Tamira Hunter Robinson

I attribute my success to not giving up, even when times got really hard. I was homeless at one point, but I didn't give up. I got up every morning and went to work. There were times I had to sleep at the desk and nobody knew but one person. I just kept getting up and keeping a smile on my face, and no one really knew what I was going through. I kept it to myself and just kept a positive energy, even though things were very, very negative for me. I kept smiling, kept a smile on my face, and was always willing to help, even when I needed help myself. The mentors who saw my potential and guided me along the way were crucial, but it was my persistence and determination that enabled me to develop my abilities and advance from an assistant to Senior Complex Adjuster.

The best career advice I've ever received is: You're more than you think you are. My boss now is pushing that in me so much. He tells me, Tamira, trust yourself. This is your thing. We had a struggle in the beginning and I guess we both had to learn each other, but he keeps telling me to trust myself, be bold about it, and stop doubting myself, because I am amazing. That advice to trust myself and recognize that I'm more than what I think I am has been transformative for me.

My advice to young women entering this industry is: Be bold. Know what you're doing. Ask questions. Be punctual, because insurers love punctual people. Have determination and drive. I'm currently mentoring a bunch of women right now, including two who just graduated college a few years ago and another who was in the industry but not in our specific sector of insurance. These are the key things I tell them - be bold, be punctual, ask questions, and be honest. Everything else flows from honesty.

When I started 30 years ago, it was a men's club. You could be very smart, you know, you got it going on as a woman, but it was very hard for women. But I'm gonna say now, I see so many chief women, so many managers as women - it's really booming right now for us women. If this is what women want to take part in, it's an opportunity. We're even seeing a lot of women engineers now. Give me about 20 years ago, I didn't see such a thing. It was the men's, the men's, the men, the men. But now it's booming, and if women want to take part, the opportunity is there.

Honesty is the big thing for me, and unless you're honest, everything else flows with it. So I'm a big, bold, honest person - just be honest. At the core of it all is my family because they are the reason for everything I do. My family is the most important. They are the reason. Sometimes life can be hard and I feel a little defeated, but I just take a look at them and that defeat has gone out the window. So my family, combined with honesty and integrity in my work, are what drive me.