Being the only one who looks like you in a room full of people can be exhausting! This feeling of exhaustion is only aggravated by the everyday stress of trying to succeed in your professional career. Choosing the right employer professionally and personally is crucial for minorities entering the professional world as a successful transition to the professional workplace will depend on many factors, including a challenging and meaningful position, good colleagues and a healthy work environment, but the most important factor of all is y-o-u.
You are a Person of Consequence. Diversity and inclusion are buzz words in the professional world. Almost every organization has a diversity and inclusion statement as a cornerstone of its mission and have functioning internal committees tasked with diversity and inclusion at the workplace. One consequence of this is a heightened recognition of the importance of diversity and a herculean effort to recruit and retain minorities. The hiring of minorities advances office diversity goals, may meet legal and/or commercial prerequisites for business, allows for a special connection to an underserved minority community and offers a key segment of our American society the opportunity to interact with someone different. However, to accomplish this important undertaking requires a reexamination of the internal workings of the organization with the express goal of establishing a safe and productive environment for all employees. Despite best efforts, there still is inequality in the workplace and sadly, the number of minorities who are in a position to mentor younger professionals remains inadequate. We have a way to go before there is true equality in the workplace and minorities are fairly represented in leadership roles.
Actions Speak Louder Than Words. As a candidate for a professional position, you will need to look beyond the diversity and inclusion statements on the website or in the employee handbook and evaluate whether the organization sincerely makes an effort towards minorities and the interests of minorities once on board. Ask yourself if the professional practice is actively engaged in community outreach, offers bias training to its employees, or partners with local communities and neighborhood organizations to make a difference. Better yet, ask current employees if such an effort has been embraced not just by the minority members of the organization but by influential senior members who are not minorities. To be truly invested and committed to diversity in the workplace, senior members must take time out of their busy schedules and join hands with their minority employees to participate in community initiatives and events.
If, however, you are to be the designated member and bear a disproportionate share of the effort, such a burden is unfair to place on your shoulders and should not be directed to a new minority employee just beginning his or her professional career.
What is Required to Land the “Right” Job? Landing a home in a “good neighborhood” means you need to do some homework before accepting a position.
- Make the effort to perform due diligence on the professional organization you are considering. It is possible that the organization does not employ a significant number of minority professionals, but you may be surprised to learn that there are a few. Make sure you have a chance to talk to them during the interview process. Take them aside and ask the difficult questions. “Are you happy here?” “Are you treated with respect?” “Are you invited by your colleagues to social events, golf outings, and the like?” “Have your professional and personal expectations been met?” “In what ways has your experience been less than perfect?” Even if there are no professionals who “look like you” on board, and you will be the first, perhaps you can gain a sense of the workplace by asking similar questions of a recently hired woman, or African-American, Latino, Asian, or other minority.
- Remember to do due diligence on the community you will be joining. Is the professional organization located in the type of community (rural/urban) (seaside/alpine) (northern/southern) that you are accustomed to and familiar with? Will you be one of many like-minded people or essentially alone, without community support, not only at work but outside work? It is hard enough to be a pioneer without being lonely as well. Sometimes it is important to see another familiar face.
You’ve got to be You. You may find, or believe, that you must work to dilute or mute your culture, your musical tastes, your food, your friends, your style of dress and interests, to conform. This is a mistake even if you believe it necessary to garner more support and collegiality. Failing to be true to oneself in order to seem more like “them” merely establishes a false you (an “artifice”) that is harder and harder to maintain. Life in the closet did not work for the LGBTQ community and will not work for you. There is too much stress and unhappiness. Better to be yourself, not only for your mental health but also for maintaining your eagerness and performance. You may also be surprised to learn that your office mates will like you more as you, rather than as a minority mirror image of themselves.
Focus on Mentorship. You’ve got to have friends. More importantly, you’ve got to have a mentor. Mentorship is vital to a long and successful career. But it is crucial when you first commence your career. Many of the essential skills required of your profession are learned only through real world experience and practice. Unfortunately, for many minorities, there is no direct access to trusted mentors in everyday life. Many are first-generation graduates of college and graduate school and first-generation professionals in their families. Explaining the nuances of the profession is difficult when that person does not have firsthand experience in the field. Without a close relative to whom one can turn to for valuable advice, the minority candidate may start out at a disadvantage for mentorship in his or her chosen profession. For this reason, your potential employer should have an established and active mentorship program in place with a successful track record. Having a mentor with whom you will be able to speak openly and honestly will be critical to your professional growth and success. However, in some instances, the organization will not assign you a mentor at the start, and you will need to do your own investigative work and ask. Either way, your support system begins with this mentor and a new friend who will be essential to use as a sounding board and in advocating for you when needed. Choose carefully!
Who Constitutes the Leadership Team? An organization is only as strong as its leadership and the leadership sets the tone for the rest of the organization. Consequently, knowing who the leaders are, their background, professional accomplishments, interests and community involvement will be instrumental in determining if this organization and you will be aligned. If you have contacts in the community, ask how the leadership is perceived by their peers and in the community. Does leadership interact with the younger professionals and minority communities?
Make an Effort to be Seen. You may think that your status as a minority is enough to make people take notice, but in the workplace, there are many busy days, deadlines, tensions and outside distractions. Do not assume that people will come to you. Try to make friends and small talk. Ask about weekend plans and family events. Let people know that you like a particular activity or would love to learn a new activity. Speak up as no one will be able to read your mind. Being pleasant and friendly usually has good consequences and overcomes initial shyness or barriers.
You’ve Got to Speak Our When Necessary. This is the 21st century but you will find that our society still wrestles with lingering 19th- or 20th- century attitudes, and you may face instances when you are challenged as a minority. While there are right ways and wrong ways to confront ignorance or racially biased statements, you should not hesitate to seek redress. It would be a mistake to passively accept a toxic workplace, pretend something was not said, or tolerate racial prejudice, stereotypes or unkind remarks. On the other hand, the right thing may not be to confront the offending person directly, yourself, the instant something unpleasant happens. Just like it is better not to send that angry email until you have thought about it overnight, in certain circumstances it may be preferable for you to consider a measured response and present it to the right person in the organization for action.
Find a Home in the Community Too. Hopefully, your chosen hometown will possess a strong and supportive local minority community. Having a healthy work-life balance will facilitate a long and productive career. From the stores you shop to the restaurants you dine, finding the familiar and comfortable will provide consistency and ease in your daily life. Before accepting an offer, then, you should examine what outside activities will be necessary for you to have a balanced and healthy life and then seek those places out.
Finding a right fit professionally and personally can be challenging. It is hoped that this article will assist in guiding you in making your first important professional choice a rewarding one.
About the Author
Mr. Ross is a Member of the Hurwirz & Fine P.C. law firm (New York) where he focuses on business and corporate law practice in health law, taxation, and employee benefits counseling. Mr. Ross has more than 30 years of experience at the state and federal levels in healthcare and taxation. He has practiced before the Internal Revenue Service, the New York State Departments of Health, Education, Insurance and Taxation and Finance, and the Federal and New York State Department of Labor.
Mr. Ross currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Amherst Central Alumni Foundation, Inc., Crisis Services, and the GOW School.