Crystal Waters

The best career advice came from my fiance, Richard Cooper. He told me that I was born with exactly what I need. God put me in this world and in this earth with exactly what I need to get the job done, whether that's the job I'm seeking or any role I pursue. He encouraged me to just apply for positions, saying that if a space is meant for me, then I will land in that space. This advice has been incredibly meaningful to me, especially as I navigate my career pivot toward chaplaincy.

My advice to young women entering my industry is simple: just hold on. What you're needing and what you need for you is gonna happen. Just hold on. Be patient and hold on. It's gonna happen. You can do whatever you want to do, no matter where you're from. Whether you grew up with the wealthiest of parents or came from a place like I did, you still can be who you want to be. Just hold on, be strong. Your time will come.

I see several major challenges in my field right now. First, there's a lack of education and training. I don't see enough intention around finding talent with different skill sets. We try to pigeonhole people into specific careers because they have a certain degree or certification, but I don't see recruiters taking time to recognize that someone could be good for multiple roles. Organizations need to offer more talent mobility to keep people internally and avoid retention issues and recruitment costs. Another major challenge is accountability. I have not seen professionally in my journey where what was told to me when I started a job was actually what it was within my first 90 days. They paint a very good picture, but when you walk in, the job is totally different. The culture's different, the camaraderie is different, the ethics and values are different. What you see from a surface level is not what you get when you walk in the door. I would love to see organizations do better at building a culture for people to stay within the first 90 days.

The values most important to me are respect, empathy, emotional intelligence, work-life balance, and boundaries. Boundaries came to mind for me because we all live here in the world together, and we never know how our paths are gonna cross or how things happen for us at a certain timing. I wear several hats and have a full load on a day-to-day basis, but I know how to create space for myself and set those boundaries. I know how to tell people absolutely no without any harshness in my voice. I just say no, no thanks, I'm not interested. If we can teach people and encourage them to learn how to set some boundaries, there would be no such thing as workplace retention and turnover. We wouldn't see it.