Her Story
About Faith
Faith Whitman serves as the customer service lead for a medical device manufacturer, a position she has held since 2019. She brings 16 years of experience in customer service, having previously worked in accounts receivable, and has been with her current company since around 2009 when she started as a temp. In her role, Faith handles high-level responsibilities, leads projects such as system upgrades and company acquisitions, and provides all training for new team members in her department. She emphasizes meeting customers where they are, particularly when they are upset, and finds great reward in resolving complex issues for patients navigating healthcare challenges. Faith credits a former manager of six years with transforming her career trajectory by serving as a mentor and role model, inspiring her to foster confidence and personalized training in others. She values honesty, kindness, and compassion in both her professional and personal life, and advises young women entering the field to find approaches that work for them rather than strictly emulating others. Faith completed some junior college but did not earn a degree, building her expertise through hands-on experience and a commitment to continuous learning.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Faith
01What do you attribute your success to?
My success is largely due to a wonderful manager I had for about six years who served as a mentor and role model. She helped me level up professionally, gave me confidence, and unleashed something in me that let me soar. I try to emulate her by being encouraging, helpful, compassionate, and training people in ways that make sense for how they learn.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
I had a manager a few years ago for about six years who really helped me level up professionally. As a role model, manager, and mentor, she changed the trajectory of everything for me. I have done everything I can to emulate that and bring it forward to more people, encouraging them, being helpful, seeing the person, talking to them in ways that make sense, getting them trained in ways that make sense for how they learn, and just being compassionate and kind.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
When they come in, I try to give them as much confidence in themselves as I can. I phrase things in ways that really make sense. I tell them that I do things one way, someone else might do the same task a different way, as long as you get to the end result we're looking for, that's it. Two plus three is five, so is one plus four. Just get there. Find what works for you and run with it, because emulating what somebody else is doing may not work for you and then you're not going to be successful.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
One of the biggest challenges is when someone's upset and a teammate is struggling to deal with it. You want to help but don't want to overstep or make them look inept. It can be delicate. On the rewarding side, being able to get off a call and know that you really helped somebody, sometimes they're crying at the end because they're so thankful. With healthcare in America, it can get frustrating, but helping someone fix an issue after they've been on hold with doctors and insurance is super impactful and gratifying.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Honesty is a big one. Kindness is huge for me as well. It doesn't matter what the issue is, it's how they handle whatever it is that's happening. Being compassionate. In personal life too, like on a recent vacation, it was about how the issue was handled with kindness and compassion.
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