Her Story
About Shirley
I've been working as a Contracts Manager in data center services since January 1st of this year at CPG, a company I joined last May as an assistant project manager. Within just a few months, I worked hard enough to earn a promotion into contract management, which I consider my largest achievement to date, especially considering where I came from. In my position, I serve as the liaison between the customer and our techs, handling responsibilities like drawing up quotes, keeping customers updated on deliveries, ordering parts, scheduling technicians for service contracts, and making sure customers' repair needs are met. Before entering the data center field, I spent about four years working in CCTV security and installations. I worked at Vector for a little over four years, starting as a Regional Operations Coordinator and getting promoted to Accounts Manager. Then I moved to a smaller security firm doing CCTV installations and maintenance as a Project Manager for about four years, until that company got bought out by Pavion, a large national company. When the methodologies didn't mesh well and there was no room for growth anymore, I reached out and found CPG. I'm blessed to have landed with an amazing boss, David Siegel, who saw my potential and allowed me to run with it. It's been heaven since - it's nice to be with a company who wants to see you shine. I have a great team of technicians who are right on board to catch me up on anything I'm not knowledgeable of in this new data center field. I started my working career in 2010 after raising my babies, so I've been in the workforce for 16 years. I earned my associate's degree in computer science information with a concentration in cybersecurity in 2015 at age [AGE], graduating summa cum laude and making the Dean's List four times with perfect attendance. Even though I discovered halfway through school that IT work wasn't really for me - it's kind of desolate and I'm more of a people person - I finished my degree, and it allowed me to get interviews and get my foot in the door at my first IT company, which led me to where I am today.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Shirley
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to having a wonderful support system with my husband and my kids, who have always been very supportive and wanted me to just go after and fulfill the things that are important to me. My family is the biggest motivation that I have - every decision that I've ever made and every step that I've ever taken has been with them in mind. Now that my kids are adults and gone, it's a great, fulfilling thing to be able to do something that is just me. As a wife and mom, I've been married for 34 years, so everything we do is together, and I always have that in the back of my mind. But it's a good feeling that I'm doing something where my contribution is valued. Even though I started later in life and sometimes worried about interviewing against people literally less than half my age, it's always a good feeling to know that you have what people are looking for.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Don't ever give up, and don't ever sell yourself short.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I absolutely believe it's more than possible for a woman to succeed in this industry. We have two other project managers that are females, and they're probably one of the best PMs that we have there - Melissa is just insane busy and she knows her stuff. My advice is to never stop striving to learn and never be afraid to ask questions.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The challenges are the technical portions of things that are new, that I'm not aware of. Since I'm newer to the data center field, it's a whole new world and I'm just a little fishy in there. I'm lucky enough that I've got a boss and a team of technicians that if I have any questions, they are literally right on board to catch me up on anything that I'm not knowledgeable of. Obviously, when you go into this, especially as a female, you want to keep up with the boys, so to speak. So whenever a new system comes along that I'm not familiar with, it's like the first thing on my mind is to try and learn as much about it as I can, because when I'm talking to my client or when I'm talking to my tech, the last thing you want to do is sound like you don't know what you're doing. That seems to be the largest challenge that I face, but it's an obstacle that we overcome. I try not to worry too much about it because I don't want it to affect the way I handle particular situations.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Obviously my family is most important, but as far as values go, trust and honesty are critical. Straightforwardness and compassion are also important - being firm but fair. It's a fine line when you have expectations that people take you seriously, but you also want them to know that if you work hard for them, they're gonna work just as hard for you. That's definitely something I've found in this industry - if I've proven myself to my technicians and to my clients that they see I am true to my word and I am transparent with them as much as I can be, and that they trust me that when I say something I'm gonna follow through on that, then they reciprocate that.
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