Her Story
About Eun
I have been working in the banking industry for 8 years, with my main area of expertise being compliance. My most notable professional achievement came when I was promoted to Compliance Officer at my most recent employer, a credit union, after having been there a little over a year. I earned my Bachelor's degree from Rutgers University in 1994. I hold the Credit Union Compliance Officer (CUCO) certification, which is equivalent to the CRCM (Certified Regulatory Compliance Manager) with the American Banking Association. Outside of work, I swim for workout and fitness, and opera is one of my favorite things to do. I just went and saw La Traviata with my husband at the Met in New York City, and we're planning on going to see The Marriage of Figaro by Mozart, hopefully in Munich, next year. I am currently in between jobs and interviewing for new opportunities in the compliance field.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Eun
01What do you attribute your success to?
I think a lot of it has to do with my family and their expectation and investment in our education. We moved from Korea to the United States, and both of my parents have been very, very strong on continuing our education and completing college and beyond for all four of us children. Three out of the four of us have higher degrees beyond just the bachelor's. They succeeded in helping us and expecting us to not only go beyond their education, which is elementary, but they did it for us and they created and sacrificed a lot for us. They also supported us, so I attribute my success to both my parents.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Sometimes women I've encountered don't ask for what they feel that they're worth. They accept, including myself, the initial offer from an employer. But every time I've talked to my husband and my male friends, they always demand more because they feel like they are worth it and they better get it. So that's the attitude - if you don't give it to me, I'm just gonna go somewhere else. I've taken that sort of advice from my husband and my male friends and sort of fine-tuned it and harnessed it for me and how I operate in terms of asking for more and expecting rather than just accepting what was initially offered for a role. I think women generally accept the first offer and they don't feel like they're worth more. I have a friend who has 20 years' experience in IT and she didn't feel like she's a senior-level executive, and I said, but you are. Men go into an interview with 20 years and say, I am senior, and give me what I deserve. I think we need to do that too.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
In terms of banking, experience matters. Look at different things, because even if you didn't graduate college, you can go from the teller level at a branch bank all the way to an executive. You don't have to have a college degree. College degree helps, but experience - you can't replace experience. I've met many men and women in banking who have been there 25, 30 years, are executives, and they did not graduate college. You can do it without a college degree in terms of banking.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Compliance is limited because compliance is at the corporate headquarters level, and very few banks are headquartered in New Jersey within driving distance. So I'm looking at remote and hybrid work, but a lot of banks, in terms of hybrid or remote, are doing less and less of fully remote but more in-office - four days in office, one day remote. That's challenging. I'd like to do a more balanced approach, two or three days in office and two or three days remote.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Integrity and mentorship are the values most important to me in my work and personal life.
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