Name: Carrie Epps
Title: VP of Member Services & Education
Company: PICA (The Printing Industry of the Carolinas, Inc.)
Company URL: www.picanet.org
LinkedIn Profile URL: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caepps/
Questions:
Please share advice for young women considering or starting a career in print… Which includes design, sales, marketing, and all jobs within.
Stay true to yourself and be open to learning. As in life, a career regardless of the industry is a day-to-day learning experience. If you go into it with all the answers, you will fail. If you are not passionate about your chosen career it will show.
One of the most eye-opening comments I’ve ever heard was from a company owner who said he would observe how fast a new employee walked, if they took their time, he knew they would produce at that speed. If they walked with purpose and determination, they would give 150%.
How have mentors helped your personal and career development?
I had two mentors, one who unbeknownst to her, showed me how I wanted to be seen by others. She was always immaculate, proper, and knowledgeable. She would also share things casually that you could take to heart and improve yourself. One thing she said, was “I don’t like to start an email with ‘I’, it sounds self-serving.” That one statement changed how I wrote emails.
The other mentor, helped me to understand my way of doing things wasn’t the only choice. We had a lot of clients that were of different religions, I learned to download the religious calendars so that when I reached out to a client I knew not to call or expect a response based on the holiday calendars. She was also very into women’s liberation, and some things I took lighter than others, but she knew her value to the company and negotiated her contract with precision. I can now say, “I’m worth this salary + a whole lot more” and know that I’m right, better yet my boss does too.
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