A few months after I moved to NYC in my mid-20’s my grandmother, who I was extremely close to, was diagnosed with cancer. I made the difficult decision to quit my professional day job and work as a waitress in order to have the flexibility needed to travel and spend as much time as possible with her before she died.
Months later, when I finally started looking for a full-time job, I found myself hitting the wall in the hiring process. I had found my dream company, but after interviewing multiple times, I was told I was overqualified for the job I desperately wanted to land. On my fourth and final interview, I met with a woman named Sara who unbeknownst to me was the decision maker. There was something about her that was no-nonsense yet warm and disarming. Before the interview was over, I decided to be honest about my circumstances as I knew I had nothing to lose. I shared with Sara what had been happening in my personal life and how badly I not only needed but wanted the job regardless of whether I was overqualified on paper. I assured her I would mop the floors if needed to be successful in the role and that I would not let her down.
That day, Sara decided to take a chance on me and my life has been forever changed. Over the course of the last thirteen years, she has been my mentor and become one of my closest friends. I have followed her to two other companies where she held me to the highest standards all while coaching me to have confidence in myself and become a thoughtful leader. Through Sara, I have learned that having empathy is not a weakness and that helping to lift up other women is a requirement…given all I have achieved because she decided to take a chance on me.