Her Story
About Jamila
My professional journey spans over 20 years and has been like climbing a ladder, moving from sales to management and then into HR. I've gone through all the phases of HR in different positions, and now I work for the City Colleges of Chicago district as a benefits specialist. I'm responsible for all seven colleges, handling the benefits portion of HR. My daily work involves taking calls from employees, mostly retirees who are looking to find out information about their CERS benefits and pensions. I also handle payments and work with vendors such as Blue Cross Blue Shield and IMET for health insurance matters. I work hybrid and meet daily with my team to discuss our plans for the day and any difficult situations that need assistance. Beyond my day job, I co-produce the Black Women's Conference called She Owns It SheBiz, which we've put on for five years at Malcolm X College. This conference highlights women, particularly Black women, who are doing things in the community and have their own businesses. We put on panels for specific topics like women in media, and we've featured Black female newscasters and honored people like Congressman Danny Davis and Ida B. Wells. My role as visual producer involves being in charge of media, photographers, videographers, and helping to put the entire plan together. I'm currently pursuing my master's degree in MS in Human Resources management through an online program, because I believe you're never too old to have big accomplishments.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Jamila
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to my personal drive and just going after what I want and what I want to accomplish. It's about having that internal motivation to keep pushing forward and pursuing my goals.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I've ever received is just to keep going after my goals. I've learned that you're never too old to have big accomplishments or small accomplishments. Right now, I'm going back to school to get my master's degree, and I am of a certain age, but again, it's never too late. The advice is to keep going, keep striving for success, go out to what you know, and try for leadership positions. My goal is to continue to climb up the ladder.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
The advice I would give to women entering my industry is to get the education that they need in the beginning if they can. Get any type of certifications that they need, any degrees that they need, so that they can have an all-around knowledge about the process and about their position. This will help them move up in this industry. You don't want to get to a plateau or a place where you cannot move because of your education, because you don't have the things that you need on your resume.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
One of the biggest challenges I face is just having the positions available to me so that I can get the positions that I want. In this particular position that I have at City Colleges, once people get into their positions, they stay there for a long time, so just having the positions that I want become available is probably the challenge. On the opportunities side, I would say getting education for free or having reimbursements is a great opportunity so that I can continue to expand my mind and get the degrees and certifications that I need under my belt. That way, when these positions do become available, I will be ready for them.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The values most important to me are just being a stand-up person and being an honest person. I believe in doing what I say that I'm going to do, staying committed, and being supportive of others in their projects and endeavors.
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