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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 11, 1982)
Page 4 Section II Portland Observer August 11. 1982 Your job: How to get ahead » A An expert offers hints to working women of the '80s w iih p e o p le w h o h a w had e xpe r tencex sim ilar io xourx I hex're uxu ally able io help you come out o l the " l o g " and see Ihmgx clearly enough io deal wuh them. • I I xou a x p ire io a h ig h e r p o s i tio n , lo o k a ro u n d at som e o l ih e people who have already "a rriv e d . " Ir v lo look and act like (hem. It you van a lt o r d i l , d re w ax w e ll ax the woman who already has the position y o u 'd lik e lo have It you c a n 't a f fo rd il, then look ax pcrleci ax possi ble in whai your hudgei permits you lo buy It you d o n 't know w h a t's a p p ro p ria te , ask someone, o r read magazines that o ile r such in fo rm a tio n . • I I you have ihe slightest problem in speaking in using c o rre c t I n glish, in gening rid of certain e ollo quiulixm x, m com m unicating cl le d ixelx xou should make every el Io n io gel some help You m ig ht speak one wax at hom e and a m o n g In e n d s , but y o u 'd b e lte r lea rn io speak " r ig h t " il you plan io impress ihe people w h o c o u n t in y o u r organizations and associations that can help your career development • I ake advantage o f career devel opm em o p p o rtu n itie s and activities o tte re d by your co m p an y A tte n d se m ina rs and w o rk s h o p s in y o u t fie ld or in the fie ld in w hich y o u ’ d like lo w ork in the fu tu re . Consider taking some college course that w ill enhance your skills Read career dc velopmept books, publications, pro fessional jou rn a ls and other mater tai that w ill o ffe r v ita l in fo rm a tio n w ritten by experts Also update your resume periodically. I f an o p p o rtu n ity docs arise w here you w o rk or somewhere else, y o u 'll be ready with an u p -to -d a te s u m m a ry o f yo u r skills. organization •D evelop a netw ork or " p o litic a l base lo r contacts and fo r career b u ild in g s k ills th a t w ill h e lp you reach yo u r g oa ls. C o n n e c t w ith o th e r people w ho are d o in g jo b s sim ilar to your own or lo a jo b you want I earn all you can through this n e tw o rk in g and m ake a ll the con tacts you can. Also jo in professional • I earn necessary decision mak ing s k ills th a t w ill enhance your career d e v e lo p m e n t and w ill help you in term s o f n e g o tia tin g fo r raises and belter positions Develop o b je c tiv ity about y o u rs e ll Ih ix ix critica l la k e stock o l what you al ready know , what you need to r im p ro v e m e n t, and w ha t you know nothing about •(¿el help from a professional ca reer co u n s e lo r it you th in k you need it Such a person not only helps you locus your skills to r a new post non hut also can help you advance withmg your organization A career counselor also can te ll you how to m otiva te y o u rs e ll and can pro vid e career direction Women stepping into more jobs R A * m Freddy« P e tte t of th e P o rtlan d U rban League If you w a n t to get ahead on the job, you m u s t learn to dress for the position you w a n t to attain O U 'R E a Black w o m a n a n d y o u 'v e m a n a g e d to g e t the k in d o f jo b you re a lly like a n d w h ic h you k n o w y o u 're q u a lifie d to h a n d le ve ry well. B u t because y o u 're Black a n d y o u 're a w o m a n , you k n o w the re m ig h t be s o m e h u rd le s -o n e s b e a rin g la be ls such as "age, sex a n d race d is c rim in a tio n ," "s e x u a l h a rra s s m e n t," " jo b s tre s s " a n d "o ffic e p o lit ic s " Y H ow can you a v o id the barriers lo yo ur career success? W hy c a n 't you sim p ly d o y o u r jo b w ell and w in the p ro m o tio n s and salary increases yo u deserve? H ow can yo u. a black w o m a n , get ahead on the job'.’ Black w o rk in g w o m e n — no m a t ter w he th er cle a n in g ladies o r c o r porate executives— have always had to deal w ith such questions, and the answers are lik e ly to becom e m ore complex durin g the '80s as co m p eti tio n fo r jo b s increases and as the a va ila b le jo b s dem and m uch m ore skilled personnel. A young woman who deals with career questions every day and who has formulated a number of answers to them for today's Black working woman is Chris B Bardwell, presi dent of The Career Connection, a Chicago-based career counseling and consulting firm, and director of employment/professional staffing for The American Bar Assn. " I t doesn’ t matter whether a black woman is seeking job ad vancement from secretary to admin istrative assistant, from bank teller to loan officer, or from , say, hos pital housekeeper to supervisor of the department, the rules for getting ahead are about the sam e,” says Ms Bardwell, who also is founder and director of The Minority Wom en’s Center for Self Development & Career Advancement, the first cen ter of its kind in Chicago offering a year-round program to help minor ity women determine to succeed in the working world, analyze the di rection of their careers, and learn to cope with on-the-job problems and the problems of balancing personal and professional lives. "There are certain basic things that have to be observed, certain rules that have to be learned. Quite often, when things aren't going right on the job, black women develop paranoia; they be come isolated and defensive, and blame themselves for their lack of progress. They start spinning their wheels and wondering, ‘ W h a t’s wrong with me?’ Often is isn’t ’me’ at all; it ’s those inevitable hurdles (hat are in the way. Women who fail to understand this haven't learned the rules and haven't learned how to play the game of getting ahead very well.” Some o f the rules Ms. Bardwell advises black women to follow are: •F irst o f a ll, recognize the fact that you are black and female and that this is a dual barrier as it relates to how yo u are p e rc e iv e d w ith in y o u r c o m p a n y . W h ite m ales arc going to perceive you e ntirely d iffe r cn tly than they perceive anyone else — o the r w hite males, w h ite females or black males— w ho has a position s im ila r to yours. It's a fact o f c o r p orate life , so you have to develop the skills to deal w ith it. •Discover your personal career strengths by sitting down and examining you skills, your abilities, your weaknesses and your accom plishments since you’ ve been on your jo b . W rite everything down and study your list. This will help you learn just who you are, what you have to o ffe r, and what you have to do to improve yourself. Be brutally honest; don’t lie. You have to know who you are and what you have to offer if you plan to advance. •Once you know who you are and what you have to offer, the next step is to learn the political structure of the environment in which you’ re working. Develop the “ political sav vy” for whatever games that may be played and any conflicts that might arise which might affect you on the job. Document everything. Make carbons or photocopies of all letters and memos you send out and route them to people who need to know this inform ation However, don’ t constantly “ bug" people by sending them copies of trivial information. Keep a personal log of projects and activities you've initiated so that you can take credit if you have to. •D evelop your career image: learn to dress properly for the job. Remember, you aren’t going to a party or concert, you're going to work. So, as the old saying goes, Dress f o r success. You don’t get a second chance to make that first impression, so select the proper clothes, groom yourself perfectly, and carry yourself on the job in a manner that will make your supervi sors take favorable notice of you. A fter all, they’re the ones who’ ll probably decide whether you should be promoted or left at the same lev el. •Find a mentor— someone in the organization who will give you real help and support when you need them. Develop a good, close rela tionship with that person and dis cuss with them any problems you have. Be willing to go to your men tor or to an outside support group or organization to talk things out It m ig h t seem a b it stran ge to th in k o f co al m in e rs or b u tc h e rs p u ttin g on lipstick and perfum e a l ter a long day o f w o rk , but it h ap pens. In fa c t, it 's an a lm ost c o m m on sig h t now th a t a n u m b e r o f w om en have s ta rte d to lest th e ir s k ills in tr a d itio n a lly m a le -d o m in ated jo b arenas. I o r m any b la c k w om en o f the '80s, the tools o f th eir trade are (or w ill become) hard hats, safety g o g gles and steel-toed shoes instead o f typew riters, steno pads and pleasing te le p h o n e voices W h a te v e r th e ir reasons — the a d v e n tu re o f tr y in g s o m e th in g d iffe r e n t o r the search to r b ig g e r p a ych e cks — m ore and m ore w om en are ta c k lin g jobs that are o fte n d escribes as " m e n 's work " The so-called "w eaker sex" can be fo u n d in the d a rkn e ss o f c o a l m ines or w o r k in g a lo n g s id e men as c a rp e n te rs , p a in te rs , f ir e fig h te rs , ra ilro a d engineers, crane o p e ra to rs , tr a c to r - tr a ile r d riv e rs , plum bers, construction workers and in m any o th e r p o s itio n s th a t r o u tinely have been handled by men. fr o m an economic point o f view, th e re a rc some a d va n ta g e s when w om en decide not to try n u rs in g , te a c h in g o r c le ric a l w o rk b u t, in stead, take em p lo ym en t that m any o f th e ir trie n d s c a ll " d i r t y and saying things like that, it jusl makes had been labeled " o f f lim its ." And g re a s y ." f o r e x a m p le , a w o m a n me w ork that much harder to show by the end o f this decade, those in w o rk in g as a ro u s ta b o u t in a c o n them that I can do unyihmn they can non tra d itio n a l jobs p ro b a b ly w ill s tru c tio n and m aintenance crew on d o ." have changed the m in d s o f m any an o ffsh o re o il rig can earn a s ta rt T h a t k in d o f c o n fid e n c e has who believe that a w om an’s place is ing salary o f $27,(XX) co m p ared to helped w om en make m a jo r b re a k " a t home in the k itc h e n ." the $10.(MM) she could make as a sec th ro u g h s in areas th a t p re v io u s ly retary or typist. On the other hand, many o f those same women might experience d if f i c u lty because o f the p h y s ic a l d e m ands o f a n um ber o f the h ig h e r p a y in g jo b s J a c q u e lin e Jones, a fire fig h te r assigned to f i r e E ngine Due to the recent budget cuts in the areas o f A d m in is tra tio n / C om pany 13 in N ewark, N J . says: m andated by Reaganom ics, M anagem ent S u p p o rt, C laim s and " I lo v e w ha t I'm d o in g , b ut the " f r o s t s " and "fre e z e s " are serious Benefits I camming and Regulations am ount ot physical exertion d u rin g ly a ffe c tin g the e m p lo ym en t out C om plia nce A p p lic a n ts w ho re basic tra in in g (six weeks) caused so loo k. One area specifically forecast ceive passing scores on the w ritte n much fatigue that I just d id n 't think ed to suffer from financial cutbacks lest are placed on a C iv il Service I'd make i t . " She made it a scar ago is that o f the federal Government comjvetitive inventory in score order and. lik e some other owners doing and referred to agencies as vacancies "m e n 's w o r k ." has won praise from In the past, when college g ra d u open P re v io u s ly , abo ut 7,(XX) her s u p e rio rs and fe llo w w o rk e rs ates were interested in a career w ith placements were made each year in a lik e . N evertheless, there are s till the fe de ra l G overnm ent, they start a p p ro x im a te ly 100 d iffe re n t ca te some men w ho ju s t d o n 't lik e the ed the a pp lica tion process by taking gories o f jobs W ith in specific idea o l w o rk in g a lo n g sid e w om en the Professional and A d m inistrative fie ld s , p o sitio n s are cla ssifie d by and are q u ic k lo groan th a t " Y o u C areer E x a m in a tio n better kn ow n grade levels based on the level o f job c a n 't d o th is k in d o l w o r k ” or as the P .A .C .F . Ih e P A L E is a 3- re s p o n s ib ility . Salaries correspond " Y o u s h o u ld be at hom e h a v in g hour w ritten test which is the p rin c i to the grades; the higher the grade b a b ie s." In cases like these, women pal means o l entry in to government the higher the salary. T he re fo re , if such as Brenda S o lo m o n , a th ird lo r liberal arts and general business one is q u a lifie d fo r a GS-9 p o sitio n year apprentice carpenter in Mem graduates, although it is open to all and accepts a jo b at the GS-5 level, phis, have learned lo live w ith such m ajors and lo applicants w ith equiv the pay w o u ld be fo r the GS-5 sal a ttitu d e s " U h e n c v c r I hear men alent experience. These positions are ary, not the GS-9 salary. Federal job opportunities— are they still there? — Sears Kithy M Robert« An Opportunity Equal To The Challenge M th v M. Roberts began her career with Sears Roebuc k and Com p^ny m 1971 as a salesperson Her second position as a d e n ta l worker m the personnel department quit kly evolved into the post ot store trainer In 1977 she transferred to the Roosevelt store as (»ersonnel assistant where her responsibilities involved hiring framing and polit y ad ministration tor about 120 employees After leaving the Roosevelt store she assum«*d the duties of person net manager for the SeaTac store m federal Way Presently Ms Roberts is employed as personnel representative for fbe Sears Overtake store in Bellevue Washington As personnel representative Ms Huberts is accountable tor establishing » liaison between managers and employees She ,s also one ot by., personnel representatives who travel lo 14 stores ttefween Bellingham and Atjerdeen A native or Tacoma Ms Roberts said she doesn t want to stay ,n (x-rsonnel loreyer and she engws working with Sears la-, ause the < ompany does not limit anyone ' )nginally Roberts had planned to become a school teacher and attended Pacific Lutheran University for two years A res,deni o( Kirkland Robert» is a toilet tor nr old movie stills en toys shopping and leisurely walks Wan IS the largest retailer in the world with almost 4 (ggj locations all over the rountry That means you as an employee will have lots 'it trv n jtm lo work with and a lot ot room lo show what you tan do Vou II have the opportunity lo prove yoursell As a Wars employee you II have responsibilities And you tan be sure that the rhallengrs and opportunities will last throughout your tareer betause Sears develops its talent Irom within W hy don i you look into the tareer opportunities at Wars Vou tust might be in business For more information about opportunities al Wars Contact Your nearest Wars Store You can count on Sears! a * * ioduri *»co(o Satisfaction Guaranteed or Your Money Back An Equal Opportunity Employer, M/F1982 1
