It seems like an oxymoron: The people that live for the sake of others seem to have the most success. Having given everything for her family, Rae forges the path for herself and her children. As Rae continues her upward climb to success, she assumes that old adage well: “When he took the time to help the man up the mountain, lo, he scaled it himself.”
Rae embodies our spirit of betterment in all she undertakes, professionally and personally.
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Starting as a business development manager in 2021, Rae quickly promoted to Account Manager 1, then Account Manager 2, and is currently on a trajectory that supposes further success.
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Rae: My name is Raejanne Shirley, but I go by Rae to keep it simple. I am an account manager for our cold-chain division and we do temperature-controlled less-than-truckload shipments. I’ve been here for about five months now.
EL: You’re obviously making a huge impact already, which is super impressive because you haven’t been here very long!
Let’s talk about what you’re passionate about in your life. Outside of work, what are the things that get you excited?
Rae: My kids. I love spending time with my kids… and I’m the DIY queen. I do a lot of DIY stuff around the house. It’s one of my favorite pastimes and hobbies.
EL: That’s beautiful. Can you give me an example of DIY project that you recently did?
Rae: Absolutely. Last weekend I added an accent wall to my dining room with wallpaper. It sounds easy, but it was extremely difficult, especially trying to do it by myself with only a stepping stool and no ladder.
EL: You should be rightfully proud of such an accomplishment. Speaking of things you’re proud of, how many kids do you have?
Rae: I have three. I have a 6-year-old, a 3-year-old and a 9-month-old.
EL: Oh my gosh, you’re busy.
Rae: Yep, I started here at England when my baby girl was about three months old.
EL: Sounds like they’ve got an awesome mom. I guess this segues perfectly into our next question: What are some of your proudest accomplishments?
Rae: I would say probably graduating college with honors and being a mom of a one-year-old at the same time! It was tough not having family around, because my family lives in the Caribbean.
So not having support, and yet still keeping up with grades and being a mom was tough.
But I did it! That’s something I’m really proud of.
EL: That’s so impressive! That’s definitely worth being proud of.
Rae: Thank you.
EL: Now, in your career, has there been an experience you’ve had that was professionally defining?
Rae: Receiving feedback from customers about my customer service was definitely professionally defining. I learned how they felt throughout the whole process of dealing with me, and that’s when I realized this is something I can excel at. This was something that I could build a career out of, despite my relative lack of experience in logistics.
I got feedback from my customers that I provide excellent service, and that I was the reason they wanted to work with England Logistics.
EL: That must have been very rewarding. No matter what you’re selling, people remember how they’re feeling more than anything.
Rae: Yes. Absolutely.
EL: I think you’ve kind of alluded to this a little bit in the interview so far but tell me about your ‘why’. Why do you do what you do? You said that you’ve had a lot of success. What drives you to perform at such a high level?
Rae: With success also comes challenges, you know, I’m obviously very young and a mother of three. My kids have always been my why, so to speak. I’m just wanting to create a better life for them and give them opportunities that I never had. That’s always been, in my opinion, my reason for existing.
EL: Wow, they are very privileged to have a mother that feels that way.
Rae: Thank you. I appreciate that.
EL: It’s a very unselfish thing to pay that forward at the magnitude that you have.
Rae: Yeah, they didn’t ask to be here, so I gotta make sure that they’re taken care of!
EL: Yeah, absolutely. Sounds like a happy life, but when are you very happiest?
Rae: It’s gonna sound crazy, but when I get to sleep in.
EL: That’s not crazy.
Rae: When you’re a mom of three, sleep is rare, and it’s precious. It’s something that I definitely value, and I’m definitely my happiest when I get to sleep in on weekends.
EL: I love that. Finally, an honest answer to that question. Aside from being a sleep enthusiast, is there something that most people don’t know about you?
Rae: I was born and raised in Trinidad and Tobago. A lot of people don’t know that I voluntarily went to an aviation military academy for two years because I was so interested in aircraft. I wanted to be a pilot for the military, and I just saw it as something that was interesting. I did it for two years, and the only reason I left was because I moved to the US.
EL: And what was your motivation for coming to the United States?
Rae: I just wanted better opportunities. I wanted to open up myself to things that I know wouldn’t be attainable back home.
EL: But it came with some sacrifice, evidently.
Rae: It obviously did in the form of not being with my family. I have a very big, loving family, so transitioning from my family and all of that support, to coming here and not having that support and being alone–it was just a big transition.
The culture was different, food was different, people were different, but it was a good different.
EL: Well, it takes a lot of courage to do something like that, even if the opportunity is awesome. Regardless, given the sacrifice of all the unknowns, I just celebrate you for taking that leap of faith.
Rae: Thank you. I appreciate that.
EL: You’ve accomplished a lot. You’ve sacrificed a lot. You’ve got a lot going for you right now. So what is your mantra or motto that you’re currently living your life by?
Rae: I have it on my desk as a sticky note… it’s
Be proactive and not reactive. You should put thought into your responses and your actions, not just professionally, but also personally.
Think about what you do and what you say before you actually do it. And ultimately, you’re gonna yield better results from not just reacting.
EL: Absolutely. If you’re being deliberate, then you’ll always be progressing, right? You choose your trajectory.
Given that your trajectory is certainly upward, where do you wanna go from here? What’s the end game? What do you want to accomplish?
Rae: For now, honestly, I just want to continue to work hard and excel where I’m at currently. I want to promote through the ranks of England and then ultimately be in a position where I’m able to help and support and inspire others. People have always been my passion. I love people. I’m not exactly sure what that looks like yet, but I know wherever I end up I wanna be able to make an impact on people.
EL: That’s totally inevitable for you. You present yourself very, very well. But I can tell it’s coming from a place of sincerity which is not an easy thing to accomplish.
Rae: Thank you. I appreciate that.
EL: Of course. I would forecast that your success will continue to be inevitable.
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We’re on the search for more senior account managers. If this interview resonated with you, apply at this link: https://www.englandlogistics.com/search-all-available-jobs/