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