Life and Work with Catherine Dismuke

Today we’d like to introduce you to Catherine Dismuke.

Catherine, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I have always been a hard worker with a resilient and determined mindset whether it was waiting tables, selling beer at the golf course, or closing sales deals (natural born hustler, haha)!

I have been with my company for six years and I am currently the #1 Sales Account Executive in the company. Quick note, it is a crazy, weird, and great feeling to type that sentence because I still can’t believe it. I would summarize my success as someone who truly kicked down doors and worked my way up to get where I am today.

I had just graduated from college at Texas State and was living in Austin when I stumbled into this career path. I was in this awkward transition stage of interviewing for Sales positions and wanting to “adult”, but also staying in my comfort zone of the service industry when my best friend had been telling me about this technical staffing/IT consulting company she had been with for a year and kept telling me how much I would LOVE it. I couldn’t have been more confused by the thought of pairing me with an IT company when my passion was from a communications/pop culture background. She started speaking my language when she told me about the commission structure (you truly get out of it what you put in) and how awesome the culture was.

I knew immediately that I wanted to be in sales but I had A LOT to learn about the company, the industry, building relationships, and how to connect the dots with our clients before I would EVER be taken seriously for a sales position. Since this is a commission based pay, I knew that if I proved myself I could move up within the sales world.

I would like to highlight that I was 24, living with my parents, and living pay check to pay check while also working a SECOND job after my 8-5 to save money. Within 2 years I had my first taste of success where I was not having to work that 2nd job anymore, I was able to get my own apartment, and I had a financial plan to start slowly paying off my college loans!

Looking back, timing is e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g and the experience I gained in my first 24 months is priceless and it was the foundation for my success today. I have always been driven but I don’t think the light bulb turned all the way on for who I wanted to be and the ‘big picture’ goals I had for myself until I was promoted into sales and then promoted again from a Sales Account Manager to Executive. I realize now how small my goals were back then and I had subconsciously limited myself on how big I could really dream or push myself.

The 24-year-old me would have been shocked to see how the next six years would shape out. I had no idea how much I would change and truly grow as a person, a friend, a professional, and one day a wife in the best way possible.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The road to success for me has been a little bumpy and words cannot describe the amount of stress I experience on a weekly basis. BUT if it was easy, everyone would be doing it right?!

I mentioned my road to sales earlier and I would have to say that this was one of the biggest obstacles in my career. Although I was doing well as a recruiter, I was not satisfied and was still dying to change roles. I took this ‘prove yourself’ challenge quite literally and CRUSHED it to be noticed but had times when I was ready to give up and move on since it was not happening at the speed I had hoped for. I literally felt like I was running in place and never moving forward. It is hard not to look side to side at others success and compare yourself, especially when you want something so badly. There was a period of time where I felt insecure, discouraged, and borderline resentful, but I used this to my advantage once I was finally given the chance to move up. I had this overwhelming fear of failure and I wanted to prove anyone who may have doubted me that they were wrong. That persistent fear of settling for anything but success and having a laser focus to push through was and still is my ‘secret sauce’ to how I got to where I am today. My own little war story if you will.

I have always been a great communicator and but I had to grow into being an assertive communicator, especially as a woman. I believe in over communication and a high sense of urgency at all times but I struggled with walking the tight rope of holding my clients and team accountable while also being way too concerned and nervous about appearing overly bossy and aggressive or wondering if they respected me and would want to continue to work with me. At the end of the day, there is no substitute for immediate communication and I had to eventually learn that I need to stop unnecessarily apologizing with a ‘people pleasing mindset’ and own my voice!

I currently lead a women’s leadership committee with a handful of other lady bosses and I love the experiences that are shared and the continuous growth I see across the different ages/different roles within my company. I would encourage other women to find a female mentor within your company that you respect to bounce ideas off of and get an outside perspective for advice as needed because it is so refreshing to realize you are not the only one feeling the way you do.

My journey has had the highest of highs and the lowest of lows and taught me that success is earned. If I can share one bit of advice to other women who are starting their journey it would be to never stop pushing for your goals no matter how many times you hear no or are pushed into another direction. Use that fear to your advantage so that you flip those challenges into big wins.

“A woman with a voice is, by definition, a strong woman.”— Melinda Gates

Please tell us about IT Staffing & Consulting Services.
I work for one of the largest IT staffing and Consulting Services Company within the US and I am an Account Executive which is Business to Business sales with new and existing clients for supplemental staffing and/or long-term consulting engagements within the IT industry.

While what I do is not glamorous of any sort, the people I get to work with every day, the relationships I have created over the years, and experiences I have had with them is something I will cherish forever.

I interact with and support Senior Level IT Directors and Management daily to understand their needs and support the business. I am responsible for maintaining excellent relationships with my clients by providing ongoing communication and problem resolution for internal and external employee conflicts and deficiencies and I now have 150+ consultants under me.

I am most proud of an engagement I am currently supporting and still have moments where I can’t believe it happened and feel so proud. My team and I recently partnered with one of the largest global technology companies to support several projects which drive continuous IT excellence and customer service.

What I think sets me apart from others is that I am incredibly direct and loyal to my teams and clients, I am incredibly passionate about everything I do, and I strive to be a partner by gaining the trust of my clients so that they are consistently relying on me exclusively to provide IT staffing and project-based solutions.

I am always willing to go above and beyond “the normal” to ensure the resources I provide are a great fit for my client’s needs. I genuinely try to demonstrate the passion and dedication to my career goals every day, but also to the goals of those that I oversee. I am continuously growing as a leader and mentor within the company and I am particularly obsessed with girl power and lady bosses because we are doing it and quite frankly, killing it!

“Define success on your own terms, achieve it by your own rules, and build a life you’re proud to live.” – Anne Sweeney

What advice would you give to someone at the start of her career?
I would focus on and manifest the immediate and long-term goals you have for yourself and start road mapping the steps it takes in order to get there. If you are motivated, genuine, passionate, and willing to put in the hard work you WILL be successful. Confidence is key and while there can be thousands of intimidating factors within any career path to hold you back, figure out what you are great at and leverage this to your advantage.

“She was powerful not because she wasn’t scared but because she went on so strongly, despite the fear.” – Atticus

Image Credit:
These photos were all taken by my husband, Jarel Dismuke

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