so yesterday i had a fantastic second interview with Global Human Resource Consulting Co. it lasted 2 hours. i had wonderful conversations and even used my newfound vocabulary from harvard's 'Difficult Conversations' book. (yes, trust-bridge IS going to enter the corporate lexicon.) wearing my new glasses, sporting glossy curls and pants that didn't make my ass look like a squeezed tube of toothpaste (unlike today's ensemble), i was an advertisement for corporate project mgmt-hood.
then i told my boss about it.
today, i had a voicemail from her: "Ding, MM from Gargantuan Banking Conglomerate is going to contact you soon. She wants to talk to you about foundation work and non profit work and she also wants to set up a lunch meeting with you with So-and-So to talk about what you really really want to do. Do NOT fall back on the corporate stuff. You are TOO GOOD. Get me your resume. We are going to talk tomorrow."
this morning my boss stood in front of me and said: "Ding, in this city MM and So-and-So are the two hardest women to get in to see. They don't see anyone. They want to see you and they are opening their little black books for you. If you need my help all you have to do is ask. Just ask. Don't be afraid. You are going to be glorious. We just need to find you a place to be glorious in."
i'm SO not good about accepting help from people. especially white people. sorry, it's true. the power differential is hard to ignore. aargh.
5 comments:
well, can't comment on the "don't accept help from white people" angle, as I myself AM white, and haven't experienced the joys you're referring to.
But, it sounds like they regard you as a top-shelf candidate..
Ride it, ding. Make it take you where you want to go.
-anon
thanks, anon.
it's strange growing up in a very small brown family. because you know you're different, you overcompensate. so your family unit battens down the hatches and you tell each other, "you can only rely on yourself to get where you need to go. no one can, or will, do it for you." i make a pretty good bet that most immigrant and brown families deal like this.
so here i go into the corporate world, where everything is about networking. shit, my folks knew nobody. who could they hook me up with? so you make your own breaks.
then, suddenly, you have these rich women looking at you and releasing their calendars for you (you have NO idea how hard it is to get an executive assistant to open the gates) and it's like...this is weird! this is weird!
but it's me being weird. not them. it's me.
oh, and while it's HARD to accept their help, i'm not exactly a totaly fool.
i'll totally take their help.
Total empathy on the small brown family thing. Idealistically speaking, it's "make your own destiny," but when you see how resourceful other people are with networking and making connections primarily because they're exactly like the people they're networking with, it's kinda depressing.
Yes, totally take advantage of the situation. If I were better at networking, my career would be way out there, I think. -- Julie
while i may feel uncomfortable, there's no way i'm not going to take advantage of it. i may be stupid, but i'm no fool.
in a couple of weeks i have a dinner with another three women who could talk about doing racial reconciliation work in the city. who knows where all this could lead?
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