She Leads – With Melissa Fach
Name:
Melissa Fach
Title:
Sr SEO Analyst, CAI
What would you tell your younger self?
Ignore all the “you can’t” statements you get from others – you can do anything you choose to do. Don’t let the insults and hurtful comments by others turn into negative self-talk. Be proud to be who you are.
What was your major in college and how did you get to the position you are in today?
Psychology BA, College of Education in Mental Health MA. I put my knowledge of psychology into marketing strategies and SEO, and this gave me a great career. I was lucky Cox thought I had something to offer.
What was your inspiration and what helped you become successful? How do you define success?
Honestly, everyone that told me I was nothing was my inspiration. I knew I was more than what they said and I was determined to prove I was far more than what they said I was. What helped me become successful is continuing to learn new and different things related to my field of work – I kept learning and kept pushing myself; I don’t quit. Success is truly loving who you are and being able to have a job where you feel happy day to day. It doesn’t matter if you are a CEO or the person cleaning up after executives, can you be you in your job? Can you feel happy with what you do? Do you have peace? If you can say yes to those 4 questions, you are good.
How do you balance your work and personal life? Often times one has more importance, and we’re curious to know how you’ve handled the balance.
Cox is the first job I have had where work and personal life is balanced, and that is because the company wants this for me. I will admit, I have struggled and burnt myself out often. What is important is working for a company that wants you healthy, mentally and physically – and those are sadly hard to find.
What is your favorite quote?
Do or do not, there is no try. – Yoda
What’s your favorite part of your job and why?
The challenge of figuring out what is a problem and how to fix it. I like analyzing and fixing things.
What is your favorite hobby?
Reading – it is like a vacation from the world.
What advice do you want to give the next generation of women leaders?
Women must fight harder for pretty much everything, but how you do it is everything. Your intelligence and knowledge are far more important than your appearance. The more facts you have and the better you can articulate those facts, the better shot you have at gaining respect from all. You won’t always get the respect from all that you want, but aim for the majority.
What does leadership mean to you?
Being a kind and supportive resource. Helping people do their job better and helping them see the benefits of that work. Helping the people you work with build confidence through success.
What’s your advice on mentoring?
Be kind in all things, and focus on building self-esteem.
What’s your favorite ice cream?
Cookie dough