Successful people always find a way to stay motivated, no matter what happens or within them. That is one of the characteristics that distinguish them from the rest of the group. Successful people have a solid drive to grow. They put in the time, effort, and energy necessary to achieve their life goals. We are all one-of-a-kind individuals. We are motivated to act to attain our objectives. Regardless, all intents demand a concerted effort. That is why we must take that step to focus our energies on them. For that, we’ll need motivation.
Meet Sarah Callery, Director of Strategic Sales, EMEA of SmartRecruiters, self-motivated towards her work and maintaining a high degree of personal integrity in the workplace and her personal life. She advises paying the people what they are worth, providing a pleasant work environment, development opportunities, and collaboration within the team. She also focuses on setting clear goals, not micromanaging, and encouraging communication. Most importantly, she understands the individual needs and aspirations and recognizes that no one size fits all is key to an individual’s motivation. Creating a diverse workforce and a team culture so that people feel valued, rewarded, and recognized for their contribution to the overall success of the team and company is essential.
SmartRecruiters is a global leader in providing enterprise recruiting software, offering a dependable solution to drive hiring success to over 4,000 companies worldwide. Clients of SmartRecruiters include LinkedIn, Visa, Bosch, Skechers, and Avery Dennison. The company provides a cutting-edge cloud-based talent acquisition suite that allows businesses to attract, select, and hire the best people. Thanks to the platform’s modern and adaptable design, customers can manage their often-vast recruitment functions from a single centralized, integrated system.
Her journey
Growing up as the youngest of five siblings, she was always a competitive person. Sarah was fortunate that her parents encouraged her to be the best version of herself, to always treat people with the respect they deserved. In her early twenties, she travelled extensively, broadening her horizons and exposing her to different cultures. She truly believes that her parents, her travels, and learning to be authentic have been the key to her success.
Sarah began her career as a recruiter before transitioning to recruitment technology. As an individual contributor and a leader, she has worked in direct and indirect sales roles. Her period in recruitment gave her a great insight into the industry and what recruiters and businesses needed to get the right talent. Still, most importantly, it gave her an understanding of people that have been beneficial throughout her career. Her motivation and hard work took her to this position in SmartRecruiters. However, the journey has not always been easy as a woman in a male-dominated tech environment. She has dealt with bullying, backstabbing, being told she is too aggressive or not aggressive enough, and has not been given the same opportunities as her male peers. Unfortunately, these happen regularly for many women in their careers as they climb the ladder and aim for and beyond the glass ceiling. We are making plodding progress on gender equality. Despite all the talk and no shortage of economic, social, and moral incentives to allow women access to the same opportunities as men, the data paints a bleak picture for many organizations, industries, and nations.
Sarah says she has learned to develop an agile mind-set. An agile mind-set is a thought process that entails understanding, collaborating, learning, and remaining flexible to achieve high-performing results. Sarah & SmartRecruiters are building a new sales segment globally by combining the agile mind-set with processes and tools.
“I’m motivated by helping individuals from all backgrounds and genders, but I have a strong drive to see other women be successful and support them on that journey. It’s easy to be passionate about something so meaningful, but it’s essential to me because of my journey & experiences.” – says Sarah
She believes in empowerment and taking it to the next level for all revenue teams and considers an empowered team key to higher revenue. “Leaders become great not because of their power but because of their ability to empower others” – Sarah
Objectives for the Future
At SmartRecruiters, Sarah’s primary goal is to continue to provide a world-class solution to global enterprises to assist them in achieving hiring success. While expanding the strategic team globally and working collaboratively with all company functions, her work will continue to enhance the company’s procedures, product commitments, and hiring methods.
“I am proud to be a female role model; you can succeed if you work hard, always keep a growth mindset. Lean in, speak out, have a voice in your organization, and never use the word ‘sorry,’” – says Sarah.
“I truly want those around me to be successful, whether that is the customers I work with, the organization I work for, my team, the individuals I mentor, and I truly want to break the bias in the workplace for women.”– says Sarah.
Sharing View on Success
An iceberg with the top labelled “success” and the portion buried in the water listing all the items contributing to that success is floating around the Internet. It takes a lot to get to that level of success, and Sarah finds most people don’t recognize what success means to them.
“I used to feel that saying that success to me had CRO in my job title was quite self-cantered, but I have come to realize it’s not the title. It’s about the impact I can have when allowed to be responsible for every process that generates revenue in an organization and the lives of the individuals you impact when you empower people in those roles.”– says Sarah
So now, for Sarah, success personally means having that title of CRO one day so that she can lead an empowered, diverse workforce on the same mission to achieve the company’s objectives. And because just 12% of women hold sales leadership positions, knowing that she is paving the path for others at the highest level of an organization brings much satisfaction.
“Be fearless”
Sarah thinks, whether a female graduate is starting a career or a woman is returning to work after a career break to focus on family, or simply an aspirational female professional ready for the next stage of career development, informed professional choices can boost the profile and build a more substantial pipeline for aspiring female leaders. Her advice for females is to be fearless, not be scared to stand up, speak up, put your hand up and be proud to stand out. She also suggests encouraging those around you to be the best they can be and elevate others. Lastly, build a strong network of allies; remember we are a minority and more strong together.
“The most successful people I know have learned that authenticity is the secret to success. Do not be afraid to show who you are. “– says Sarah.
