Her Story
About Nickieta
I didn't think I was going to be in this career path when I was a teenager. I had the dream of becoming a doctor, but that didn't happen. I became a medical assistant, and it just wasn't for me. I wasn't loving what I was doing, so I met my husband and needed to make some money, so I just became a personal assistant, and it really took off. It really spoke to me, and I enjoyed what I was doing. I worked for private families for about 5 years, and from there, I moved forward with an interior design company where the CEO needed someone who was basically her right-hand person. In an interior design company, you need to be Type A, detailed, and organized, and that role really pivoted my entire career into what it is today. I probably wouldn't be here without that role. From there, I moved on to a real estate firm and worked with that CEO for about 2 years, learning the ins and outs of being organized with documents, meetings, calendar management, and some social media. Then COVID happened, and I moved to Florida, which was a great move for me. I began working with a CEO of a media marketing firm down here in South Florida, and the role pivoted into a personal assistant role, estate managerial role, basically a Jill of all trades. I stayed with them for 4 years until I found my current role. I'm currently a personal assistant, executive assistant, estate manager for a high-profile couple in Coral Gables. They're the parents of a musician, and I've been here for about a year. I don't see myself leaving anytime soon. No day is ever the same, and no day is ever as you plan it. Things arise minute to minute, and you have to be quick on your feet to change direction. Your utmost goal is always to prioritize your principals. You're like a lizard on the wall, nobody sees you, but you still play such a key role in their life. It's needed, it's necessary.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Nickieta
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to working under pressure and developing thick skin. When I was working with the interior design CEO, it was always high pressure and exhausting, but when I look at it, I always think, wow, I actually did that. I was only 23 years old at the time. Being a New Yorker, I have that thick skin, which comes in really well when you're dealing with CEOs. Sometimes it's not them getting upset at you directly, but it's them projecting, and you just have to tell yourself it's okay, you're doing the best that you can do. I think about moments like when my principal's flight was canceled due to a torrential downpour when she needed to see her kids after two weeks. We literally booked a new Uber, took the Brightline up to Orlando, spent half a day in Disney with her 5-year-old, flew out the next morning to Wilmington, and drove 3 hours to get to Asheville where the kids were. It was a crazy day, but we actually pulled that off. Those are the moments I always look back at and think, oh my god, we actually did that.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best advice I received was from my 9th grade creative writing teacher, Ms. Lavin. She always said, you have a place in this life, and you will always do well in your life. She said it to every one of her students, and it gave me that feeling that you weren't just another number, another graduate that had to be passed on. She took her time to know you, know what you loved, what you didn't love. She pushed me and would say, hey, I know you can do it, but give it a try. You have to try. She never said any answer was wrong, she would always say, I love the way that you're thinking, or this is interesting. I always felt seen in a way, and that's when I started writing, honestly, in a spiral notebook.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would say take it one day at a time. Your career is going to happen, and you're going to find the right person to work for. I think that's the key, because as much as that CEO, principal, whoever you're working for needs to find the right assistant, you need to find the right person. Otherwise, you're not going to be happy. So if it doesn't work out the first time, the second time, just keep trying, because it will happen. And while you're there, just look at it as a learning experience where you're learning things, and you learn from your mistakes, because everybody makes mistakes. Even if you make a mistake, you learn from it, and then you learn how to do things better, because we're all just learning, honestly, especially in this day and age. So I would say that's really the key, just don't give up, and just keep on trying, and it will happen.
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