Career Spotlight - Carolyn Mutts

Tuesday, October 31, 2017

What are your main responsibilities?

As a custodial team leader (CTL) I delegate work duties for the day. I also check the call out line to see if anyone has called out and their reason for calling out. I send my supervisor an email and notify her of coverage for the day as well as speaking to her verbally for the plan for the day to check for changes. I also check emails from customers to see if there’s anything they want me to get done. After the morning activities, I return to my work area.

How did you begin your career?

I started in 1976 in the custodial department. I worked as a custodian for ten years. In 1986, I started work in the mail service at the Yale Medical School as a mail carrier, then I became a lead person. I then worked in mail service from 1986 to 2011. My responsibilities included sorting mail, assigning work, speaking to customers, computer tasks, and working with supervisors. In 2011, I became a CTL. My responsibilities now include: using outlook and going into a computer program called Yale Facilities. This program allows me to check work requests, and record buildings inspections. In my position, we train our work crew to strip floors, shampoo carpets, general cleaning procedures, etc. My supervisor would take me to communicate with contractors from outside of Yale. I also had to do a lot of customer service.

What skills, abilities, and personal attributes are essential to your job/this field?

What’s really been good for me was supervising and working with people. I had to learn how to motivate and encourage others. I also learned how to be patient with other people. I had to see my weaknesses and their weakness and work together to motivate each other and get the job done.

What are some assets you got from working at Yale?

In working for Yale, they offer lots of opportunities. One of those is education and not just for students of the university. I got a two-year degree in early childhood education, an Associate’s degree as a dietician, and a phlebotomy license at Gateway Community College. I went to Quinnipiac University for one year for nursing. Shortly after I went to Norwalk Community College for nursing. Even though I didn’t work in those areas, it was a blessing to be able to get these degrees and work at Yale for 41 years. My daughter has an RN degree from St. Vincent’s through Yale’s tuition program. Now she works as an RN at Yale New Haven Hospital St. Raphael’s Campus and St. Vincent’s Hospital in Bridgeport. The home buying program here at Yale is also a great opportunity. My son recently took the program and learned what is required when buying a home.

Can you recommend trade journals, magazines, or professional associations which would be helpful for professional development?

Reading literature is very important for professional development. I have found that reading God’s word daily have brought another spiritual guidance in my life. Yale Public Health’s mail room also provides great leadership pamphlets and magazines.

What advice can you share about navigating a career at Yale?

As a leader, it’s not about what a person can do but what they can do to be better. I motivate my coworkers to do their best at everything they do. I will like to encourage people to always show love and get an education. Through these positive behaviors and positive attitudes many doors will open through Yale.

If you could do it all over again, would you choose the same path for yourself?

Absolutely. I don’t have any regrets in life. I have no regrets working at Yale. It’s truly been a blessing to start in 1976 and leave in 2017. I am very proud to see that my hard work ethics will live on through my children because it all started here at Yale forty-one years ago!