Rebecca Ferris

I've had really good support from my family, but honestly, a lot of it comes from wanting to prove everyone wrong when you have a kid young. I have this drive - I just want to do well and get to a point where I don't struggle, where maybe I can travel a little bit more and have a more comfortable life. I've always wanted more and wanted to be independent. I don't want to rely on anybody. I've seen people that just can't get through life by themselves, and I want to be independent. I don't want to have to ask for help or say I can't pay this or I can't do that. I think I've gotten to a point where I can financially support myself, but I want to do even better than that. It's just a drive to be able to be independent, I guess.

Take a deep breath. Respond to problems rather than react to them. Sometimes the reaction can be based off emotion alone, and being a woman, if you're emotional, it's not a good look - you don't get to advance, I feel like you're held back a lot, and I've experienced that. So that feedback has helped me take a pause at times, just to consider situations. It helps me a lot with problem solving and just kind of removes some of those emotions. It's respond versus reaction. It's something that I've coached other people on, too. Anyone that's worked with me, if I see that happening, I tell them to make sure they're looking at the situation as a whole and not just reacting through their emotions. I think when you're in a male-dominant industry and being asked over and over if you're PMSing, it gets annoying, so you really have to keep your emotions in check.

I would say don't be too sensitive. It's rough - there's a lot of colorful language, there's a lot of different people, and so just being open-minded and being tough and strong, and believing in yourself. Have a voice - speak up. That was something that I encouraged another person in a position to do. I was training her, and she was just getting walked all over by her boss and other people in her branch, and I was like, no, this is not how you do this job. You have to speak up and say no to people, or else you'll be doing all of their jobs. So just having that voice and not being afraid to have that voice.

Groundworks, the company I work for, has a lot of opportunities. There's training programs for upper management, they're continuing to open branches all over the country, so I could go help open a new branch if I wanted to. I want to relocate, I'm open to that, and so that opens some doors to go work someplace else. In just the construction industry, from what I've seen looking at LinkedIn and different positions that I would be qualified for, I could get into project management. What holds me back from applying is just not knowing necessarily all the steps to build a house. But I do really enjoy the company I work for - Groundworks is a great company. There's a lot of benefits, great bonus structures. I'm just kind of looking for more stuff that I can challenge myself with in my current role. I know that they're opening a branch in Palm Beach, Florida, and living in Michigan right now, Palm Beach, Florida sounds really great.

Loyalty is really important to me, especially in work. I think it's easy to get caught up in drama and gossip, and if you're loyal to the person that you're serving, if you're loyal to the company that you're with, you can kind of compartmentalize that stuff and see what's important, what's real, and then continue to work hard. You can get really brought down really easily with gossip and negative stuff. I'm very loyal - I'm loyal to whoever I work for. I could dislike the person, I'm still going to defend them and be loyal until I'm not there anymore, or they aren't. I think honesty goes along with that, and transparency. I learned that I'll admit to my mistakes up front, and I find that it's easier to go to your boss and say, hey, I messed this up, and figure out a solution, than to just wait for them to find out that you messed something up. So I probably tell on myself a whole lot. And then just kindness. I think it goes a long way if you can be kind. That doesn't mean being a pushover or a yes man or just folding over for everyone and every request, but I think if you see a need, or somebody needs something, and you can tell that it's just out of their wheelhouse, or they don't know how to do something, just stepping in and taking the time to teach them or assist - that goes a long way with somebody.