are the best aspects about your current job?

I love technology and all its tricky little complications. I most enjoy figuring them out and helping others NOT experience those complications (or overcome them if they do).

Why do you enjoy working at MIL?

Everyone I have worked with and for has always been so professional and warm at the same time. Leaders give you the resources and training to do your job well and coworkers are generally always willing to help out when you get stuck or can’t figure something out. I feel very connected to a wide variety of people at MIL.

What is the most challenging project you’ve worked on at MIL?

I would say the first project I worked on when I moved from DoS in Charleston to the Proposals & Marketing Team at Corporate. They needed a complete overhaul of the SharePoint hierarchy and I had to migrate 1,000’s of files from the folder system of Jungle Disk into a more user friendly, self-service kind of system in a designated SharePoint site for P&M. There were a lot of growing pains to ensure the right information remained secured while a second set of information remained accessible to our B&D teams.

What is the best piece of career advice you can offer someone in your field who is either applying to or beginning a career at MIL?

Dive in and learn as much about all the contracts we support and the systems we use—there are so many career paths and options at MIL.

If applicable, please share a memorable/significant experience that has occurred during your time with MIL.

Last year, in January, before COVID hit us all; the Charleston MIL team organized a team to walk and ride in the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. parade in downtown Charleston on MLK Day! Several leaders and team members from the Charleston team and DC area joined in and I volunteered my truck to ride in (next time I think we’ll put hay in the back). But most everyone walked the whole route and handed out customized MIL fans and MIL gear. It was just such a powerful experience personally, but it was also a great moment for MIL as we rode alongside other large companies like Boeing, SAIC, and Booze Allen showing our support!