Even though her first child is due to be born next month, Malika Taylor is not planning to slow down anytime soon. As General Manager for BermudaJOBS, her work day is both diverse and exciting and includes operational, financial, strategic and resource management responsibilities.

With dreams of pursuing a career in law after graduating from the University of Western Ontario with a Bachelor?s Degree in Political Science and Philosophy, Malika opted for a career in recruitment and joined the Bank of Butterfield in 2001.

?I was offered the role of Assistant Vice President, Human Resources, recruitment tasked to work alongside Karla Lacey-Minors, the then-Senior Vice President of Human Resources and Corporate Communications, and thought it was a challenge that I was prepared and equipped to take on,? she explains.

Her primary responsibility was to lead the Bank?s team of recruiters and recruitment administrators to source talent for all areas of the bank.

However in 2003, she opted to leave the bank and pursue her graduate degree in Business Administration, concentrating on Strategic Human Resource Management at the University of Kent in Canterbury.

In the Fall of 2004 Malika returned to the Island and joined BermudaJOBS - a division of Expertise Limited - as General Manager.

BermudaJOBS is one of Bermuda?s largest recruitment management firms and Malika is responsible for a team of ten recruitment and employment professionals.

?I enjoy working with a group... who expect nothing less than excellence in servicing their clients and candidates,? she says, adding that her greatest challenge is managing her day in a ?non-predictable way?.

How does she overcome this challenge? Malika explains that she sets aside time each day to re-prioritise and re-focus on priorities.

As she cited determination, diligence, appreciation of people?s differences and adaptability are all necessary traits for anyone considering a future in both recruitment and management, Malika says she possesses all of these, which is why at the age of 31 she is at the top of her game.

As a youngster, she recalls finding herself in awe of her mother, Trudy Snaith, who managed to balance a professional career and family. Mrs. Snaith also made sure the impressionable young Malika came into contact with other professional women including politicians and judges - all of whom helped mentor and inspire her.

Seeing herself as a mentor and possibly a role model to other young girls, Malika?s advice to getting on the right path to a successful career is to take courses at school and university that they find both interesting and stimulating.

?The key to getting the most out of your education is to demonstrate commitment,? adds the former Warwick Academy and Havergal College student. ?You need to be committed to the learning experience so that you can successfully complete the diploma or degree.?

Besides the birth of her first child in November, Malika admits she has big plans for the next few years, including working with people who are committed to work/life balance and supporting the well-being of themselves and those working with them.

?I would also like to continue to do my part in encouraging young Bermudians to seek out careers that are of interest to them,? she adds. ?I want to encourage young Bermudians to apply themselves while at school so that upon graduation they can successfully transition into the workforce and be productive, positive members of our society.?

Everyone has at least one family member they admire and respect. For 30-year-old Shade Subair it was her father?s uncle, H. O Davies, the First Queen?s Counsel in Nigeria. Today as Bermuda?s first Legal Aid Counsel, she often looks back at this man whom she believes inspired her with his success. And there was never any doubt she would follow in his footsteps as she reflects on her younger years: ?I enjoyed debating and trying to dissect different topics into different views.?

Shade describes her current position as a ?guinea pig job? because it is the first of its kind in Bermuda. Since her appointment, a senior legal aid counsel has also been appointed, but unlike Shade, she does not act as an advocate or litigator. Shade represents those charged with a criminal matters in all three courts and acts as Magistrate from time to time, but also deals with legal aid administrative duties and sits on committees related to legislative reform.

?I also represent people in various family situations like divorce, child support and act as counsel for civil cases,? she says.

However no two days are alike and while she could be in court one day or find herself buried in paperwork, the next she can also face emergencies when clients walk into her office, or are detained at the Police station and need immediate attention.

Shade says she deals with these issues as they arise and feels that being tenacious and persistent are important traits to have in order to succeed in this industry: ?You have to have a tough skin. It?s an occupation that opens you up to criticism and you have to deal with people?s egos, so there is always going to be conflict in that regard, but also challenges,? she surmises.

Just as important to being a successful lawyer is ambition: ?Very rarely do you have the great fortune of opportunities being created for you and dropping in your lap... you have to go and find them and creatively make it happen.?

She believes this is the only way to survive in any profession - no matter what it is.

?You just have to learn to shed any access sensitivity and focus on what it is that you are ultimately trying to achieve.?

As for reaching this point in her career at such a young age, Shade believes it?s because she did not stay in one facet of the legal system, helping her gain a perspective from both sides, which in turn helps her as an Acting Magistrate.

When asked what she enjoys the most about her job, she reveals she enjoys the direct and substantial contact she has with senior members of the Bar in the form of Government committees.

This includes legislative reform which gives her to opportunity, she says, to express her own views on important topics which affect the entire legal system.

However the daily tasks necessary to the small Legal department going, she admits, can sometimes be rather tedious.

?We just don?t have the volume of staff to deal with every single thing,? she says with a chuckle, adding that this has helped her become an expert at multitasking.

When asked to offer students her advice, Shade says they should ensure they focus on social sciences in school.She says subjects like geography, world politics and history will help them cope with taking in volumes of information and train their brains to analyse it.

She also suggests students get clued up on who the lawyers of the day are and approach them with queries and questions about the industry: ?A lot of them are more accessible than you might think. It is important to hang around the profession and get a realistic view of what it?s all about,? she suggests. With obvious emotion Shade adds that it is very important to have strong parental guidance throughout your educational journey.

?There were times when I lost interest in pursuing my education to the extent that I did, but I thank my parents for that forceful push to hang in there,? she divulges.

When asked where she sees herself in ten years? time, Shade becomes quiet and admits that this is a very difficult question for her to answer: ?I have to see where the good Lord takes me, but I would endeavour that it?s a consistent upward movement.?

Gino Smith describes himself as a typical Bermudian, but as Assistant Vice President and underwriter with XL Re Latin America Ltd. this 31-year-old believes that those who seize opportunities and make the sacrifices necessary to maximise them, will succeed in life and business alike.

He grew up in a single parent home and admits he struggled to find his calling during adolescence with dreams of studying and pursuing a career in law.

?When I graduated from the Berkeley Institute, there was a surplus of law and accounting students and at the same time, insurance and international business was rapidly replacing tourism as the pillar of our economy,? he recalls. This change created a need for qualified Bermudians to fill the positions required to sustain this sector and Gino explains how scholarships and mentoring programmes offered by organisations such as XL, ACE and the Bermuda Foundation for Insurance Studies have, and continue to do an ?excellent job of creating industry awareness as well as highlighting the opportunities available in the field?.

Gino commenced his undergraduate studies at the Bermuda College, earning an Associate?s Degree in Business Administration before transferring to The College of Insurance in New York where he graduated as class valedictorian with a degree in Business Administration and Risk Management.

With his degree in hand Gino took an entry level job as an underwriting assistant with XL Re Latin America Ltd. based out of Buenos Aires in Argentina.

With a staff complement of only six, Gino found himself involved in all aspects of the business and his daily responsibilities ranged from evaluating incoming claims to processing underwriting submissions.

?I spent a couple of years in Argentina developing myself as a line underwriter and returned to Bermuda to take up a position in the head office in a referral role,? he recalls.

For the next two years he was the primary underwriting and catastrophe management liaison between the five Latin American regional offices and the President and Chief Underwriting Officer. While in this role he was promoted to Assistant Vice President.

However, following the decentralisation of the Latin American operation, Gino was given the opportunity to relocate to Mexico and then Colombia as Deputy Country Manager for the former and Regional Technical Underwriting Manager for the latter. As an option to remain in Bermuda and work in a major developed market as opposed to an emerging one, he was offered a position by XL Re Bermuda Ltd.

?I took this opportunity as it provided me with the means to diversify my experience base and grow professionally,? he says.

In his current position he assesses risk and negotiates the terms and conditions of property reinsurance contracts, a job he says he loves because it has enabled him to live and experience firsthand the Latin American culture, including learning to speak fluent Spanish and Portuguese.

?Interacting with people from different cultures and backgrounds enables me to be in a constant state of evolution as a student of life,? he explains.

For students considering a future in reinsurance, Gino recommends advanced Math and English at school and at university, property and casualty insurance, risk management, finance, accounting, economics and statistics courses, which he says will provide a solid foundation for entry into the field.

And in order to succeed in the reinsurance industry Gino believes integrity and respect, coupled with a desire to succeed through strong work ethics, dedication and team work is important.

?I am definitely ambitious... I don?t enjoy standing still unless I am on parade with the Bermuda Regiment,? he says with a chuckle.

But on a more serious note Gino adds that many people have talent, but lack the will.

?Success is a chain of events. It occurs when opportunity is linked with preparation... which in turn is linked with hard work... which is then linked with action? - Gino believes each of us need to find our will and convert it into action in order to succeed.