Women in Biz: Tara Sawyer

Tara Sawyer is a Senior Strategist for Customer & Internal Communications at SAI Global. We met when she used to work at Dell Technologies. Tara was my first mentor and helped me hone my corporate communication skills.

1. What was the most significant barrier in your career and how did you overcome it?

I've spent my entire career in marketing, but didn't have any formal training in it. I was an English major and learned everything I know about marketing "on the job." As I progressed in my career, I noticed that I lacked the basic foundation of marketing principles or only knew them on superficial level, sometimes having to use Google. I became self-conscious about that and worried I wouldn't be able to progress much further in my role.

I made the decision to pursue a master's degree in Strategic Marketing Communications, almost 15 years after graduating undergrad. It was scary to go back to school, and overwhelming to say the least, as a full-time employee and mom to two young boys. But the knowledge I've gained through my classes were immediately relevant to my work projects, so the sacrifices are worth it.

2. What personal or professional project are you most proud of?

Although I've been writing professionally for years, my heart is still with creative writing. I'm super proud of having one of my poems published in a literary journal. I'm too busy to write poetry right now, but I really hope to get back to it someday when my life slows down a bit.

3. What’s one piece of advice that you would like to give other women?

Project confidence even if you don't feel it. Everyone suffers from imposter syndrome, even C-level executives, so remember that we're all human and still figuring things. Be confident in your expertise and don't be shy about sharing your ideas or opinions.