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Outwitting Discrimination: New Job Market Tactics for Women and
Minorities
Interview with Chandra Prasad, author of Outwitting the Job
Market: Everything You Need to Locate and Land a Great Position
By IMDiversity.com Career Center Staff
Looking for a job is challenging in a tight job market, but looking
for a job when you’re female or a minority can be downright
intimidating. Even though the recruitment of both groups is on the rise,
most companies still have a long way to go before achieving parity.
Meanwhile, diverse professionals continue to face formidable obstacles,
including lower salaries and fewer advancement opportunities than their
white male counterparts.
Chandra Prasad interviewed over a hundred human resources personnel,
career counselors, head hunters, managers, and jobseekers for her book
Outwitting the Job Market: Everything You Need to Locate and Land a
Great Position. While the book focuses on general strategies
for job market success, here the author—an Asian American—talks about
which employers are truly committed to diversity, why mentors are
especially important to minorities and women, and why shifting
demographics mean new challenges ahead.
The former Editor-at-Large of Vault.com, Prasad has
been quoted as a workplace expert by Black Entertainment
Television, The Christian Science Monitor, the Gay Financial
Network, and The Complete Idiot's Guide to Finding Your
Dream Job Online. Her feature articles have been published
in the Wall Street Journal's Career Journal
and College Journal, IMDiversity.com, True Careers, and
others.
IMDiversity.com: Do women and minorities need to approach the job search process
differently than everyone else?
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Careers writer and workplace diversity specialist Chandra
Prasad
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Chandra Prasad: Jobseekers who are female or in a minority group don’t have to
take a different approach, but they may choose to take a broader one.
Both groups can enhance their chances of success by looking not only at
general job search sites, but also at sites that have the best interests
of diverse candidates in mind. IMDiversity is such a resource, as are HACE (Hispanic Alliance for Career Advancement) and The Black Collegian,
and there are many others.
Look for company recruitment opportunities too. The National Society of
Hispanic MBAs not only has a helpful career center, but also offers a
huge annual conference with representation from dozens of corporate
sponsors. If you’re in college, ask your career services center which
companies will be stopping by campus to interview and how you can submit
your resume in advance. Also ask what scholarships and internships are
available specifically for women and/or minorities. Many companies, such
as Bank One, have programs geared specifically toward diverse
candidates.
Q: How can one know if a company is truly committed to diversity or
if it is just paying lip service?
A: One of the best ways to find out if a company is truly
diversity-friendly is to speak with someone within the organization. In
a best case-scenario, you might have a personal contact who works there
and will give you an honest answer. But if you don’t already have a
contact, be observant. Look around as you’re on your interview—do you
see a diverse staff or a homogenous one? Are the executive level and
board of directors comprised of only white men? That should send you a
message right there. If you establish a comfortable rapport with your
interviewer and decide you want to out-and-out ask about diversity
within the company, listen carefully to his response. Does your
interviewer give a pat and insubstantial answer? Or does he provide real
and compelling proof that the company is committed to diversity by
citing actual percentages of women and minorities who are employed or by
offering details on programs and initiatives aimed at the recruitment
and retention of these groups? Another way to check on a company is to
scan the web site of the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission).
Each month the site posts reports on major litigation settlements by
various employers.
Q: In your opinion which companies are standouts when it comes to
diversity?
A: American Express, Ford, Fannie Mae, IBM, and Deloitte have all
been praised recently for their commitment to diversity.
If you’re looking for employment at large companies and institutions,
it’s fairly easy to check on their records. Every year Fortune magazine
recognizes “The 50 Best Companies for Minorities,” and it sometimes
offers additional rankings according to each minority group. Working
Mother magazine offers an annual list of the “Hundred Best Companies for
Working Mothers” and the “Hundred Best Companies for Women of Color.”
Many reputable business periodicals may give you additional insight into
which companies are more attuned to diversity than others. But none of
these beats the firsthand observations of someone who has worked for the
company. This is especially true when it comes to smaller or private
employers because information may not be as readily available.
Q: You talk about the importance of mentors in your book. Is finding
a mentor in the workplace more or less important for women and
minorities?
A: In general I believe mentors are even more important for
minorities and women because these groups may have unique concerns and
barriers. A survey by Catalyst, a nonprofit research organization
focusing on women in business, supports this idea. The survey found that
of 368 women of color, 69% who had a mentor in 1998 had at least one
upward career move by 2001 compared to 49% of those who didn't have a
mentor.
One person I spoke with, an African-American manager at Pitney Bowes,
said that an early mentor made all the difference in his career. After
college he interviewed with an executive at EDS, a global information
technology company, and the executive pointed out his professional
shortcomings in a highly constructive way—in a way that helped him to
improve his raw skills. Before meeting this mentor, he was confused
about his career direction, but afterward he was able to buckle down and
make the decision to attend business school.
Similarly, a women’s magazine editor I interviewed credits a mentor for
much of her success. When this editor was laid off, her mentor took her
under her wing and gave her the encouragement and contacts she needed to
begin a successful career as a freelancer.
In both cases, the mentoring relationships evolved informally. Two
professionals happened to click, and the more experienced began to offer
support and counsel to the other. Spontaneous mentorships are very
common, but many companies do have official mentorship programs. And
some companies have mentorship programs specifically for women and
minorities, so it’s a good idea to inquire.
Q: In the workplace, isn’t there a danger of focusing on difference
too much?
A: Well, you might not want to be branded as the mouthpiece of
feminism or racial identity because any stereotypes or labels, even
positive ones, are potentially dangerous. The best way to deal with
difference is to acknowledge it—but not dwell on it—and to consider it a
factor in your professional prospects. This is particularly important at
the start of your career. Choose a company that is noted for embracing
diversity, seek out at least one mentor, and constantly strive to keep
your skills set current and in-demand. Highly successful minority
professionals will tell you that race was not the determining factor in
their careers. Success for just about everyone boils down to the same
basics: professional excellence, dedication, ingenuity, and a reliable
network.
Q: What does the future hold for minority and women professionals?
A: The future looks very bright. Many companies are getting the
message that the American demographic has shifted and will continue to
shift. According to “Futurework: Trends and Challenges for Work in the
21st Century,” a report from the Department of Labor, by 2050 minorities
will rise from being one in every four Americans to one in every two. Of
course, smart companies know that to serve a diverse clientele they need
a diverse staff. That is why we see minority and female hiring on the
rise and why this trend will certainly continue. The next test, I think,
is not women and minorities succeeding in the workplace, but climbing to
the highest ranks in substantial numbers—and helping others up.
Related Reading
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What Do Interviewers Really Want to Know About You?
Excerpt from
Outwitting the Job Market: Everything You Need to Locate and
Land a Great Position
What do interviewers really want to know about you? The answer
may be different for every hiring manager. But first-time job
hunters may be surprised by how simple their wish lists are.
Cited Resources
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