
10 Mar Meet Joya, SharePoint and Intranet Project Lead




For this profile in our Level Up series featuring early career professionals at Criterion, we want to introduce you to Joya, a SharePoint and Intranet Project Lead and Administrator working for a Federal government customer in Washington, DC.
Please describe your job: What do you do?
I’m the SharePoint and Intranet Project Lead and Administrator for the one of Criterion’s Federal customers in the Office of the Chief Information Security Officer (OCISO). I’m responsible for the administration, configuration, and support of OCISO’s SharePoint site collection and intranet site.
What kind of skills do you need to be effective in your role?
To be effective in my role, I need to be a technical subject matter expert in SharePoint Online and Adobe Experience Manager (the platforms used for our customer’s intranet). I also need to be organized, great at problem-solving, and have experience with content/database management and Power Platform applications such as PowerBI, Power Apps, and Power Automate.
What do you like best about your job?
I like that I’m able to utilize my creativity to:
- Create SharePoint sites and redesign existing SharePoint sites.
- Solve SharePoint or intranet issues that require me to identify and develop solutions to problems related to coding or permissions.
- Manipulate code and visual elements to behave in a streamlined and user-friendly fashion.
What surprised you most about your job after doing it for a few months/year? Something unexpected that happened?
I was surprised by the amount of time I spent daily on problem solving in SharePoint 2013/2016 after only a few months of SharePoint administration experience. Now, I am much more familiar with the platform and spend considerably less time on daily problem solving.
What advice would you give to someone looking for their first job?
I would advise them to value gaining experience and knowledge early on versus focusing on compensation. The jobs that provide you the most experience/knowledge in the area you’re looking to pursue are more valuable and will greatly assist in getting you the desired salary you seek in the future.