Page 4 Section II Portland Observer August 11, 1902
Your job:
How to get ahead
An expert offers hints to working women of the '80s
» illi people » h o have had exper
leneev similar io vours I hex 're usu
alls able io help sou come out ol the
“ lo g " and see things clearlv enough
to deal »uh them
• II you aspire to a higher post
lio n , look around at some ol the
people »ho have already "a rrive d ."
I rv to look and act like them II yon
can a tto rd it, dress as » ell as the
»oman » ho already has the position
you’d like to have. It vou can't at
lord it, then look as perfect as possi
ble in »hat your budget permits you
to buy II you d o n 't know » h a t’ s
appropriate, ask someone, or read
magazines that o ile r such inform a
tion.
• II you have the slightest problem
in speaking m using correct I n
glish, in getting rid o f certain collo
quiahsms, m communicating effect
ivelv vou should make every effort
to gel some help You might speak
one »ay at home and among
triends, but you’ d belter learn to
speak " rig h t" il you plan to impress
the people » h o count in your
organization.
•Develop a network or "p o litica l
base lo r contacts and for career
building skills that w ill help you
reach your goals. Connect with
other people » ho are doing jobs
similar to your o»n or to a job you
»ant I earn all you can through this
networking and make all the con
tacts you can Also join professional
organizations and associations that
can help your career development
• I ake advantage of career devil
opment opportunities and activities
offered by your company Attend
seminars and »orkshops in your
held or in the field in which you'd
like Io work in the future Consider
taking some college course that will
enhance your skills. Read career de
vclopmei’ t books, publications, pro
fessional journals and other mater
lal that will offer vital information
written by experts Also update your
resume periodically. If an opportun
tty does arise where you work or
somewhere else, you'll be ready with
an up-to-date summary o f your
skills.
•I earn necessary decision mak
mg skills that w ill enhance your
career development and w ill help
you in terms o f negotiating | Mr
raises arid better positions Develop
objectivity about yoursell I his iv
critical lake stock ol what you al
ready know, what you need lor mi
provemenl, and what you kno»
nothing about
•(.el help from a professional ca
reer counselor il you think you
need it Such a person not only helps
you locus your skills lor a new posi
tion but also can help you advance
withing your organization A career
counselor also can tell you how to
motivate yoursell and can provide
career direction
Women stepping into more jobs
Freddye P e tte t o f th e P o rtlan d U rban League
If you w a n t to get ahead on th e jo b . you m u st learn to dress for
the position you w a n t to a ttain
O U'HE 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
ht ‘cause y o u 're Black a n d y o u 're a w o m an , you k n o w
th e 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 b e 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," "to b s tre s s " a n d "o ffic e p o litic s ."
Y
How can you avoid the
barriers to your career success? Why
can't you simply do your job well
and w in the promotions and salary
increases you deserve? How can
you. a black woman, get ahead on
the job?
Black working women— no mat
ter whether cleaning ladies or cor
porate executives—have always had
to deal with such questions, and the
answers arc likely to become more
complex during the '80s as competi
tion fo r jobs increases and as the
available jobs demand much more
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 o f The Career Connection, a
Chicago-based career counseling
and consulting firm , and director of
employ ment/professional staffing
for The American Bar Assn.
" I t doesn't m atter whether a
black woman is seeking jo b ad
vancement from secretary to admin
istrative assistant, from bank teller
to loan o ffice r, or from , say, hos
pital housekeeper to supervisor o f
the department, the rules for getting
ahead are about the sa m e ," says
Ms Bardwell, who also is founder
and director o f The M inority Wom
en’s Center for Self Development <St
Career Advancement, the first cen
ter o f its kind in Chicago offering a
year-round program to help m inor
ity women determine to succeed in
the working world, analyze the d i
rection o f their careers, and learn to
cope with on-the-job problems and
the problems of balancing personal
and professional lives. "T he re 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 o f
progress. They start spinning their
wheels and wondering, ‘ W h a t’ s
wrong with me?’ Often is isn’ t ‘ me’
at all; i t ’ s those inevitable hurdles
that arc in the way. Women who fail
to understand this haven't learned
the rules and haven't learned how to
play the game o f getting ahead very
well.”
Some o f the rules Ms. Bardwell
advises black women to follow are:
•F irs t o f a ll, recognize the fact
(hat you are black and female and
I
that this is a dual barrier as it relates
to how you are perceived w ith in
your company. W hite males arc
going to perceive you entirely differ
cntly than they perceive anyone else
—other white males, white females
or black males—who has a position
similar to yours. It's a fact o f cor
porate life, so you have to develop
the skills to deal with it.
•Discover your personal career
strengths by sittin g 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 w ill help
you learn ju st who you are, w hat
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 o f
the environm ent in which yo u ’ re
working. Develop the "p olitical sav
v y " for whatever games that may be
played and any conflicts that might
arise which might affect you on the
jo b . Document everything. Make
carbons or photocopies o f all letters
and memos you send out and route
them to people who need to know
this in fo rm a tio n . However, d on ’ t
constantly "b u g " people by sending
them copies o f trivial inform ation.
Keep a personal log o f projects and
a ctivities y o u ’ ve in itia te d 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
w ork. So, as the old saying goes.
Dress f o r success. You don’ t get a
second chance to make that firs t
im pression, so select the proper
clothes, groom yourself perfectly,
and carry yourself on the jo b in a
manner that will make your supervi
sors take favorable notice o f you.
A fte r a ll, the y’ re the ones w ho’ 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 ight seem a bit strange to
think o f coal miners or butchers
putting on lipstick and perfume a f
ter a long day o f work, but it hap
pens In fact, it's an almost com
mon sight now that a number o f
»omen have started to test their
skills in traditionally male-domin
ated job arenas.
I or many biack »omen o f the
'80s, the tools o f their trade are (or
» ill become) hard hats, safety gog
gles and steel-toed shoes instead o f
typewriters, steno pads and pleasing
telephone voices Whatever their
reasons— the adventure o f trying
something diffe re n t or the search
lo r bigger paychecks— more and
more women are tackling jobs that
are o lten describes as "m e n 's
work " The so-called "weaker sex”
can be found in the darkness o f
coal mines or w orking alongside
men as carpenters, painters, fire
fighters, railroad engineers, crane
operators, tra cto r-tra ile r drivers,
plumbers, construction workers and
in many other positions that ro u
tinely have been handled by men.
fro m an economic point of view,
there are some advantages when
women decide not to try nursing,
teaching or clerical work but, in
stead, take employment that many
o f their friends call " d ir ty and
gre asy." fo r example, a woman
working as a roustabout in a con
struction and maintenance crew on
an offshore oil rig can earn a starl
ing salary o f $27,000 compared to
the $10,000 she could make as a sec
retary or typist.
On the other hand, many of those
same women might experience d iffi
culty because o f the physical de
mands o f a number o f the higher-
paying jobs. Jacqueline Jones, a
Iirc lig h tc r assigned to fire I .ngine
Company 1.1 in Newark, N J , says
" I love what I'm doing, but the
amount ot physical exertion during
basic training (six weeks) caused so
much fatigue that I just didn't think
I ’d make i l. " She made it a year ago
and. like some other owners doing
"men's w o rk ." has won praise from
her superiors and fellow workers
alike. Nevertheless, there are still
some men who just d o n ’ t like the
idea ol working alongside women
and are quick to groan that "Y o u
can't do this kind ol w o rk " or
"Y o u should be at home having
babies." In cases like these, women
such as Brenda Solomon, a third
year apprentice carpenter in Mem
phis, have learned to live with such
attitudes. "W henever I hear men
saying things like that, it just makes
me work that much hurder Io show
them that I can do unyihmn they can
d o ."
That kind o f confidence has
helped women make major break
(tro u gh s in areas that previously
had been labeled " o f f lim its ." And
by the end o f this decade, those in
non traditional jobs probably will
have changed the minds o f many
who believe that a woman's place is
"at home in the kitchen,"
Federal job opportunities—
are they still there?
Due to the recent budget cuts
mandated
by
Reaganomics,
"fro s ts ” and "freezes" are serious
ly affecting the employment out
look. One area specifically forecast
ed to suffer from financial cutbacks
is that of the Federal Government.
In the past, when college gradu
ates were interested in a career with
the Federal Government, they start
ed the application process by taking
the Professional and Administrative
Career Fxamination better known
as the P A C E . The P A C E is a 3
hour written test which is the princi
pal means ol entry into government
lor liberal arts and general business
graduates, although it is open to all
majors and to applicants with equiv
alent experience. These positions are
in the areas of A dm inistration/
Management Support, t lairns and
Benefits I xamining and Regulations
Compliance Applicants who re
ceive passing scores on the written
test are placed on a C ivil Service
competitive inventory in score order
and referred to agencies as vacancies
open Previously, about 7,000
placements were made each year in
approximately 100 different cate
gories o f jobs W ithin specific
fields, positions arc classified by
grade levels based on the level of job
responsibility. Salaries correspond
to the grades; the higher the grade
the higher the salary. Therefore, if
one is qualified for a GS-9 position
and accepts a job at the GS-5 level,
the pay would be for the GS-5 sal
ary. not the GS-9 salary.
1
i
Kathy M
Roberts
An Opportunity Equal To The Challenge
lu th y M . Roberts began her career with Sears Roebut k and ( im
pany in 1971 as a salesperson Her second position as a clerical
worker in the personnel department quic kly evolved into the post ot
store trainer
In 1977 she translerred to the Roosevelt store as tiersonnel assistant
where her responsibilities involved hiring training and poltc y ad
ministration lor about 1 ¿0 employees
Alter leaving the Roosevelt store she assumed the duties ol person
net manager tor the S ea,at store m federal Way
Presently Ms Roberts is employed as personnel representative tor
•be Sears Overtake store in Bellevue Washington
As itersr.nnel representative Ms Roberts .s at countable lor
establishing a liaison between managers and employees she is also
one ot live personnel representatives who travel to 14 stores between
Bellingham and Aberdeen
A native ot far oma Ms Roberts said she doesn I want Io slay in
personnel forever and she entoys working with Sears lie. ause the
< ompany doc's not limit anyone
< friginally Roberts had planned to bet ome a sc hool teat her and
attended Pacific lulheran University tor two years
A resident ot Kirkland Rotierts is a collet lor ol old movie stills en
toys shopping and leisurely walks
Sears is the largest retailer in the world with almost 4 IMX) locations
all over the <ounlry That means you as an employee will have Iocs
ret resourr es to work with and a lot est room Io show what you t an
do
Vou II baye the opportunity to prove yourself As a Sears
employee you II have responsibilities And you can be sure that
the challenges and opportunities will last throughout your career
because Sears develops its talent trom within
W hy don I you look into the career opportunities al Sears Vou
lust might be in business
For more information about opportunities al Sears Contact
Your nearest Sears Store
You can
count on
ui An «ocaxuAiwfo
Satisfaction Guaranteed or four M oney Back
An Equal Opportunity
Employer, M/F1982