Jessica Petraccoro

I attribute my success to hard work more than anything, and not being afraid to be an opportunist. Throughout my entire career, opportunities have come up that other people might have been fearful of, things that were not necessarily in my lane, but I've always thrived in moments of pressure and adversity. I tend to do well in high-pressure environments where others might shut down. I'm a bit of a fighter in the sense that I want to prove myself and prove that I can do it. I often say that I'm working with a lot of people that have far more experience than me and far better educations than I have, but I'm the hardest working person in the room, I'm confident of that, and I think that has always helped me and made me shine.

My current boss has a saying that really resonates with me. When somebody interviews for a job, one of the questions people always tend to ask is, well, what is my growth opportunity? How can I grow in this company? And he always responds by saying that it's not necessarily about the growth of the company, it's about the employee's willingness to step outside of their comfort zone, learn new things, and create growth for the company. I really do believe that. I fully believe that I do better with autonomy, and just by thinking of ways that I can do better at my job, be better, and enhance the company, I'm making a contribution to the company's growth and my own growth. I think that was very good advice, and it's something that we often talk about every day.

Do not be intimidated. Do not be afraid to ask questions. Do not be afraid to feel stupid, and I say that with air quotes because there is no such thing. Everything that I have learned over the last couple of years, once I stepped into this construction field, which is a man's world, I'm not going to deny that, it is very much a man's world, I've been very fortunate that I ask all the questions, no matter how stupid I feel like they might be, and I make sure that when I ask the questions, I take notes. I've essentially created a guidebook for myself so that I don't have to constantly ask the same questions. I would say to any woman that's trying to get into construction or real estate, don't be intimidated. You have just as much of a right to be there as everybody else, and ask all the questions. Align yourself with the smartest or most experienced people, and just learn as much as you can. Join every meeting that you're welcome to join, every phone call, every seminar, read all the books. And that wouldn't just be for a woman, it would be for anybody in this industry, or starting a new industry, but I think for women in particular, just don't be intimidated. Everybody has just as much of a right to be in the room.

With construction in specific, you never know what you're going to encounter. Things come up every day, and the best thing that you can do is be solution-oriented and pragmatic. You can't freak out, you can't get upset, because there are blips in the radar. You're dealing with very large investments, and making sure that you stay on time and on budget when you're dealing with some of these obstacles obviously presents challenges. You also want to make sure that everybody is happy and working as a team. You're dealing with not just large investments, but large teams, different people, different personalities, so in a way, you also have to be a little bit of a psychiatrist to manage all the personalities. You're always going to encounter municipal challenges or obstacles when you're in development. There's always going to be people that don't necessarily want to see their neighborhoods changed. Change is scary for a lot of people, and we're really at the realm of change. And then obviously, there are things that are beyond your control. I can't help the fact that this was a snowy winter in New Jersey, and it created some challenges with construction on our Jersey City project. There are things that are within control and that are outside of your control, and you just have to be pragmatic, keep your eyes on the prize, and just look for solutions.

Integrity, reliability, honesty, and communication are most important to me. I'm a very strong believer in communicating all of the facts, whether they're good, bad, or ugly. There's no way that you could find solutions to problems without communicating what the problems are to begin with. I would say those are most important to me, along with loyalty. I fully believe that being loyal to your team, to your mentors, your family, obviously, and personal relationships is crucial. That's who you're going to get support from, and it's important that you're loyal and honest and reliable. It goes a long way.