This post is brought to you by our friends at TEKsystems. TEKsystems offers great opportunities for advancement, personal and professional growth, and unlimited earning potential. TEKsystems seeks professional individuals with competitive spirit, drive, team mentality, courage, commitment, perseverance, and a desire to build a long-term career in a fast-paced environment. They are always hiring interns and entry-level roles! See their openings here.
It’s a widely known truth that when you place women in positions of power, businesses thrive. While gender equality at work is certainly moving in the right direction, there’s still so much work to do when it comes to creating a gender-inclusive workplace from entry-level to C-suite. Take sales. For many, the thought of sales conjures up images of suits, briefcases, stressful conversations, and well… men. Lots and lots of men.
For many women, it never even crosses their minds that sales could be a career worth exploring, or one they could find success in. This is wild, considering women often possess the qualities that make for an excellent salesperson—empathy, resilience, and the ability to be a good listener, just to name a few.
So why isn’t a career in sales on the radar of many women? Like we mentioned above, it often seems like the world of sales is a boys club and there are lots of misconceptions over what a job in sales really looks like.
Right now, only 19% of women in sales are in leadership positions and the industry itself has the second biggest gender equity gap. But the tide is changing here, and companies like TEKsystems are leading the way to welcome women to the table.
Just a few of the programs TEKsystems provides for females are Mama Bear for mothers, a Caretakers Network, a Women Employee Resource Group, and Onyx, their Black Females Network.
See below for some priceless career advice from some of the top talent at TEKsystems, who just happen to be women.
Magdaleny Soberanis, Lead Technical Recruiter
At TEKsystems for 6.5 years
What is the best quote or piece of career advice you’ve been given?
“Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success.”- Dale Carnegie
I love this quote because all the failures and lessons learned have helped me grow as the individual I am today. I keep pushing through despite all hurdles I had to jump at work for being a person of color and a woman. It made me stronger.
Why do you like working at TEK / a sales organization?
TEK has invested in me and I took the opportunity to grow as a businesswoman over time. Therefore, my hard work has led to paying off a great amount of my student loans as well as helping my family. In addition, to my job being of training and coaching new recruiters it gives life to help others and give back. TEK takes a great deal of time and providing resources for the growth of its employees. Such as implementing tools like Degree and now with the upcoming badges for recruiters. I personally don’t like staying stagnant for long so I need to be challenged and encouraged to continue growing. Lastly, I’ve made lifelong friends. Priceless.
Stacy Rice, Director of Business Operations
At TEKsystems for 17 years
What is the best quote or piece of career advice you’ve been given?
“A good leader inspires people to have confidence in the leader; a great leader inspires people to have confidence in themselves.” Eleanor Roosevelt
Why do you like working at TEK / a sales organization?
TEKsystems has provided the opportunity for me to get comfortable with the uncomfortable. Whether I’m trying to break into a new account, learning about the hottest trend in technology, or pushing one of my partners to live up to their potential – there’s always a new mountain to climb!
Kacey Brookes, Account Manager
At TEKsystems 5 years
Why do you like working at TEK and/ or a sales organization?
I like working at TEK because I have continuous opportunity to not only hit financial milestones but also grow within my career and as an individual.
Tracy Toothaker, Delivery Lead
At TEKsystems 8 years
What is the best quote or piece of advice you have been given (for work)?
“Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right” – Henry Ford
Why do you like working at TEK and/ or a sales organization?
Two things: 1. The ability to own my own success and 2. Working amongst people that are just as driven as me who push me, motivate me, and inspire me to do better
Frannie Pasquale, Strategic Account Lead
At TEKsystems 7 years
What is the best quote or piece of advice you have been given (for work)?
Over the course of my time with TEK, I’ve received a lot of great advice that has helped me in different scenarios. The advice that I’ve been able to use and see the most results from has been to take the time to create goals and break them down into achievable milestones. It’s helped hold me accountable during the highs and lows of the sales role, which has led to accomplishments (personally and professionally) that I’m very proud of.
Kim Hayes, Delivery Manager in the Milwaukee Delivery Center
At TEKsystems 6 years
Why do you like working at TEK and/ or a sales organization?
I don’t have anyone in my family that is in Sales or Recruiting so this was a new field for me with little career advice. Coming out of college I knew I wanted an opportunity that provided great training and an opportunity to grow. I was unsure how I would pay off student loans and be debt free which was my biggest goal.
I love working for TEKsystems because of the competitive atmosphere where I am striving to hit my personal and professional goals while pushing my partners to do the same. I’ve enjoyed being in sales because it has helped me establish my purpose and reason I want to get out of bed to work hard every day.
Amanda Box at South Carolina Director of Business Operations
At TEKsystems 16 years
What is the best quote or piece of advice you have been given (for work)?
“Stop doing $10 tasks and start making $100 decisions.”
When I started in leadership I was filling too much of my time with things that I should have been delegating which was limiting the growth of both myself and those reporting to me. I was a little bit of a control freak. If someone didn’t handle something in a quick enough time frame or to my satisfaction, I would just handle it instead of having the conversation and allowing them to grow with the experience. To be a great leader you need to give people the chance to try things, fail, and grow. If I was constantly doing things for them, I was stunting both their growth and my own.
Why do you like working at TEK and/ or a sales organization?
I worked for 8 years in an industry that gave raises and promotions based on tenure. I could outwork those around me but I was not compensated for that. I also felt like I was stuck without any ability to advance. When I came to TEKsystems, the core values (relationships, commitment, servant mentality, and open communication) fit the way I was raised. Additionally, I am an extremely competitive woman. I have found that this trait is often discouraged in the workplace but it is encouraged in both sales and at TEKsystems. The last reason I love TEKsystems is that I can be highly compensated for helping others grow and achieve their goals.
Carol Saville, Director of Business Operations, Baltimore
At TEKsystems 15 years
What is the best quote or piece of advice you have been given (for work)?
Expect Perfect Effort, not Perfect Results.
Why do you like working at TEK and/ or a sales organization?
I say this all the time – I came for the opportunity, and stayed for the relationships. I’m a big believer in surrounding yourself with people who love to win, but also people who are willing to go into battle with you, overcoming setbacks and solving big problems together. Through my time at TEK, my best relationships have been forged through that adversity and it has helped me grow and become a better person and leader.
Nina Kindrick, Director, National Recruiting Center
At TEKsystems 16 years
Why do you like working at TEK and/ or a sales organization?
I love working for a purpose driven organization. We are focused on helping our teams to identify their purpose and meet those goals.
Kayla Cunningham, Recruiter Lead
At TEKsystems 6 years
What is the best quote or piece of advice you have been given (for work)?
“Tough times don’t last, tough people do.”
Allison Maltese, Director of Talent Acquisition
At TEKsystems 24 Years
What is the best quote or piece of advice you have been given (for work)?
“Don’t let fear of failing stop you. Go for it. One of two things will happen. 1. You will get what you were going for OR 2. You will learn from the experience.”
Why do you like working at TEK and/ or a sales organization?
I like working for a sales organization because performance = income = flexibility = balance for me and my family
I like working for TEK because throughout my 24 years total and 19 years as a mom of 3 sons, I have always received the support I needed to allow me to be the Professional Businesswoman and Working Mom that I strive to be. I have been blessed to work for incredible leaders who helped me to keep in check what was really important AND worked with amazing teams who held me accountable to not just the professional commitments I made, but more importantly, the personal commitments I made to myself and family. I can say with confidence that TEK has made me a better person.
Michelle Webb, Executive Director – Employee Experience
At TEKsystems 25 years
What is the best quote or piece of advice you have been given (for work)?
This is hard to answer in one quote or anything one person told me. But I believe we are already enough, just as we are and the work is an “inside job” that if we believe we are already enough it provides a path to our best self. Anything about ownership of this process and learning through the struggle (both ours and others) is deeply rooted in my leadership style. My purpose is connection through compassion
Why do you like working at TEK and/ or a sales organization?
Over my 25 year career TEKsystems has provided an amazing amount of support, feedback, guidance and freedom to lean into my strengths while connecting to the organizational vision, strategy and priorities. I have been trusted to solve for my own challenges and now as a leader for enterprise challenges. The amount of coaching and true care is what helped me manage even the most challenging years. Mostly the love I receive during the hardest times in my life has been the true differentiator for me. Life is hard and having a company that stands by you when you don’t have the strength is hard to come by. They just care more.
Jill Arehart, Account Manager
At TEKsystems 16 years
What is the best quote or piece of advice you have been given (for work)?
I have two that are hard to pick between and they are both related. My mom, who was an executive with the Department of Defense, says, “don’t make a decision until you have to.” The other one comes from Michelle Webb who said, “don’t take yourself out of job before it’s too soon.” This came in the context of speaking to a group of women who were in the position to take on leadership roles, but may have talked themselves out of it due to future family obligations that weren’t even there yet. Several times, I have gotten caught up in the “what ifs”, what if I have kids and I won’t be able to travel, what if my husband gets a promotion and we have to move and it’s a dangerous and it’s detrimental to your leadership journey. Make a decision on the role with your current situation in mind only, you can always figure the future out when it comes.
Satahi Roedersheimer, Division Lead
At TEKsystems 6.5 Years
What is the best quote or piece of advice you have been given (for work)?
“Run towards the problem!”
Why do you like working at TEK and/ or a sales organization?
I like working for TEKsystems because I’m able to run my own business. I’m in charge of my own financial fate, and when I need support from leadership, I just have to speak up. The company has given me the space to grow organically, as well as forced me to mature when it would have been easier to run away. I continue to work for TEKsystems because it’s evident that they truly care about my development as an employee, friend, mom, wife, and professional.
Megan Soto, Director of Business Operations
At TEKsystems 12 years
What is the best quote or piece of advice you have been given (for work)?
- Don’t say no to opportunities or ideas right away, listen to the opportunity or idea and THEN say no if it doesn’t work for you. If you lead with “I would love to hear more about that.” More opportunities will come to you
- I don’t want to be right, I want to get it right.
- Catch people doing things right vs. catch people doing things wrong
- Be BOLD – do something that makes you uncomfortable every day.
Why do you like working at TEK and/ or a sales organization?
I love the work/life balance. The definition of that balance has evolved as my life evolved. Young, single, 22 year old Megan looks a lot different than 34, married, mom of 3 little boys Megan. I am thankful that I work for a company and team that trusts I will get my job done, even with a very busy life outside of the office. I am thankful that TEK has allowed me to show up authentically throughout the years, and I am thankful for strong mentors who have helped provide perspective and re-frame things when I don’t fully understand the “why”. I am also very thankful that even in leadership, our compensation model rewards equity for effort. In 12 years I have been able to build a life, while building wealth and establishing a solid financial future for my family. You can be a badass working professional AND a badass wife and mother. I am SO proud to work for TEKsystems.
Tina Martin Professional Recruiter (National Recruiter)
At TEKsystems 14.5 years
What is the best quote or piece of advice you have been given (for work)?
Just make 1 last call for the day! Sometimes it turns out to be the diamond you’ve been looking for and if nothing more you feel like you put in good effort for the day!
Why do you like working at TEK and/ or a sales organization?
Big company, lots of smart tools, intelligent people, team-spirited, fun and helpful work colleagues, lots of training, paths to make good money!
It seems pretty clear, whether you’re about to graduate college or are considering a career change, the future is bright when it comes to women in sales. Want to hear more? Join us on Tuesday, October 12th, 2021 at 6pm EST for a virtual event. Click here to RSVP
This post is brought to you by our friends at TEKsystems. TEKsystems offers great opportunities for advancement, personal and professional growth, and unlimited earning potential. TEKsystems seeks professional individuals with a competitive spirit, drive, team mentality, courage, commitment, perseverance, and a desire to build a long-term career in a fast-paced environment. They are always hiring entry-level roles! See their openings here.
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Networking, Career Inspiration, Female Leaders, Leadership, Women In Business, Women In Leadership, Women Leaders
