1 UNDERSTAND YOURSELF
The job-application process is all
about self-marketing, and fortu-
nately, no one knows you better
than youknowyourself. Landing
that ideal first job requires under-
standing who you are, both
your strengths and your
weaknesses—and exploit-
ing them.
For example, Alan
Muir, executive director
of Career Opportuni-
ties for Students with
Disabilities (COSD),
says that students with
disabilities must clear-
ly assess what they will
be able to contribute
and what limitations
they have. And they
should emphasize the
real strengths they
may have developed
to compensate for
their disabilities.
“Have a full understanding of
your abilities and disabilities,”
advises Muir. “Being clear on
who you are—and what you can
and cannot do—not only makes
your job search more effective
and makes the interview go more
smoothly, it also makes penetrating the office culture easier.”
2 PROTECT YOUR BRAND
These days, anyone can find out
about you with a simple Google
search or by looking at Facebook and MySpace, where many
young people like to discuss their
“extracurricular” activities. Take
note of how you are represented
on social-networking sites. While
you are entitled to present your-
self any way you’d like, future or
current employers may be less
inclined to hire or promote you if
there are damaging images of you
on the Internet.
“Your reputation is very important and that reputation starts on
day one,” says Pipier Bewlay, senior
vice president of HR, training
and development for INROADS,
which recruits, trains and places
college students from traditionally
underrepresented groups in paid
internships with large companies.
Building a positive reputation is a
very important part of good self-marketing and in forging lasting
professional relationships.
3 BE A TEAM PLAYER
Once you have the job, don’t get
caught up in differences, warns
Bewlay. Instead, focus on what
commonalities you share with
your team, especially if you are the
“only” person from a traditionally
underrepresented group on the
team. “When you are entering an
organization and you are seen as
the ‘only one,’ you have to take a
little responsibility to look at the
people around you and focus on
your similarities,” she says.
Instead, know your peer group
and your organization and focus
on the best ways to work within
them. “Understand teamwork, and
know how your team interacts
with the rest of the organization.
That is when you begin to develop
leadership qualities and begin to
understand what a leader is,” says
Charles H. Cornelius, president
and CEO for INROADS.
It’s also important to remember
that working with different groups
of people is a part of experiencing different workplaces, and not
everyone will understand who
you are, warns Kevin Jennings,
founder and executive director of
the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network. “You can’t assume
going in that everyone gets it, and
you can’t assume that everyone
won’t get it. Be prepared and don’t
be offended when people ask inappropriate things,” says Jennings.
4 WATCH YOUR E-MAILS
While sending business e-mails
can be tricky in a work force that
encompasses diversity of race/
ethnicity, gender, age, religion, disability and other cultural influences,
one thing is clear: Your ability to effectively communicate will directly
affect how high on the corporate
ladder you go. “It’s common in most
cultures to use language that is not
clear outside that culture; it creates
a crypt culture that is not acceptable
for the workplace,” says Muir.
And while you may love to
text message, don’t use that style
of text for work. Substituting
numbers for letters or eliminating vowels from words to shorten
them can be confusing, especially
for older bosses.
How well you communicate
also says a lot about you as an
employee, warns Sophia Bogues,
strategic accounts manager with
INROADS. “Business e-mails are a
tool and that tool represents you,”
she says. Remember to adhere to
the communication culture of the
organization you are joining.
Also remember that while religion has a place in the workplace—
if it is structured with specific
and well-thought-out values—an
e-mail or general discussion may
not be the best time to put your religious ideologies forth. Instead of
