job update!

[StantonHyde]

This is the issue. As women, we take on more and more work. Men say-no. We don't. I am not sure why. Because we want to help? Because we hope it will get us recognized? It doesn't. And unfortunately, you have to be careful how you standup for yourself. And then when we leave, they are left "blindsided". Seriously??? I am 57 and while we have come a long way, there is still much work to be done.

And a big, fat, well-deserved congratulations to you!!!!!! You deserve EVERYTHING you got!!! And, yes, you will be able to do it. You have been doing it. A man wouldn't worry about this. He would believe in himself. You KNOW you've got this!!!!!!

[bcafe]

Dang, Girl! That is amazing news. Your statements have always resonated with me on a professional level. The act of being appreciated and valued is sorely lacking in my job. It IS demoralizing and sometimes I feel like returning to be a SAHM! Congratulations!!

[PunkyBoo]

I'm so happy to read this update! Congrats- you deserve it!!!

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[jent]

Congrats!! I remember your earlier posts about your current job situation and I'm so happy this worked out for you. Haven't had a chance to read the whole HBR article but have a feeling it will resonate.

I have gotten the advice before that one way to get ahead in your current job, even if you don't want to leave, is to interview for another job (even if it's not one you will definitely accept). This may be career-specific but by doing this, your organization is forced to consider how much you mean to them. I didn't really think I was valuable enough to my old institution for this to hold true, but it did. When I told them I was leaving, I got offered some different options for them to hold on to me.

Anyway congrats! And let this be a lesson to all of us not to underestimate our value.

[Philly Mom]

Congrats!! Great news! You will rock this!


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[♥ms.pacman♥]

This is the issue. As women, we take on more and more work. Men say-no. We don't. I am not sure why. Because we want to help? Because we hope it will get us recognized? It doesn't. And unfortunately, you have to be careful how you standup for yourself. And then when we leave, they are left "blindsided". Seriously??? I am 57 and while we have come a long way, there is still much work to be done.

And a big, fat, well-deserved congratulations to you!!!!!! You deserve EVERYTHING you got!!! And, yes, you will be able to do it. You have been doing it. A man wouldn't worry about this. He would believe in himself. You KNOW you've got this!!!!!!

thank you!! And you are totally spot-on about how we as women take on more work, because we want to help, because we don’t want to disappoint anyone etc. i think a lot of it is related to being a mother, because so much depends on us (often the literal lives of our children) and so we are just so accustomed to putting everyone else’s needs before our own. And, we don’t want to not be seen as a team player. Though the crappy side of that is it results in us doing invisible and non-promotable work. And for us women of color, it’s even worse, because of the additional biases that exist. I was just used to having to be twice as good as anyone else. I have felt that way since I was six years old. After four decades I finally realized having to be twice as good and constantly walking a tightrope is freaking exhausting and I still wasn’t where i wanted to be. After several depressing and anxiety-producing months I am so glad to make it out on the other side.

[♥ms.pacman♥]

Congratulations!
What do you think finally clicked? Was it just your persistence? Did you change how you did anything (your resume, interviewing, networking…)? Or was it just meant to be- you finally found the right person who believed in you?


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Great question!! I think about this a lot. For me it was a number of things that I think helped.

In my case, i found this company via a recruiter that found me on LinkedIn. I had chosen the setting “show recruiters you are open to work” , though after a few months i had put the option of “actively applying, willing to start immediately” or something like that. This one just shows recruiters you are looking, so no one at your current company should be able to see it. And even if the job they are recruiting for isn’t a perfect match, and you don’t have every single qualification, do an interview anyways! There may be a chance they like you so much that they see you could be good for another role in the organization (exactly what happened to me!). I think the problem is too often women sell themselves short and don’t apply if they don’t meet 100% of the qualifications…whereas men apply if they meet just 50% of them. In this way, we are limiting ourselves to a fraction of the possibilities.

Also - i did end up getting the help of a friend of a friend who voluntarily coaches several women in their job search, and this was INVALUABLE to me. She coached me through a lot of things. She first told me to totally revamp my resume. I added a lot more personality to it, putting in personal hobbies and achievements and things like that so it was less “robotic”. Put my skills at the very top of it so that stood out. Apparently my resume got the attention of several higher ups at the company and that is how i got a second interview (and the following ones).

I personally had zero luck submitting applications/resumes on job postings on LinkedIn or similar sites. Maybe it was bc my initial resume wasn’t as good, or something else. I must have submitted over hundred applications that way. four companies contacted me for initial interview, and I never advanced past. Two were FAANG companies so i had prepared like crazy (countless YouTube videos with tutorials).

My coach pointed out that if you are aiming for a mid-to-high-level job that is high paying ($200k+), those jobs often are not formally posted and candidates are considered either via networking or through recruiters. I totally didn’t realize this early on. And my case ended up being a perfect example of this!

So i would advise going through a recruiter. Mine was through an agency that the company used, not an “in-house” recruiter. The recruiter i worked with was AWESOME.

And as for the interview process (i think i interviewed with seven or eight people) that actually was the easiest/most fun part, at least with this company. It feels so bizarre saying it, bc I tend to be a more reserved and introverted person, and interviews are typically the most nerve-wracking part. I think a big part of it may have been that i had already prepared like crazy in past months for FAANG interviews (which are notoriously hard and require you to be able to quickly respond back with clear, concrete examples of when you handled x situation, or how you did y, z- so I had those at the ready). Also everyone i interviewed with was so welcoming and awesome so that made it easier

[liz]

Congratulations!!

[westwoodmom04]

Congratulations, it sounds like a fantastic opportunity!

[Tenasparkl]

Love this update! A friend is a recruiter for LinkedIn and I love to hear that’s part of what worked for you. Congratulations!