March is Women’s History month. To honor this important event Resonate is publishing a series of blog posts featuring several of the women here at Resonate. We spoke with them about a variety of topics related to their lives and careers. Each article in this series will highlight a theme that emerged from those conversations.
What is the best advice you’ve received during your career? After discussing the different people who have mentored Resonate’s female employees over the years, the conversation turned to what the best pieces of advice are that they’ve received. While the answers varied, they all connected directly to how each woman approaches her role and work at Resonate.
Deb Correa, Resonate’s VP of Client Services, mentioned that one important piece of advice she received recently was to “Say what you mean” in meetings. She’s observed that it can be difficult to come out and say what needs to be said in a meeting because of the fear of other people’s responses. Deb mentioned that it’s important to be clear and assertive in saying what you mean and meaning what you say so that your point is communicated effectively.
Another piece of career advice Deb has taken to heart is to “be quiet and listen to what other people are saying”. Quite often it’s easy to get so wrapped up in trying to get your own point across in a conversation that you lose sight of what the other person is saying. By actively listening and taking in what other people are saying, you can have a more in depth dialogue with other people and establish deeper relationships.
Estelle Peterson, a Team Lead on Resonate’s Engineering team, shared similar advice from a colleague regarding staying neutral in meetings. She said that that piece of advice has helped her keep emotions in check and fully hear both sides of any discussion before forming her conclusion.
Similarly, staying neutral and trying to keep emotion out of work situations is the best advice that Ritvika Chandra, Resonate’s Manager of Client Strategy and Partnerships, has received in her career. She’s learned that not everything that doesn’t go your way is about you–that it’s important to not take things too personally. Ritvika also now understands the difference between working hard and working smart. Learning how to prioritize tasks and allocate time properly is a skill that has helped her immensely in her career thus far.
Mary Long, Resonate’s Executive Director of Client Solutions, mentioned that she received this advice “If you ever have a complaint or want something to change, offer a solution”. Complaining without having a suggestion for how to make something better results in you comping across as a “whiner” as opposed to someone who wants to make things better.
Echoing what other Resonate women said regarding the importance of listening to others, Mary also mentioned is the importance of always asking good questions. Being an active participant in conversations as opposed to sitting back and only listening allows you to continue to grow and learn.
Kelly Osterhout, Resonate’s Manager of Client Strategy said that she received advice about how critical it is to connect one’s body of work to overarching team goals. She’s also learned the value of sharing credit and calling out specific contributions from other people.
In addition Kelly said that supporting colleagues and helping build each other up is extremely important to keep in mind for young women starting out in their careers. Bijal Soni, Resonate’s Director of Analytics and Data Strategy, agreed with this advice and said that she was taught to always stay humble no matter how much success comes along.
Laura Lewellyn, Director of Research elaborated on this theme and mentioned the advice that “It’s not just what you do but how you do it”. Laura has learned that everyone on the team matters, and everyone on the team needs to feel good about the overall outcome. It’s important to keep in mind that even if you’re the best at what you do, if you don’t treat people with respect then it doesn’t matter.
When it comes to career growth, Julie McGoldrick, Resonate’s Director of Human Resources, was given the advice “If I’m not learning anymore in a role then it’s time to move on.” This advice has helped her be aware of when it was time to seek out a new opportunity in order to keep learning and growing personally and professionally. Julie also mentioned to never be afraid to take a risk if it can help you grow.
Part of that risk is also accepting failure as part of your overall success. This is one of the best pieces of advice that Natalia Velez, Resonate’s Director of Sales, has received in her career. She keeps in mind the phrase “there’s no crying in baseball” whenever she experiences a set-back and has found that this keeps her motivated to move forward and learn from failure.
These various pieces of advice have not only helped Resonate’s employees, but they are great suggestions for young women starting out in their careers. In our next article, we’ll focus on what drew the women of Resonate to the company and what inspires them to stay.
