Charmaine Nguru
Remember when the New Zealand team won the America’s cup? Of course, who wouldn't! But what we are pretty sure about, is that you don't know who was behind organising the parade in Auckland with the winning New Zealand team and their trophy. Well, today you are in for a treat because we found out for you. So please let us introduce Charmaine Nguru!
After supporting friends that were successful musicians with their press kits and ‘outside work’, Charmaine found her way into the media scene through a job at a non-commercial radio station, which she worked at for about 7 years, after having completed a course as a chef, an experience of which she forever values the disciplines she learned. But she didn’t stop there! After many years at the radio, Charmaine finished a course in television broadcasting, which allowed her to move into the multi-media broadcasting space. All these years of experience lead her to understand what everybody else does before stepping into a role of charge.
Interestingly, Charmaine's definition of success has changed quite drastically over the years. As a teenager, it was all about wearing suits, carrying briefcases and being very busy. These are all attributes that people can see from the outside, but it isn't actually happening, and they are more a fashion statement, rather than a part of success. Currently, Charmaine is very busy and does a lot of travel, which is seen by many on Facebook. However, her reality in life is very different from her social media presence: there is a lot of jet lag, long flight hours, meetings all day and no sight-seeing possibilities. As promised, her view has changed. Nowadays, Charmaine defines success as a great work-life balance, happiness, financial security and stability and emotional well and wellness – What more could one ask for?
After supporting friends that were successful musicians with their press kits and ‘outside work’, Charmaine found her way into the media scene through a job at a non-commercial radio station, which she worked at for about 7 years, after having completed a course as a chef, an experience of which she forever values the disciplines she learned. But she didn’t stop there! After many years at the radio, Charmaine finished a course in television broadcasting, which allowed her to move into the multi-media broadcasting space. All these years of experience lead her to understand what everybody else does before stepping into a role of charge.
Interestingly, Charmaine's definition of success has changed quite drastically over the years. As a teenager, it was all about wearing suits, carrying briefcases and being very busy. These are all attributes that people can see from the outside, but it isn't actually happening, and they are more a fashion statement, rather than a part of success. Currently, Charmaine is very busy and does a lot of travel, which is seen by many on Facebook. However, her reality in life is very different from her social media presence: there is a lot of jet lag, long flight hours, meetings all day and no sight-seeing possibilities. As promised, her view has changed. Nowadays, Charmaine defines success as a great work-life balance, happiness, financial security and stability and emotional well and wellness – What more could one ask for?
These days, things move very fast, and it can be challenging to keep up with everything going on in your life while maintaining a high standard of work and having enough social and family time. But Charmaine says "It is all about constant learning", and this doesn't necessarily have to be done via courses. Charmaine recommends knowing your peers and talking to them but most importantly, being true to each other. Stop and have a chat with your friends, tell them about things that didn't go right, be genuine about how you would improve things instead of pretending everything is always great. This will help you to stay on top of things and give you enough time to focus on doing your best. Especially, because many women are struggling with the "challenges [of] understanding your role, being helpful and open-minded and being useful for the company, having the insights of being helpful." Furthermore here are three things that Charmaine recommends us women to take onboard:
- 1. "Understand what motivates you so that when you get up every day to go to work, it is not a chore, it is a part of who you are."
- 2. "Do your due diligence on where you are going to work You want to know that the organisation that you are going to work at aligns with your personal values."
- 3. “Invest in yourself and back yourself, time and money.” Also, if you have questions for a particular field and have done your research on admirable people in that field, do not hesitate to contact them, offer a coffee or a lunch to get some time and ask your questions/pick their brains. They will feel flattered, and you will get some insights that you could not find on Google.
Just like each and every one of us, Charmaine too has had some challenges and sacrifices she has had to make throughout her career. One was "an unspoken expectation that she had to work long hours, because she doesn't have children." Having to have a conversation about her right to receive the same leave and not having to stay behind all the time to complete work that parents could not finish is not fair. We hear a lot of chatter about parents needing more flexibility in their working hours, but there is not enough conversation about the ones that stay behind. Even if these people do not have children, that doesn't mean that they can automatically work longer hours. Which is something Charmaine's job brought with it already. There are no 40-hour weeks ever in these jobs, and she often has to work a lot of long weekends and nights. But, it is all for a good reason, and once the team has successfully run an event, they make sure to celebrate it together, because "wins are not something you achieve on your own."
Charmaine does not describe herself not as a financial genius, and she is very aware that she is not. She works side-by-side with an accountant to do her job well. If you do end up making mistakes, the key is to own up to them quickly and correct them. Here are some more useful tips on financial issues:
Charmaine does not describe herself not as a financial genius, and she is very aware that she is not. She works side-by-side with an accountant to do her job well. If you do end up making mistakes, the key is to own up to them quickly and correct them. Here are some more useful tips on financial issues:
- 1. "Women, in particular, underestimate the value of our soft skills. And fold too quickly if an offer is on the table." Be realistic when going into pay negotiations, and make sure to look at surveys that tell you ballpark figures of what your field is worth.
- 2. Further, it would be helpful to get a mentor to determine what your negotiating points/skills are and whether you are prepared to walk away. You will be happy to know that Charmaine is convinced that in the future, “it is going to be about people’s skills.”, which is our strong suit!
- 3. “We don’t have financial confidence and don’t have the back up in the bank to walk aware from your job if you want." Most finance blogs will tell you that having an emergency fund of six-months expenses is something you should focus on building on your 20s. This is another reason to have this fund, so if you are unhappy with your job, you can walk away without becoming financially unstable.
- 4. “I wish I had started much earlier to put money away. Even just 10 dollars each week would have been amazing.” It all adds up over time so make sure to start as early as you can and be disciplined about it!
There are a few topics that Charmaine would like us to talk more about, and we encourage you to think about these as well as talking to your friends and family about them! First of all, bullying is still a severe problem, and it can have substantial impacts on employee's emotional wellness and mental health. Further, it can contribute to the other problem: How can we make sure that people don't get burned out with 25, after entering the workplace that has high stress, meetings during lunch time and long hours? Providing a safe and supportive wring environment can be a good start but are we doing enough to prepare young people for the fast-paced workplace?
Let us finish this incredible insight to Charmaine with her last words of wisdom:
- “Often as women we dint ask for help, or we ask for it too late, same for advice.”
- “Asking for the things you don't know, not having all the answers and asking other women.”
- “Asking women who have been around and know some stuff to share those with you would be the most valuable thing I would tell my 22 year-old self"
Interviewee: Charmaine Nguru, New Zealand.
Summer 2018/2019
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If you are a cool chick with a great story, we'd love to hear from you. Feel free to send us deets of other amazing ladies you know too, and we will reach out.
Tēnā rawa atu koe.
If you are a cool chick with a great story, we'd love to hear from you. Feel free to send us deets of other amazing ladies you know too, and we will reach out.
Tēnā rawa atu koe.