"You never know what you are capable of, until you are being put into that situation." Dir
Q - As an Asian woman, successfully climbing the corporate in large IT companies like Microsoft and Cisco, could you tell us a little bit about your path to success?
I am fortunate with my career, in that I’ve had a lot of great supporters, direct sponsors and indirect sponsors and mentors that continued to challenge me and give me opportunities to take on bigger projects and opportunities. I don’t think it is because I am a female or a female Asian, but I believe its my own continuous desire to move out of my comfort zone and have a reputation for being reliable and highly capable of building and scaling new businesses that has contributed to my success. I am also an incredibly curious person and always try to help my colleagues so I never let my core objectives limit me on what to focus on. If someone comes to me for help, my first response will always be: “what can I do to help?”. I believe helping others can expand your own growth opportunity and also life has a way of coming back and returning the favour. This is karma – no? Helping without asking anything in return, at some point in your career, it will be rewarded.
Q - As we know, there’s a salary gap between men and women. So, as a woman, how do you negotiate you next raise.
I think discussing compensation, is never an an easy topic. A lot of times, we don’t want to sound demanding or like we are high maintenance or do not want to come across as confrontational so avoid the conversation altogether. My advice here is do your homework and understand the market value for your role and contribution and derive your own marketability. This research will help you establish an acceptable compensation point for yourself and that should be the target for your negotiations. Unless it is the same role on an assembly line, professional knowledge worker roles will vary due to a number of different reasons ie. Accounts covered, quota size, project value etc. Colleagues also represent different sets of experiences and industry knowledge so it is difficult to do an apple to apples comparison. So, to reduce the stress and narrow focus of pay equity, I urge you to focus on your own experiences, contribution and value and how you can use those skills and background to further the organizations goals.
The last three books I read: Harry Potter, Goblet of Fire, Consumption Economics and a historical fiction, The Last Empress about the Dowager Queen Tsu-Hsi #career #fortunate #opportunity #karma #response #career #supporters#female #desire #reputation #reliable #scaling #success #focus #growth#compensation #market value #negotiation #comparison #stress#knowledge #background #value #skill #background #organization#goals