Dr. Jim discussed the challenges faced by early to mid-career professionals from underrepresented communities. He noted that these professionals are often high-performing individual contributors but struggle to unlock their full career potential due to a lack of resources.
With this in mind, Dr. Jim intends to explore the resources available to these professionals to help them gain a career edge. He believes that understanding the dynamics of the workplace and the opportunities available will help these professionals achieve success. He concluded that the conversations he has with these professionals will help them unlock their full potential.
Dr. Jim shared key resources that are important to have on one's radar when it comes to career development and progression. He suggested that LinkedIn is a great platform for networking opportunities, mentorship opportunities and finding out what companies are really like behind the curtains.
Jopwell and Diversity Jobs.com are helpful for connecting with companies that are committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. It is important to make sure companies are truly committed to DEIB by looking at the executive suite and senior leadership. Additionally, he suggested to look for resources that are unique to diverse communities.
Dr. Jim discussed resources available for LGBTQIA+ professionals, people with disabilities, and women in tech. He recommended using Equal, the Job Accomodation Network, and Women Who Code to get support, resources, and networking opportunities.
Additionally, he suggested joining professional organizations like the National Society of Black Engineers, Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, Association for Women in Science, and Society of Human Resources Management to gain knowledge, tools, and connections. He encouraged the listener to reach out to him on LinkedIn or follow the Cascading Leadership handle for further questions.
Timestamps
00:00:50
Heading: Leveraging Resources for Career Progression and Development as an Underrepresented Professional
00:03:58
"Networking Resources for LGBTQIA+ and Disabled Professionals"
Music Credit: Maarten Schellekens - Riviera
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[00:00:00] Dr. Jim: one of the biggest challenges that you're gonna encounter when you're a professional in general, but especially if you're an early to mid-career sales or marketing professional and in an underrepresented community, is finding the right resources that's gonna help you unlock your full career potential.
[00:00:16] Dr. Jim: And here's the reason why that's important. You're probably already a high performing individual contributor. And what you're seeing in the landscape of the world of work is that a lot of your peers, a lot of your colleagues who might be at the same level or maybe even not performing as well as you are are getting promoted and driving their career forward.
[00:00:35] Dr. Jim: And you are sitting there wondering what am I missing in terms of. What's going on in the organization that's keeping me from getting ahead, and that's the intent of these series of these conversations that we're gonna have. For those of you who aren't familiar with me, I'm Dr.
[00:00:50] Dr. Jim: Jim. My doctoral research is in organizational leadership. Specifically in retention and turnover. I've actually spent my, a big chunk of my career in B2B tech sales, [00:01:00] and I have deep experience when it comes to building organizations from the ground up with a diversity first mindset.
[00:01:06] Dr. Jim: And we can talk about that at another time. So let's get in right into it and talk about some of the key resources that you need to have in on your radar from a career development and progression perspective that's gonna give you the resources that you need that's gonna arm you with the information, tools and networking opportunities that's designed to help you move your career.
[00:01:24] Dr. Jim: So first things. This should be super obvious, but it's LinkedIn. You as a professional should be a part of the longest running, ongoing B2B conversation, and especially if you're from an underrepresented community. And your early career. This is a gold mine of networking opportunities, mentorship opportunities.
[00:01:45] Dr. Jim: You can li legitimately find people who look like you who are at the levels that you aspire to get to, and reach out and connect and have them give you a hand, which will help you get to where they [00:02:00] are right now.
[00:02:00] Dr. Jim: When you're investigating a company, connect with some of the employees who are there and ask 'em what it's really like behind the curtains, because when you're in a job search or an interview process, you're only gonna see the good stuff. You want to find out if what they're talking about is real.
[00:02:18] Dr. Jim: And the best way to get that is to find p eople from your community within those organizations, and that's gonna help you get the edge and get the real insight that you need to be successful in the process. You should not sleep on something like LinkedIn.
[00:02:33] Dr. Jim: Sites and platforms like Jopwell and diversity jobs.com are gonna be fantastic resources for you to connect as an underrepresented professional with companies that are committed to D E I B. There's a caveat. And I will call this out. You wanna make sure that their commitment to D E I B is reflected across the organization at all levels.
[00:02:56] Dr. Jim: So a lot of companies will look at diversity [00:03:00] equity, inclusion, and belonging, and use it as a PR tool. The advice that I have for you is make sure you are looking at the executive suite and the senior leadership. So those people who are at VP levels are higher, and that's gonna tell you if they're truly committed.
[00:03:18] Dr. Jim: Make sure you're paying attention to that if you aren't already. But outside of those caveats, Job Well, diversity jobs.com. Two great resources that you can use to find networking opportunities resources information articles, blog posts, all sorts of stuff that's gonna have value in terms of moving your career further, faster
[00:03:38] Dr. Jim: if we niche down a little bit further.
[00:03:40] Dr. Jim: You wanna look at other resources that might be unique in terms of the diverse communities that they serve. So if you're an LGBTQIA plus professional, out in Equal is a fantastic resource you should check out. And that has support, resources, networking opportunities
[00:03:58] Dr. Jim: for people with disabilities. [00:04:00] Job accommodation network falls in the same space. So definitely check that out.
[00:04:03] Dr. Jim: Women in tech. So you can look at resources like Women Who Code as a place for you to build community and get the resources and support that you need specific to your career path.
[00:04:14] Dr. Jim: The last thing that I will mention is, Make sure you're being deliberate about joining professional organizations and associations.
[00:04:21] Dr. Jim: And these can be broad or niche based on the communities that you belong to. So a couple of examples, like the National Society of Black Engineers, a Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers Association for Women in Science. Those are just some, you have shrm, society of Human Resources Management, and they have subcategories that you can get involved with.
[00:04:41] Dr. Jim: So there's a lot of resources that you can leverage. That are accessible that will allow you to arm yourself with the knowledge, tools, and networking you need to. Get past that, that plateau or that ceiling that you're hitting. So definitely look at all of those
[00:04:59] Dr. Jim: hopefully you [00:05:00] liked what we talked about. If you have any questions make sure you connect with me on LinkedIn or you can follow the cascading leadership handle wherever you see it.