Gina Boyd

I would say my success is motivated by my family. My brother is a very driven entrepreneur. He is 4 years older than I am, and I've always seen him succeed and work really hard. My husband is another entrepreneur as well. He's very supportive, and I definitely think that your success is based off of the people that you surround yourself with. In addition to family members, I have two young boys - I want to do well for them and set a good example. I have a great support group of friends, and if you continue to surround yourself with people that build you up and not break you down, then the sky's the limit.

The best career advice I ever received was being authentic and true to yourself. It's so easy to join a new organization, or to graduate college and emerge into the career world, and often we want to mold and bend to what people - what we think people expect and want us to be. But truly, we have to be true to ourselves, and of course, there are going to be certain regulations and decorum that we have to follow, but at the end of the day, if you are authentic, honest, and forthright, then people will instill confidence in you, you'll build better relationships, and you'll become more reliable and a true business advisor.

I would encourage women to always stand up for yourself, and always feel that you have a seat at the table. Don't be afraid to raise your hand and ask questions, and if you disagree, you can politely disagree and have a reason behind it. I would definitely tell a woman to feel very confident in who they are and what they believe in, and don't be afraid to move mountains, and speak up, and have a voice. Again, just be true to who you are, and give out respect, because you'll get respect in return, and just know that you always have a meaningful impact and a meaningful position, no matter what organization or what table you're at.

I am obviously a very big people person, being a recruiter, but I am introverted just as much as I'm extroverted. I've learned that as I've gotten older. Since the pandemic, we were forced to stay home, and now that we're kind of coming out of that, my job is primarily remote. I do miss that in-person piece, so I would say the challenge is when you build connections, you have to be very intentional. It's not how it used to be, where somebody's cube is right next to you, or they're just a floor over. You really have to make it a point to schedule that time to talk to them, to do it regularly, to encourage an in-person meeting when you can. It is easy to get stuck in the ways of not wanting to leave the house, not wanting to go out, but if you want to make an impact, you have to be seen, and you have to be heard. That in-person piece is one big challenge.

I would say values that I find to be very important personally and professionally are time. Time is something that you can never get back, so we have to be really efficient and organized, and we also have to be respectful of not only protecting our time, but the time of our colleagues and our family members. It's very important that you show up, and if you are scheduled to be on a call, in a meeting, or you're committed to a task or a project, I feel that it's important to hold up your end of the bargain. Another value that I hold dear is respect. I think it's important that you respect yourself and you respect other people, because truly, what you put out is what you receive back.