Name: Vanecia “V” Carr
Title: Director of Marketing, Paper
Company: Domtar Corporation
Company URL: paper.domtar.com
LinkedIn Profile: – https://www.linkedin.com/in/vanecia-carr-16168373/
Did you choose print or did print choose you?
Print chose me – I happened upon the paper industry via a college classmate who worked for Weyerhaeuser at the time. They needed some temporary help and I agreed to help. Temporary turned full time and I have never looked back. Now that I am part of this amazing industry, I can’t see myself outside of it.
How do you establish credibility with customers, colleagues and bosses?
I focus on always being my authentic self. People often say that they always know what they are going to get from me and where I stand. I am pretty blunt, but I am also thoughtful and compassionate. I have always been someone who is action-oriented and a hard worker. Those around me see that work ethic and know that I wouldn’t ask them to do anything that I would not do myself (or in many cases have done before). If anyone asks me for something, they know that I will deliver on time and it will be excellent. I also try my best not to toot my own horn. I give others credit where credit is due and let my actions speak louder than my words.
What advice can you offer regarding negotiating salary raises/addressing fair pay issues?
Show the result and prove the ask. Sometimes people don’t necessarily understand what it takes to do your job, so you have to show the result of your work. How have your actions impacted business objectives? What value-added activities are you spending your time on and how do they support the goals of the company? Make sure that you have done your research and sell your case with facts and data, not emotion. In the same way that you would put a proposal with data together for a client, put one together for your manager.
What advice did you receive early in your career that you wished you had followed?
I can honestly say that I have at least internalized every piece of feedback or advice I have ever gotten. I can’t think of anything that I ignored and then wish I had enacted. I am one of the lucky ones who had some really amazing mentors and leaders along the way. The advice I would share with the next generation is to learn as much as you can from the people who came before you. They are the trailblazers and there are so many amazing things that need to be preserved as we continue in this amazing print industry. Perhaps, we need to adjust the way we do some things, but everything comes back around again at some point and it is always awesome to have experience to draw from and at least have a starting point.
BONUS!!! V’s podcast was one of the TOP 10 most listened to in 2019!… Click here, or click the podcast player below and learn why!
