In January 2008, after posting a job wanted ad to Craigslist entitled “Administration & Marketing Specialist Will Work for Fair Compensation to Buy Food“, I was hired by the Wang Vision Institute in a role that primarily involved Patient Scheduling and the selling of LASIK procedures, but my innate marketing abilities (mainly creativity, salesmanship, problem solving, research, and storytelling) were quickly added to the Marketing Team where I quickly conceived, pitched, and executed many strong contributions to WVI’s overall marketing efforts.

In April 2008, I was downsized from his practice as Dr. Wang felt that although I was a loyal and excellent employee, he felt that my marketing skills were far beyond the many administrative aspects that role also entailed. He pushed me from the nest into a new world of opportunities I likely would not have had previous without this glowing endorsement and was instrumental in my evolution as a Digital Marketing professional.

Here is the Epic Letter of Recommendation Dr. Wang wrote after pushing me into my tech career.

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To Whom It May Concern:

It gives me great pleasure to recommend Mr. Stephen Phillips, whom we had recruited in January of 2008. His position was primarily to be Administrative, as well as a secondary Patient Coordinator (involving triaging the phones, booking LASIK appointments, etc.). He soon demonstrated that he was not only proficient enough to handle this area of his responsibilities, but also offered a vast array of marketing skills.

In the short time that Steve was employed at WVI, he introduced a number of creative marketing ideas (in support of the Marketing Department, to which he was assigned). One such imaginative idea was in support of our current project of attracting patients to the practice in innovative ways. Steve created the concept of hosting a Songwriter’s Appreciation Night.

In following through with this idea, Steve arranged a meeting with the Executive Director of the NSAI — Bart Herbison — and achieved his support and sponsorship of the event. Our upcoming WVI/NSAI Songwriter’s Appreciation Night on May 6th would not have been possible without Steve’s creative vision — followed up by his hard work and determination.

While employed here, Steve also demonstrated his exceptional intelligence by winning the highest score during his first monthly WVI Staff Exam (covering technical medical information and terminology), and being awarded a full paid day off. He was also well liked by his fellow employees — being voted by his co-workers as Employee of the Month in March.

Even during his downtime, Steve was brainstorming for possible implementation of other innovative ideas. He is truly a dedicated team player (even supporting WVI events in which he was not assigned to work).

In summation, I found Stephen Phillips to be a valuable contributor to our business, and I recommend him highly without any reservation. Though our practice, at this time, was not able to create a position that was a good fit to Steve’s unique talent and creativity, we parted in a friendly way. I have no doubt that he will be a valuable asset to any company or enterprising entrepreneur who desires to have a motivated, talented, and creative individual who will bring new ideas and new initiatives in the area of marketing.

It has been a joy to work with Steve, he is a dear friend and colleague, and I wish him the best!

Regards,
Ming Wang, M.D., Ph.D.
LASIK Surgeon & Corneal Specialist
Clinical Associate Professor of Ophthalmology, University of Tennessee
Staff Surgeon, St. Thomas Hospital
Director, Wang Vision Institute