Her Story
About Emily
I've been in pest control for almost 6 years now, starting this August. Honestly, I just kind of stumbled into it - I don't think anyone really aspires to work in pest control, it's definitely not glamorous by any means. But I made it here, and I love it, and it's been great. A typical day for me starts with operations work in the morning, then at 8 AM I hold a sales meeting with my inspectors that lasts about an hour. After that, I go out in the field with my people, spending time supporting them, helping them any way I can, coaching and developing them until about 3 PM. Then I'm back in the office working on recruiting and other operational stuff that needs to be done. Right now, one of my biggest challenges is staffing - getting good people onboarded. To combat that, I've been doing a lot of creative recruiting, spending time on LinkedIn, and on Mondays and Fridays I'm out in the field walking in and out of businesses trying to find good talent. I'm also the Midwest Division Advocate for WIN, the Women's Impact Network through Orkin, which supports women professionally and personally in this male-dominated industry. I've been part of that for about a year now.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Emily
01What do you attribute your success to?
I really put my people first in everything I do. Most of my success comes from spending so much time with my people in the field, learning from them, and building connections with them, and building that level of trust. I think that's one of the most important things that you can do - just spend time with your people, and get to know them, coach, develop, lead them. What you put into them, you'll get 10 times back in return. It's about finding a good balance between leading by people first and accountability.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best piece of advice I was told once by my mentor - he asked me a simple question: would you rather be right, or would you rather be effective? That's always kind of lasted with me and left an impression on me, because sometimes I can get in a position where I battle people or fight just for the point of being right. But at the end of the day, when we fight and argue about things, is it really effective? Even if I'm wrong, I'd rather just be effective for the operation.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
My biggest piece of advice for someone, especially going into a leadership position in this industry, is finding a good balance between leading by people first and accountability. Really put your people first in everything you do. Spend time with your people in the field, get to know them, coach, develop, and lead them. Build connections with them and build that level of trust - I think that's one of the most important things you can do. And when it comes to overcoming challenges, you just gotta keep grinding through whatever it takes. Sometimes that means working non-ideal hours, putting in long hours, hard work, long tiring days. You just keep grinding and doing whatever it takes, keep your head high, and it always gets better.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Right now, the current challenges are just overall staffing challenges - getting good people onboarded is a tough one right now. To overcome this, I've been doing a lot of creative recruiting, spending a lot of time on LinkedIn. On Mondays and Fridays, I'm out in the field walking in and out of businesses, trying to find good interactions and good talent that I can recruit. The key is staying consistent, just like when you're trying to close a deal with someone. If you find someone that you like, don't just leave that interaction there - if you don't hear back from them in a week or two, go back through, go in that store, go back through that location, and see if you can interact with that person again. Just follow up with them.
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