A new workforce generation is shaking how businesses tackle culture and career advancement in the workplace. Millennials are unafraid to demand what they deserve and know what they are worth. Here to shed more light on the matter is Krista Scott. Krista currently works as Senior P&C Middle Market Underwriter at The Hartford and is the Vice President for the NAAIA DFW chapter. As a millennial and woman of color, Krista has actively used her voice to advance her career and speak out for causes that matter to her. In this episode, she joins host Rosie Zilinskas to explain how and why businesses should adapt to this new era. Learn all about how to bridge this gap by tuning in!
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I was so looking forward to my conversation with Krista Scott, who is navigating the corporate world as a Millennial. Things for me were very different when I started my career, which was many years ago. I find this conversation fascinating. Krista is personable and growth-oriented. She is a Senior Underwriter for Middle and Large Commercial Risks in Property and Casualty Insurance with years of experience. She was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. Krista obtained her Bachelor’s in Mathematics with an emphasis in Actuarial Science from Millikin University.
In 2019, she moved to Dallas, Texas, where she is working for Hartford and is the Vice President for the National African American Insurance Association, Dallas-Fort Worth Chapter. She created a scholarship to financially encourage and promote minority women and first-generation college women and men studying Math and related topics at Millikin University. You don’t want to miss this conversation with Krista.
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Krista, thank you so much for being on the show.
Thank you.
We are talking specifically to women who want to advance in their careers. Sometimes, women are holding themselves back and may not even realize it. So that everybody knows, you are a Millennial Black women. You know that Millennials are seeking equity, transparency, flexibility and purpose from their employers. Does that resonate with you, and why?
Yes, it 100% resonates with me. If anything, I grew up as a Millennial and parents that were born in the late ’60s and early ’70s. There was a structure in things. We were able to absorb that but we also have this new mentality. You start to see that Gen Z where the school bumped away. As Millennials, we want not necessarily reassurance but know that you hear and see us. We are not a number.
We are a name or a person outside of work. Those things are not necessarily important. They are all important to us but there’s no patience for them. We know that this life is short and see our parents that have worked so hard. We are like, “We want to work hard,” but we also want to get our worth. That’s something that continues to be the theme in Millennials and what we want to see and expect.
You want to know that you are heard and seen. Can you elaborate on that a little bit? What do you mean by that?
You are not looking for a plaque that you are going to put on the wall but it’s more of, whether that be a manager, someone that’s in leadership, an AVP or a VP, Vice President role, someone to say, “I see, recognize, and appreciate what you are doing.” Outside of that, I would also going to compensate you. Some employers are willing to give that word without necessarily asking for it.
When you are being seen and heard, things can follow with you. You think about the benefits that come and things like that. When I say seen and heard, it’s not necessarily a plaque of recognition that you are looking for, but like, “We appreciate the work that you do. We are also going to follow up with some actions to keep you there and here.” There’s this voice and theme of, “We know what our worth is and are going to fight for it but we are also going to be loyal to you if you show it to us.” When I say seen and heard, it’s more of that friendly conversation and face that you recognize that what we are doing is hard work every day.
Millennials want to work hard but also want to get their worth. – Krista Scott Click To Tweet
I like that because worth is one of the reasons why women are holding themselves back. A lot of women know that they are working hard, and sometimes expect the employer to recognize or see that they are working hard but they may not say anything about what they want. I love the fact that Millennials are valuing their worth. Along those lines, I understand that Millennials are not afraid to quit work or their job if their employer is not owning up to their end of the bargain. Would you agree with that? How have you experienced that?
What Millennials get mistaken for is the sense of entitlement, wanting something without working hard for it. You can’t speak for everybody but at least for me, someone who cares about the work ethic, what message, brand, and reputation you are taking out there. At the same time, especially given the pandemic, we know what burnt out feels like. When we take that into our homes, relationships, friendships, and outside of work, we know that there’s a little more purpose out there than clocking in and out. We are recognizing it and being a little bit more vocal about it.
As minority women, we are pursuing STEM like careers. There’s an opportunity out there to get in and voice. When you think about diversity, equity and inclusion, you think about the numbers and the data that support why we need diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace. It’s a long answer there but that’s certainly true about at least folks that are in my realm.
When you think about not necessarily the willingness to quit but knowing, “I’m going to be a little bit bolder and braver and take a little bit more risk because we are young and we liked to do things sometimes,” sometimes it’s worth it, and it pays off. If we can find an employer that’s excited about us, willing to give us different financial tracks, benefits, and things like that, we are going to say, “This is the route to go.”
I love what you said because my tagline at the end of my show, emails and stuff like that, I always say, “Be brave, be bold and take action.” I love the fact that Millennials are living with that mantra. In my generation, we are pretty much on opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to our careers. I can tell you when I was your age, we did not have the mindset that you all have.
I am so happy that young women like you take risks, are bold, and have those conversations. I understand that Millennials average probably 3 to 5 years with employers because I read that they crave change. They want their work to be recognized and challenge the status quo. How do you identify with that?
I wanted to circle back. When you think about women who are your age that has gone through the barriers, you were the ones that knocked down the barriers. You think about, “It’s not that you didn’t want to be bold or risk. It wasn’t an opportunity.” Now that you think of history knocking all those barriers, it gets a little bit louder.
Going into the next point, 3 to 5 years on average, my first career was 5 years long with 1 employer. It’s funny that you say, “I was right there at the cutoff.” What I found is that even though you go slow and steady in certain aspects of your life, that may very well work but it doesn’t always work when it comes to your career and what you are looking for. Slow and steady, yes, always falls back as a great plan but sometimes you make backtrack a little bit.
When I thought about my career, I was doing well and progressing, but I started having conversations with other women and they were being vulnerable and brave about salaries. I’m thinking, “That’s going to take me a long time to get to where I want to go. I’m someone who wants to retire in the late 60s.” I think about the right opportunity that’s going to get me where I’m going. I’m not jumping around because that can play a message and a resume. There’s got to be a purpose to it. If you are going to move every 3 to 5 years, let there be a purpose and something intentional with that. It’s getting to the goal that you are trying to get to, if that makes sense.
That’s a fantastic point. You don’t want to jump around from job to job because you are bored. If you are bored in your job, that’s because you are not intentionally being engaged with whatever you are doing but I love the fact that you said, “It’s okay to go from job to job if there’s a purpose behind it.” If you can clearly show that there’s some career progression and why you are changing employers every five years, that’s perfectly explainable.
We talked about loyalty a little bit. Loyalty now is very different than loyalty even generations before me were coming up. Generations before me, those people were staying at jobs for 30, 35 or 40 years. That’s practically unheard of nowadays. I do like the fact that you said that Millennials can still be loyal to their employers as long as the employer is showing the purpose of them being there. Along those lines, what are some things that you have seen in your experience that an employer can show where they can retain those Millennials?
I think about opportunities like volunteering, mentorship or sponsorship. That takes it on a whole new level. At that point, you are connecting people of different backgrounds, ages, and experiences within and outside the company. That’s going to show me that you are trying to find someone to invest in me. You are going to build these mentorships based on your interest or where you want to go. What I have found with each mentor that I took advantage of at my employer’s program, I learned something new. It’s a different branch or journey within the industry that I’m in, and I didn’t know before.
Those programs alone, employee resource groups, and having different networks of different cultures, religions, and the way that they identify themselves show that you care about your employees and how they are growing and talking amongst one another. Another thing, being loyal when you are at a company for 30 years, and you think about the pension as someone who may be in their 60s or 70s and are ready to retire, I think about a Millennial.
I’m not sure that those things are going to exist. You think about the gaps and the differences that are there. It’s certainly a thing to think about. It’s not that maybe we don’t want to be wild but maybe those legacy loyalty perks and benefits aren’t going to be available to Millennials. You keep throwing a tree in our face, and the tree is no longer there like an insight. That’s how I would think about that.
I went to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and vividly remember being in a finance class. Professor Seno back then said to us that by the time we were to retire, Social Security was not going to be around anymore. He said, “Do not even think about Social Security because it’s not going to be there.” At this point, it may or be not either, but I understand your thought process of pension is not being there and it’s a different world. Is it clear that Millennials are looking for career advancement and opportunities over benefits like salary? I have read that too. I’m not sure that I agree with that. I wanted to get your thoughts on that.
It’s going to depend on the person. If you have a young woman like myself that’s trying to start a family, you are going to find an employer that’s going to have a little bit better benefit. For someone like myself that probably has a little bit more hindsight in the marriage and kids, you are going to want someone that has student loan assistance. You are going to want someone that has travel perks and benefits because a Millennial loves to travel.
When you're being seen and heard, things typically follow you. – Krista Scott Click To Tweet
We will take a trip anywhere. From a salary point, I feel like when you think about salary or age, you think that they are two different components in bubbles. If you are a young person like myself, I bring in experience from being a vice president in an organization. I come from being very heavily involved with my alma mater with donors, volunteers, and things like that.
Having a financial growth fast track is going to be important to me. It depends on the person and their journey. It’s going to be a little bit of both but to be an employer and be competitive in this work that we are in, that’s getting to know the person. You are not just a number. You are going to be a person that has a name and all these interests.
How am I going to attract you with the interests that you have outside of work? The biggest thing is Millennials are very much engaged and serious about our work but we also know how to disconnect from work. What I do outside of work matters and is important and should also be included in my bonus and promotion reviews. I would have to respond that way.
You introduced or founded a scholarship program. Your leadership in that particular scholarship is part of your leadership and developmental skills. It could be brought into your employer’s point of view like, “I’m doing all this volunteering work outside of work. I don’t want to work 80 hours a week because I want to enjoy life.” That’s very valid.
We are a brand. If I’m out doing volunteering and the thing, I’m also representing my employer. That should have a conversation. It’s very realistic because, in my performance reviews, it’s included in those. Employers have to consider those types of things if they haven’t already.
Do you bring up your scholarship and volunteering work into your employer conversation?
I have been very blessed and grateful to have managers who care about those things. When I present and interview myself, I make it known that those are very important to me. If you have a manager or a leader who’s listening to that, they are going to bring it up anyway. For me, I have been grateful in every position and employer that I have been with because they brought those things up and are saying, “You are bringing a lot of attention and noise. We don’t want anyone to take that away.” If you present yourself that way and say this is important to you, a true leader is going to recognize and award that.
I also like that you said the fact that you are a brand. I’m talking about your brand specifically for yourself. Young people need to understand that whenever you are out there in the world, whatever you do is going to be part of your brand like who you are, what you do, what you represent. All of that is part of your brand.
I also think that people need to understand that whatever they do and behave out in the world, and there are pictures of them doing X, Y or Z that could, right or wrong, impact their career like if they are out partying and drinking. Social media is so transparent. That is part of your brand and the world that we live in. For anybody that’s reading this, it’s okay to go have a good time, but don’t put it on video or record it.
Share it with your friends. Be intentional with your social media. It was something I had to transition to. I went from having college friends as my Facebook friends to thinking, “I’m having customers, clients, and coworkers adding me. I’ve got to make sure.” Thankfully, I didn’t have those issues. If you don’t think about it being an issue when you are younger, as you start to get older you will think, “That could come back to bite me.”
That’s a good point too because the lines of social media are so blurred. You do have those situations where coworkers, employers, and even your customers are asking to be connected because people do want to be connected socially, even if it’s just on social media. We have to be careful as to what we put on social media.
If you are looking to have a job, you do sign social media communication contracts. Those aren’t a signature. You are signing up to say, “You are going to have to watch what you do.” To your point, have a good time, post to your friends, and be authentic to yourself but think about things like maybe having these conversations with friends outside of social media.
When I was up and coming in the insurance industry, things like being authentic to yourself were not even part of our conversation or legal, and also to be bold, brave, and take action. I love the fact that we, as women, have come such a long way. I went to the University of Illinois. One of the things that I love about U of I is the alma mater. There is a statue right on the quad. There’s this inscription in the statue that says, “To the happy children of the future, those of the past send greetings.”
I love that saying because, as you and I had talked about previously, the women that came before us, and I’m talking like generations, even those women that have passed, have all helped us to pave the way so that we can move forward in our careers and life. My mission is to eradicate the gender gap in the corporate world. I’m doing it by empowering women to advance in their careers, which is why we are having this important conversation. I love it. This is so awesome. I wanted to ask you another question. I read that Millennials care more about travel, shoes, and technology than buying real estate. Have you found that amongst your peers?
Yes. I have a lot more friends that are traveling and shopping versus investing in real estate. I will tell you that. It becomes an exposure and education, lack of. When I think about going through high school and college, investing in real estate was not a conversation. No matter what organization I was a part of, it wasn’t brought up in career day and none of those. For me, that’s why it’s so important to be engaged with my alma mater.
I went to Millikin and said, “These things happen.” I’m grateful for my school and everything it taught me, but there are little things out there that you have to learn on your own. That’s unfortunately why we have a gap in about every topic and group of people. It becomes an exposure and a point of conversation between parents, friends, and things like that. If there was a course that I could have taken in or someone told me about all of that, it’s probably a different story.
If you are going to move every three to five years, let there be a purpose. Let there be something intentional with that, so it's getting to the goal you're trying to get to. – Krista Scott Click To Tweet
I have a son, a daughter, an older nephew, and a niece who’s about your age. They are so vocal and passionate about social justice issues. We had a whole conversation and talked about all kinds of things. My kids are going back and forth. I’m like, “What’s going on?” They are so passionate about what’s happening in the world. This generation is doing such a good job at understanding social issues and things that are happening in the world. They are changing the world.
This is so exciting to me to see all these young people getting into their career development and talking about all kinds of social issues. Speaking of social issues, you were instrumental in implementing or founding a scholarship. Tell me a little bit about your scholarship. Why did you find a scholarship? What was your purpose?
I went to Millikin University, a very private, smaller school, which was what I was looking for. Even though it’s smaller, I found myself being the only woman in the class. I was going through Mathematics. You already have a small group of women that are going to STEM Mathematics but also a Black woman, a woman of color. I’m biracial. I already know that it does have its privilege to be half-Caucasian, half-African-American.
When I was going through my classes, I realized it. My professors and my class maybe feel comfortable. I still felt supported but I was missing something when I have my hand raised and think, “I’m the only woman here.” Nonetheless, I was going through this and thought, “Instead of complaining and being upset, do something about it.” That’s quite what I did. I had worked through all four years at the alumni building. I’ve got a chance to deal with scholarship donors and put together dinners. I was like, “I want to be on the other side one day.” I stayed connected and said, “I’m going to create the scholarship.” It’s for women who are trying to pursue Mathematics at Millikin University.
I have a preference for minority women. A lot of women are going through Mathematics but there is a gap between Black women and minority women. It also will go to first-generation men or women that are trying to pursue Mathematics. Men have their privileges but for first-generation college students, regardless of who they are, it’s going to be tough and need some support.
I found that. It’s fully funded and going to be dispersed soon. I’m looking forward to it. If anything, it also sheds light on, “You don’t have to be this well-established person in your career with lots of money to build a scholarship.” It took $50 every month to fund it. I started getting fundraisers and matching gift programs through my employer. It grew momentum from there. I was spreading some exposure that you can help and doesn’t have to be from a millionaire. That’s what the purpose was. A lot of people are like, “How could you do it? That’s crazy and fantastic.”
I thought, “It started with what I went through as a college student as a Black woman and what I would have loved to see.” Think about what’s going to help us when we also need to think about, “How can I help the person behind me?” That’s what women do. We are kicking those barriers but sometimes we can get lost in our world. That’s something that keeps me back in and lets me know that it may not change the world but it’s going to change someone’s world.
The work that you are doing with the scholarship is phenomenal. I encourage you to take a little bit of a celebration because we, women, are so socialized to take care of everybody else and not take care of ourselves. I’m guilty of this. Whenever I accomplish something, I’m like, “Cool. What’s next?” It’s sitting and celebrating a little bit. Be proud of what you have done. You are not going to change the world but you are going to change somebody’s world, and that’s awesome.
I can have an entire episode about the word strong. I hate it when they are like, “You are such a strong woman. You need to be strong all the time.” I’m glad you brought that up. I appreciate it. I am in celebration mode.
Back to the fact that you are a first-generation Black Millennial. You touched this a little bit with your parents, but how has that been different with your family, being a first-generation college student graduate?
I was a little lucky. My brother had attempted to go through school, and so they had to figure out all the craziness that went through. My brother didn’t finish but honestly, he built that foundation for us. My mom had some practice at that point and helped me, but it was tough. We had asked a million and one questions, constant financial aid conversations with the universities. My mom chit-chatted like, “We are going through the same thing. What did you learn?” Versus maybe a family that has claimed from schooling and education that know the process and the people. We had a different starting line if I can paint that picture.
Looking at my mom’s face as soon as I’ve got my degree, walking past to see her and my dad was so proud, there’s a bit of worthlessness. You may have gone through that. You think about all your family before. I think about my ancestor, which I came from ancestor’s slavery. I think about what my ancestors weren’t able to be capable of. All those emotions come through, and you do have this sense of pride but I also think that it comes with a big weight on your shoulders. You don’t want to let your family down, fail or anything like that. It’s a rollercoaster of a ride.
I’m so glad that you said that because of that weight on your shoulders, you are not alone with that. I will tell you a little bit about myself. I’m very White conflicted, so I don’t look like I am Hispanic but I am 100% Mexican, fluent in Spanish, and lived in Mexico. Both my parents are from Mexico. When I started applying for college, I had graduated from high school in Texas. I started having a conversation with my parents. My parents had no idea anything about school. They didn’t even know what college credit was. I credit one of my high school counselors that said, “You are going to go into the college prep program,” which I was clueless about. I had no idea what that was like.
It was because of that one counselor that veered me towards a college career. Once I started looking into the process, I had to do it single-handedly because since I graduated, two of my other siblings have gone through college but I was the first one. I had no idea what was going on. I can relate to the whole weight on your shoulders where I was like, “I will be able to finish this, make my family proud,” and all that stuff. It makes a difference as far as if you are the first one paving the way for your family.
I’m starting to see some campuses having first-generation college student buildings that are focused on resources, get together in a group and talk about some other stuff. We are seeing an evolving type of influence and encouragement of first-generation college students.
I am so happy to hear that. We talked about we need diverse managers and people in the workplace. Why do you think that is?
It's a business imperative to be successful financially, but what's going to keep your business building is continuing to get new generations in it. – Krista Scott Click To Tweet
It’s important because it’s for the business from a financial standpoint. When you have a creative mind, you bring and build something brilliant. For 1) We need that, and for 2) You are also not going to be able to recruit and retain without seeing representation. That’s a heavy influence on where I’m going to work. I want to know that I have a manager that knows where I’m going through or when George Floyd was murdered. Thinking about all these emotions, I can say, “My manager understood what was going on. Krista, you are typically vocal in meetings. I realized today you weren’t.”
That’s a different message from someone who could be from a different background or the same background. It’s a business imperative to be financially successful but what’s going to keep your business building is continuing to get new generations in. When you think about the insurance industry, there is a big gap. I don’t know if we can afford another big gap given our industry.
I’m glad that you provided that example where if your manager knows what you are going through, you will be heard, seen and helped with whatever emotions you are dealing with. I’m a 100% Mexican woman and an Executive Vice President. There are not many of us like myself who represented the insurance industry at my level, so I can understand. What are your expectations or maybe career strategy dreams? What’s next for you as far as your career?
I graduated with a Mathematics degree, but it had an emphasis on Actuarial Science. The idea was to be an actuary right out of college where I was like, “This is my plan,” and then life happens. I didn’t pass my exam. Now that I’ve got my five years in the industry, I feel pretty comfortable in it. My next steps are studying for my actuary exams and my first FM exam. For me, I want to get a destination or at least have 3 or 4 exams under my belt.
Somehow, combining both underwriting and Actuarial Science, not that they don’t already exist or that relationship doesn’t exist, but I could bring something different to the table as far as transparency, communication, and making sure strategies are the same way. If you are not in insurance, this may sound foreign but an actuary and underwriting strategy can be different.
I would love to see those merging and be a part of that generation or team that can build those two. That’s the strategy. Eventually, I don’t know where and when but I would love to be in leadership. Going back to that point in representation, bringing a different side of insurance, I promise we don’t wear ties and thick black glasses. We are fun, wild and crazy. It can bring a different vision and look into the industry.
My whole career, I have been in underwriting but I did go to school for Actuarial Science. When I graduated, I knew that I didn’t want to pursue the Actuarial Science route. However, I will tell you that being an underwriter first will make you a better actuary without a doubt. A lot of times, what happens is someone in the Actuary Department will ask us, “Why are you doing X, Y, Z?” It’s from an underwriting perspective.
When you give that, they are like,” Okay,” but being an underwriter first will give you that added layer of experience and knowledge as to what an underwriter does and how an underwriter thinks that will translate into your actuarial career. You are doing it the right way. It will be a big plus for you once you get to that actuarial career.
I appreciate that. One little tidbit is that you say it’s the right way, but to me, it was like an accident. I think about when we say the right way, it could look so many different ways. I wanted to add that to it.
The other thing too is when we are thinking about career development, it’s not linear. It’s not like it’s going to go straight up. It’s going to go zigzag. You might have to find yourself in a position where your salary goes down a little bit if you go to another employer or maybe you are a senior in one company, and you go, and you are not a senior in your next job. When I said the right way, it’s the right way for you.
The fact that people need to understand that career development is a zig-zag with swirls and all kinds of things because it is not a linear straight line up to a senior executive. There are going to be some twists and turns. Like you said, “Life is going to happen.” Sometimes you don’t have control. I was talking to somebody that was onboarded a couple of years ago. They are getting into the office because things are starting to reopen from the pandemic. It was so interesting that this was their first time going into the office.
It’s quite insane. What’s interesting is there’s this big change going back to the office. It’s such a transition. It’s another moment for employers to realize that it’s going to make a transition. You are going to have to be patient and supportive.
Are you working from home remotely, and are you going into an office?
I still have been working from home. We are going back in April 2022 in a hybrid type of model. It’s creeping up on us but at the same time, we are also ready for it. I just joined this new employer. Meeting folks, hearing conversations, and learning in a different environment is going to be helpful but also a transition. All employees think about transition.
I don’t think that we have talked about this yet but when you are dealing with someone that says something about your age because you are young, how are you handling that situation? Give me a couple of examples of how your age comes into play in the workplace.
I’m still learning how to respond to it. When I first heard it, I was 23 years old, going into the insurance industry. I knew I was going to be one of the youngest ones, but we were either talking about an account or at work, and all of a sudden, they are like, “I have a grandchild your age.” Being 23 years old, you don’t know what to say. I’m like, “Are you trying to put us on a play date or are you telling me because we are trying to learn about each other?” It all comes with the tone and how you deliver it. Your conversations followed by.
All things come to where it's supposed to be so long as you work for them. – Krista Scott Click To Tweet
Fast forward, when people tell me, I don’t take it personally. I’m thinking, “What is your grandchild doing? What do you like to do with them?” To me and my job and where I’m at, it’s a relationship-building role. I’m looking at it as an opportunity to learn about that person. If you are not in a sales marketing role, it’s fun to respond by thinking, “What made you want to say that? That’s interesting. Did I have something similar to your granddaughter?” I challenged them, saying, “Why did you ask that?” Not in an angry way or a personal way but it helps bring that question back to that person and think, “Why did I bring that up? Is it because I looked at you and thought you were young, or did I not take you seriously?” That can be applied to anything.
If someone brings up something a little off-put, you say, “What made you want to ask that question to me?” It’s a brilliant way. A gal told me to use that. Not everyone is going to ask me those questions and be offensive about it. It’s something to be aware of. If you are going to tell me that I have looked like your granddaughter, what was the purpose of it? Was it a friendly small talk or is there an agenda behind that? That’s something that I’m still playing out.
It can be twofold. One is a way for people to relate to you because they may be very experienced in the industry and think, “She’s young,” and say something like that where they don’t mean anything. On the other hand, sometimes people may say that to discredit you because you are so young and you are not that young anymore, as far as the industry is concerned.
Whenever someone says something about your age, another way of handling it is circling back or directing the conversation back to whatever the work topic at hand is. Maybe not even acknowledge it because there is no purpose in that. I like the fact that you stated that there’s no sense in being angry or rude about it. It is relevant but at the same time, I like the fact that you challenged the individual and said, “Was there a purpose to that question? Was there a reason you brought that up?”
You don’t want to be rude about it but at the same time, you want to set boundaries and expectations. I wouldn’t come up to you and say, “My mom is the same age as you.” Firstly, for me it’s like, “I would never say that to someone.” When you go into a playwright, you don’t deal with people who live in the same community. Some people have lived in different countries in different states. What Millennials are bringing back is it’s all about the culture, office culture, what we bring to one another and how we talk to one another. It’s in full circle effect.
Before I let you go, I would like to ask you if you can provide us with two actionable tips that Millennials can implement in their careers.
One thing that has been actionable for me is that I stay humbled. I remember where I am. The path and the journey that I’m going on is going to be a very successful track. Not to toot my little horn but I have those intentional goals. I also don’t want to forget where I came from. That’s where the disconnect starts to grow. You have someone who grows in their career and forgets what it’s like to be in their young 20s or 30s. Stay connected to your hometown, wherever it may be or who you are.
On another note to it, it’s what we had spoken about, being bold and brave. I was very comfortable in my position for five years. I knew what was going on like, “It’s going to take me a while to get there, but I know I’m going to get to where I want to go.” I was looking at another opportunity. It freaked me out. I’m terrified. I have made that change, so it has been the best thing in my life. You have got to take a risk. I have done it before too where I have taken a risk, and I didn’t get the job or the role. I’m disappointed in myself but all things happen for a reason. All things come to where it’s supposed to be as long as you work for them. Stay humble and be risky.
I’m going to add one more thing as far as what you said if you don’t get a job. I had this conversation with someone else but they said, “Sit in the suck.” Meaning, give yourself 24 hours to feel those feelings of, “I tried my best and didn’t get the job.” You are not going to get every single job that you applied for. To your point, take the risk, dust yourself off, get back up and keep on essentially. That’s fantastic.
You apply for a role and take it seriously. You may not get it. It may mean that, “It’s not my time yet. I needed to go through another experience or project. Whatever the case may be, I needed to meet a different person.” If you don’t take that risk, I don’t think you are going to see that momentum and big leap that you are looking for. I love that quote.
Krista, any final words of wisdom?
This is a great show. For one thing, we have been in such a very virtual and one-sided Zoom-type of world. The world is going to be opening up or is starting to open up. We are going to have to be patient and have grace ourselves. It’s also the right time to think about what’s important to you, what you’re passionate about, and how you’re going to get there. I’m very honored that you put me into this show. I know that there are so many women out there that are doing great things. If we all help one another build one another, that could toughen us.
I couldn’t agree more.
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What a fascinating conversation I had with Krista. Being a Millennial in the corporate world is so different than how I started my career. I am glad that women are advocating for themselves and asking for what they need. The last thing I’m going to do is talk about the two tips that Krista provided us. Tip number one is to stay humble. Remember where you came from. Sometimes the disconnect comes when you don’t remember where you came from as you are advancing in your career.
Tip number two is to be brave and bold, which I say all the time. What that means is don’t stay in a position just because you are comfortable. Take a risk, go out there, and get a new position. I added tip number three, which is to sit in the suck. It is a quote that I’ve got from a prior episode that I recorded, which means that give yourself time to feel those feelings of disappointment.
Whenever you don’t need a goal or maybe you don’t get a job that you applied for, give yourself some time to feel those feelings. Dust yourself off and keep going. Those are the three tips. If you have any ideas or topics that you would like me to cover, by all means, please email me or DM me. With that, remember to be brave, be bold, and take action. Until next time.
A personable and growth oriented Senior Middle and Large Commercial Property and Casualty Underwriter with over 5 years in the insurance industry. She was born and raised in St. Louis, MO, and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics with an emphasis in Actuarial Science from Millikin University.
She moved to Dallas, TX in 2019, where she currently works for The Hartford and is the Vice President for the NAAIA DFW chapter. Recently, she created a scholarship to financially encourage and promote minority women and first-generation college women and men studying math and related fields at Millikin University.
