Isley Karina Barajas

I attribute my success to staying true to myself and what I believe in, being honest and kind, and always trying to find the middle ground and negotiate for the better of the job. I've learned that you have to stand your ground even when you're doubting, because if I'm not truthful to myself and don't respect myself, who's going to do that for me? I think doing good work and showing kindness makes such a difference. I manage differently than others - yes, I'm tough, but we all have a human side. I try to understand where my team and subcontractors are coming from, and compromising with them makes our job way easier. In this tough industry, there's no time for arguing about who's right. I remind everyone that we're all here doing the same thing, working as a team with one common goal - we win together. I also believe in the importance of morale on the job site. I bring cupcakes, celebrate everybody's birthday, and make sure everyone feels they're part of a team. I started as an office manager and worked my way up, and I was the girl who would buy the cakes and have everybody sign the cards so they could feel part of a team. If we don't have a team, we can't finish the job. Everybody's an important piece, even the lady that cleans. I treat everybody the same - my cleaning lady, my gate men, everybody - and I think that makes such a difference because they can come and talk to you. It's nice to be part of that change in the industry.

The best career advice I've ever received is don't be afraid to speak your mind and stand your ground. This is a world of men, and when they yell and scream, they're the macho men, but when we yell and scream, we're neurotic and crazy. But I've been screaming for 20 years, and if I wouldn't scream in my career, I wouldn't be where I am. I've always stayed true to me and what I believe, being honest and kind and trying to find the middle ground and negotiate for the better of the job. I also learned from my mentors to be compassionate and have empathy - you don't have to be mean, be a lady, be proper. You can sit down and talk instead of just being aggressive. And one of the most important lessons I learned was to never let somebody disrespect you. When an owner yelled and screamed at me, my mentor told me to go tell him what was in my mind and ask if he would like his daughters to be spoken to the way he talked to me. I did that without being mean or using bad words, and he admitted I was absolutely right. That taught me to stand up for myself and not let anybody disrespect me.

Don't be afraid. There is science in this, and lately it's happening often where I'm scared. I look at myself in the mirror, and I stand like Superman, and I tell myself, you got this, you're Superwoman. Otherwise, you wouldn't be here. Stand your ground, even if you're doubting, because you know, follow your gut, and that's one thing I've done my whole life, and it's been working. I encourage every single woman to be part of construction because the money is really good, and the industry for ladies in construction is just booming. It's amazing - now, since we're moms and we are so safe, all my safety managers are girls. Why? Because we are mothers, we like to take care of people, we're safe. It's the same thing that we do at home, but we need this on the job site too. I see more and more girls on my job site doing drywall with these big steel things on their feet, and it's so awesome. And one more thing - don't be afraid to speak your mind and stand your ground. This is a world of men, and I've been screaming for 20 years. If I wouldn't scream in my career, I wouldn't be where I am. You can't let them run you over while being truthful to yourself, because if you are not truthful to yourself and don't respect yourself, who's gonna do that for you?

I'm a tiny little Colombian girl, only 4'11", and one of my biggest challenges has been being underestimated because I'm a woman in this industry. When I was in Vegas working with Leyden Construction, who are all white and Mormon, they completely underestimated me. They said I didn't know what I was talking about, that my accent was terrible, that they couldn't understand me. I speak four languages, to begin with, not just English. I had to keep my head down and little by little show them I got it, that I'm not here just because I've been doing this for a long time. And it still happens! Sometimes in meetings where we are negotiating, they still underestimate you because you're a woman in this industry. But on the opportunity side, the industry for ladies in construction is just booming. It's amazing. I see more and more girls on my job site, and all my safety managers are now girls. Because we are mothers, we like to take care of people, we're safe - it's the same thing we do at home but we need this on the job site too. I see these girls doing drywall with these big steel things on their feet, and it's so awesome. For me personally, the challenge right now is choosing the company that will fit my needs. I know there's a lot of jobs out there, and I'm getting approached by other companies for way more money, so I'm trying to figure out what to build now and where to go next in my career.

I think doing good work and kindness are most important to me. People think I manage differently - yes, of course I'm tough, but we all have a human side. We go through different moods through the months, and the guys all go through different things too. I think sometimes compromising with the subs and trying to understand where they come from makes our job way easier. It's a tough industry itself, so there's no time to be arguing about who's right. Since I worked on the general contractor side, I understand where they come from, and in my job we all work as a team with one common goal. Sometimes I have to remind them we're here doing the same thing - it's not you, me, me, you, your money, my money. You win money, we save money, we win together. It's about the morale of the job, which is why I bring cupcakes, celebrate everybody's birthday, and started doing this from when I was an office manager. I make sure everybody feels they're part of a team because if we don't have a team, we can't finish it. Everybody's an important piece, even the lady that cleans. I treat everybody the same - the cleaning lady, my gate men, everybody. I don't differentiate, and I think that makes such a difference because they can come and talk to you. They can tell me their wife had a kid and ask for two weeks off, and I say yeah, of course, she's gonna need help. I see it differently, and I think it's changing. It's nice to be able to be part of that change.