Access is everything. The team searches for online communities, advice, and information that tackle some of the questions we want to explore. This post is a compilation of some of our favorite tips and insights from around the web on navigating Corporate America.
"Tips to Survive in Corporate America"
Blogger “Shady_Grady” of Urban Politico weighs in with tips
for surviving Corporate America. Here are a few gems:
“Always strive for
excellence: There's no reason you shouldn't be the best at your job. Ok,
maybe there is a reason but you should certainly TRY to be the best. And if you
fail try harder next time. This is especially important if you happen to be
Black as likely there are more than a few people in your company who have
negative stereotypes about your intelligence, your credentials, your work ethic
and the quality of work that you produce. But Black or not, one of the best
ways to keep your job and/or rise in the company is to have an unblemished
reputation for quality work and for being able to pick up new assignments
quickly. . .”
“Use Careful
Communication: In terms of emails, instant messages, written documents,
text messages, chances are that your company either views what you write or
maintains an archive of what you wrote. Some companies use key-loggers. And I'm
not even going to get started about inappropriate internet usage. There are
different rules at various companies but a good rule of thumb is that if you
wrote it over their network, it's theirs. They can look at it if they want to
do so. . .”
“Connections
count/Life is not fair: One of the hardest lessons that I had to learn was
that education, experience and work ethic aren't the Alpha and Omega of getting
hired or getting promoted. People hire people who look like them. This is a
problem if you happen to be Black. But people also hire and promote their
friends, their relatives, people who their friends, spouse or relatives vouch
for, folks they worked with at other companies, old school acquaintances,
people they want to sleep with or have slept with, their church members and so
on. This is never going to change.
So you can a) impotently rage against the machine, b) quit and start your own
company, or c) learn how to network. . .”
"Month of the Man: How Black Men Can Win In Corporate
America"
This article by Janell
Hazelwood of Black Enterprise is actually a series of tweets. Here are a few of
my favorites:
“@JPHazelwood #Leadership Tip 2 from CEOs: Surround
yourself with people w/more expertise than you, from Reginald F. Lewis
#MonthoftheMan” -Alfred Edmond Jr
“Bonus #Internship Tip: Not
everyone can help you, but everyone can hurt you so treat ALL colleagues with
respect @jphazelwood #monthoftheman” -SEOCareer Internship
“CodeOfConduct
#CorporateAmerica: #Tip 2 @NkrumahPierre Seek constructive criticism as much as
possible. #monthoftheman” - Janell Hazelwood
Check out the full article
here: http://www.blackenterprise.com/career/recap-tips-corporate-america-success-black-minority-men/
"Being Black in Corporate America: 12 Things You Must
Know To Survive and Just Maybe Thrive"
Blogger “Jim Crow” gives his list of survival tips for
Corporate America. Here are a few of our favorites:
“Be direct without being impolite. But if you have
only two choices -- impoliteness or directness -- choose directness. If you
talk in circles, people will walk all over you and piss on your post-employment
grave. Remember, you are terminally employed anyway, and being spineless won't
make it less so.”
“Never use the term racism in the workplace unless you
have a legal caseload of unambiguous evidence to prove it. Otherwise, you
become the paranoid schizophrenic at work. And you don't want to be Mr.
Paranoid, do you? If you tell someone they're being racist, it does nothing for
you or against them. Unless you have email evidence of a racial epithet --
which no one is dumb enough to leave these days -- you shouldn't call anyone
racist. It's amateurish to do so without overwhelming evidence. Still, you
should never hesitate to call people out if you think you are being treated
unfairly.”
“Be very honest about what you don't know. Do not
pretend. Don't try to wing it. It won't work. Trust me, business
moves so fast, nobody really knows either. So if someone's talking fast and
in meaningless circles trying to impress themselves about the little they know,
slow them down. Some people don't know how to communicate. They're more
concerned about hearing themselves pontificate than they are about actually
communicating. Take charge of the communication and move it along at your
preferred pace. . .”
Read more at: http://jimcrowconfidential.blogspot.com/2010/01/black-in-corporate-america-12-things.html
What is the best advice you've gotten for navigating Corporate America?
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