Speaker 1: Hey, Hey ba fan, It's Mandy here with another edition
Speaker 1: of ba Q and A where I take all of
Speaker 1: your money and career questions. If you're looking for a
Speaker 1: way to submit your question, where have you been? Okay?
Speaker 1: Get it together? Go to Brownambition podcast dot com. You
Speaker 1: can ask us anything there, or you can head on
Speaker 1: over to our Instagram page at Brand Admission Podcast on
Speaker 1: ig and submit your question. There could not be more
Speaker 1: excited for these juicy career questions today. Today we've got
Speaker 1: two fantastic questions, so let's dive on in the first
Speaker 1: one comes from listener Julietta. Julieta says, I have a
Speaker 1: full time job at an amazing company, but I really
Speaker 1: want to apply to a new position that I know
Speaker 1: I am perfect for and is more my speed. The
Speaker 1: only negative is that the new position is listed as
Speaker 1: a six month contract. My current position is not limited
Speaker 1: like this. What are your thoughts? Is it possible to
Speaker 1: negotiate a year or any other advice? All right, Julietta,
Speaker 1: thank you so much for your question. This is a
Speaker 1: juicy one. So she doesn't want to say where. She
Speaker 1: doesn't want to say where she works, but let's just
Speaker 1: say it's a big, old company, and it's an exciting company,
Speaker 1: and it's relatively new, Okay, And I know a little
Speaker 1: something about this company because I've worked with companies like
Speaker 1: this before, So I also know that there's a lot
Speaker 1: of changes happening at this company. And I think it's
Speaker 1: important to always kind of stay plugged in, even if
Speaker 1: you work for a huge corporation or small one. You know,
Speaker 1: is there high turnover? Have there been layoffs recently, because
Speaker 1: that can actually present opportunities for advancement that may not
Speaker 1: have otherwise been there. I actually may have a good
Speaker 1: sense of why they're looking for a six month contract
Speaker 1: role because I have seen this company has had you know,
Speaker 1: cuts in certain departments recently, so I'm wondering if they
Speaker 1: are trying to test out and see if there's actually,
Speaker 1: you know, enough value to have someone full time. So
Speaker 1: what they may be doing is just saying, well, let's
Speaker 1: give it a six month contract and potentially, if we're
Speaker 1: happy with this productivity and this you know, the value
Speaker 1: from this role that we're getting, maybe we will have
Speaker 1: a case for fleshing it out with a full time hire.
Speaker 1: You're internal at the company, so I say, hell's yeah,
Speaker 1: go and ask whoever the hiring manager is, for a
Speaker 1: conversation about their plans for the role. You know, Ask them,
Speaker 1: for example, tell them what you do now in your
Speaker 1: full time role. Tell them why you're interested in this
Speaker 1: new position. But you wouldn't be interested, obviously in going
Speaker 1: from a full time employee to a six month contract role.
Speaker 1: What may happen, for example, is that they say, well,
Speaker 1: you know, maybe why don't you go ahead and apply,
Speaker 1: and maybe we have a bit of a case for
Speaker 1: asking for a full time hire. That's a pretty unlikely scenario,
Speaker 1: even as I'm saying it, because in my experience as
Speaker 1: a hiring manager, when you're approved for a certain budget
Speaker 1: for a role headcount, for example, you're kind of approved
Speaker 1: and then that's it, you know. So if they're saying,
Speaker 1: if they've already been told we don't have you're not
Speaker 1: going to get approved for a full a full headcount
Speaker 1: here like a full employee hire, but we'll give you
Speaker 1: the budget for a contract worker. That may be all
Speaker 1: they have to work with. So what you could take
Speaker 1: from that conversation is one, you've got an opportunity at
Speaker 1: a pretty big company based on what I know about
Speaker 1: your firm, You've got an opportunity to start connecting with
Speaker 1: people on the team that is potentially hiring for a
Speaker 1: role that you want. So it could be good from
Speaker 1: just a personal branding standpoint to let them know, Hey,
Speaker 1: I'm Julietta, I exist, I'm excited about this work that
Speaker 1: you guys are doing and I want to be a
Speaker 1: part of it. They may not have a role that
Speaker 1: fits you right now, and I'm not suggesting at all
Speaker 1: that you should take a step down and go from
Speaker 1: full time to a six month contract gig that could
Speaker 1: arguably not get renewed for another six months after that,
Speaker 1: or even if they said, you know, why don't you
Speaker 1: work for a year on a contract basis, Again, you're
Speaker 1: dealing with that uncertainty of not being brought on full time.
Speaker 1: It's up to you whether or not you think that's
Speaker 1: worth the risk, but it may be for you just
Speaker 1: a long play here. Talk to the hiring manager, see
Speaker 1: what the background is on the role, let them know
Speaker 1: that you're interested, and then see where the conversation goes
Speaker 1: from there. You also ask is it possible to negotiate
Speaker 1: a year instead of a six month contract. Anything is possible,
Speaker 1: Everything is negotiable, but have to be open to the
Speaker 1: fact that you know they're probably doing a six month
Speaker 1: contract because potentially there's a project they have in mind
Speaker 1: for this person or this you know, this team to
Speaker 1: come in and complete in a six month timeframe, or
Speaker 1: they could be trying to build a case for a
Speaker 1: full time hire and they may not know until after
Speaker 1: those six months are complete whether or not you can
Speaker 1: be renewed for an additional six months or any other
Speaker 1: period of time. That's going to be even something else
Speaker 1: for you to discuss with that hire remanager. When I'm
Speaker 1: not saying if, but when you get on the phone
Speaker 1: or on zoom with them and find out more about
Speaker 1: the role. Okay, really appreciate your question. Good luck. I mean,
Speaker 1: go for it if the opportunity is exciting to you
Speaker 1: and it's what you want to do. I don't want
Speaker 1: you to be the best kept secret. I love that
Speaker 1: quote that we have from a recent guest Page Turner
Speaker 1: on the show. She said, you cannot be a best
Speaker 1: kept secret. So raise your hand, Julietta, tell the hiringmanager
Speaker 1: that you have an asset at the company right now
Speaker 1: who could do this work and would be excited to
Speaker 1: do it. So how can we make this possible? How
Speaker 1: can we make it work and kind of make your
Speaker 1: own magic? Okay, thank you again for your question. I'm
Speaker 1: gonna take a quick break and I'll be right back
Speaker 1: with another career question from a listener who wants to
Speaker 1: know how the heck do I get promoted? Ava fam
Speaker 1: I am back with our final question of the show
Speaker 1: from listener Charrell. I love the same so pretty, Charrell says,
Speaker 1: I have just started listening to your podcast. I love it.
Speaker 1: I'm a brown girl looking to advance in corporate America,
Speaker 1: so this podcast couldn't have come at a better time.
Speaker 1: I've been working in the food service supply industry for
Speaker 1: three and a half years, and I want to get
Speaker 1: promoted right now. I process companies returns. I handle purchase
Speaker 1: orders and refunds. I've been in this position for two years.
Speaker 1: I recently saw on their website that they're looking to
Speaker 1: hire a returns manager. My title is a sales support specialist.
Speaker 1: While I don't possess some of the requirements, I want
Speaker 1: to know if I should apply anyway. Since I'm looking
Speaker 1: to get promoted, I have some experience to bring to
Speaker 1: the table. I listen to your latest episode on pivoting
Speaker 1: and it inspired me. What do you think is the
Speaker 1: worst I could happen if my manager sees I'm trying
Speaker 1: to switch positions. Thank you all right, Charelle. I am
Speaker 1: so proud of you for keeping your eyes open to
Speaker 1: other opportunities within your company. This is what we should
Speaker 1: all be doing. You know, I say it a lot,
Speaker 1: but maybe not often enough. And when you're working in
Speaker 1: a corporation and you have a boss or a manager,
Speaker 1: we all do right that that boss does not always
Speaker 1: have a plan for you. The good bosses do. The
Speaker 1: good bosses will sit down and they'll they'll strategize with
Speaker 1: you and help you advance. And how can I be
Speaker 1: an ally and a sponsor and get you moving up
Speaker 1: through the company and all of that. But the sad
Speaker 1: truth is that that's not always happening. So we have
Speaker 1: to take charge of our own, you know, our own fates,
Speaker 1: our own futures within companies, and we have to create
Speaker 1: momentum for ourselves. And the way that you're doing it
Speaker 1: is the exact right way. An eye open for new
Speaker 1: opportunities and then throwing your hat in the ring. You've
Speaker 1: got two years under your belt at this company, Okay,
Speaker 1: and you've been in your industry for over three years,
Speaker 1: so you do have experience to bring to the table here,
Speaker 1: and it sounds like a returns manager is pretty much
Speaker 1: the next step or a couple of steps above what
Speaker 1: you're doing. Now. What I love about this is it's
Speaker 1: going to give you an opportunity to have a conversation
Speaker 1: with your hiring manager and say, hey, I saw this
Speaker 1: role as opening up. I actually think I'm ready for
Speaker 1: the next step. So can I be considered or would
Speaker 1: you consider me for this promotion? I don't think honestly
Speaker 1: that anything negative would come of this. I think on
Speaker 1: the flip side, it would be really positive. One, it
Speaker 1: shows that you were ambitious and that you want to
Speaker 1: grow with the company, a good manager who wants to
Speaker 1: support and grow talent, and we'll see this as a
Speaker 1: signal that, Okay, I need to invest in Chirell. And
Speaker 1: also it's going to force them to explain to you
Speaker 1: if they say no, why not. And when they tell
Speaker 1: you why not, it's usually giving you a couple of
Speaker 1: you know, key indicators or key steps that you at
Speaker 1: least have information on what you can improve on or
Speaker 1: what you should learn or what you can demonstrate to
Speaker 1: be what they perceive as ready for that step up,
Speaker 1: So be prepared. You may not hear, oh yes, but
Speaker 1: of course we would have loved to promote you. What
Speaker 1: you may hear is, oh well, in order to take
Speaker 1: this role, we require X number of months of service
Speaker 1: and blah blah blah blah blah. And they may tell you, okay, well,
Speaker 1: we would love to see more of this from you
Speaker 1: in the next six months. And if they don't volunteer
Speaker 1: that information, be prepared to ask yourself and hold them
Speaker 1: accountable for it. So don't let this be the last
Speaker 1: time you talk about it. Bring it up in your
Speaker 1: annual review, bring it up in your one on ones
Speaker 1: with your boss. Advocate for yourself. Absolutely, you have been
Speaker 1: a sales associate, you know, processing returns and sounds pretty
Speaker 1: entry level at this company, So of course you're going
Speaker 1: to be looking for your next step up. Who wants
Speaker 1: to remain stagnant, you know. So if the company values you,
Speaker 1: they're going to create a path for you. They're going
Speaker 1: to give you information on how to get to that
Speaker 1: next level. You may have to be a little bit
Speaker 1: you know, pushy in a squeaky wheel, which I am
Speaker 1: more than okay with I always have them be that
Speaker 1: squeaky wheel. But at the end of the day, you
Speaker 1: may have to create a little bit of your own
Speaker 1: good fortune in that way and advocate for yourself. That
Speaker 1: also will give you information that you're going to need
Speaker 1: to plan your next career move. So if this company
Speaker 1: stonewalls you, if, for example, they say, oh, well, you know,
Speaker 1: we want you to have three years of service and
Speaker 1: you're coming up on three right now, and you get
Speaker 1: to three and you're like, hey, it's been three years,
Speaker 1: where's my promotion? And then they come up with another
Speaker 1: reason why they can't give you a promotion. It could
Speaker 1: be oh, we don't have the budget for a headcount,
Speaker 1: or oh well we just hired someone. There's always going
Speaker 1: to be reasons that's going to tell you, and it's
Speaker 1: why I tell everyone always keep your eyes open to
Speaker 1: external opportunities. So maybe this position with your company right
Speaker 1: now isn't available for you for whatever reason, but it
Speaker 1: doesn't mean that you should stop yourself from applying for
Speaker 1: similar roles at co copetitors are aunt other companies in general,
Speaker 1: even if you do not tick off every single box
Speaker 1: that they say they want in terms of skills or
Speaker 1: years of service on a job application. Girl, just apply anyway.
Speaker 1: The worst they can do is say no, or maybe
Speaker 1: you don't get a call back, maybe you hear nothing.
Speaker 1: But too many of us, especially as women, wait until
Speaker 1: we fulfill every single item on that checklist on a
Speaker 1: job description before we actually put ourselves out there and
Speaker 1: apply for it. Now, you're going to have to be
Speaker 1: your own hype woman in this case and tell yourself, Hey,
Speaker 1: I have the experience. I may not have every single
Speaker 1: thing on this list that they're looking for, but I
Speaker 1: know myself. I've got great references, I've got a great
Speaker 1: track record. I can go into an interview and I
Speaker 1: can talk and show them that I know what I'm
Speaker 1: doing and I have potential. That's the best that you
Speaker 1: can do in terms of advancing your career. I can't
Speaker 1: think of a single career move that I made by
Speaker 1: quitting and moving on to a new opportunity that wasn't
Speaker 1: more challenging, that didn't have some element of some skill
Speaker 1: or some task or whatever that I hadn't tried yet.
Speaker 1: And that is what savvy hiring manager should know when
Speaker 1: you're looking to hire positions. Sometimes it's not the person
Speaker 1: who has every single thing ticked off on that checklist,
Speaker 1: who's the perfect fit? Like, if you worry so much
Speaker 1: about people quitting and moving on to new companies because
Speaker 1: they're getting bored or because they're offered more money down
Speaker 1: the road, like you should be investing in talent and
Speaker 1: growing and developing them so that they remain and you
Speaker 1: can actually retain them for longer. For example, when I
Speaker 1: was a hiring manager and I was a director, I
Speaker 1: was a senior director and I finally got approved for
Speaker 1: an assistant director. When I recruited my assistant director, it
Speaker 1: took me months to find the right person. They didn't
Speaker 1: know it, but I was determined to hire a woman
Speaker 1: of color, and I wanted to wait as long as
Speaker 1: I had to wait till I found the baddest ass
Speaker 1: women of color I could find, because I knew I
Speaker 1: wasn't going to be there forever, and it was a
Speaker 1: personal mission of mine to make sure when I left
Speaker 1: that I was going to leave things at least equal
Speaker 1: in that regard. I was a badass woman of color.
Speaker 1: I wanted a badass woman of color in my place,
Speaker 1: so I waited until I found her. Hespit at my company,
Speaker 1: for example, when I was looking for an assistant director,
Speaker 1: I didn't want I actually didn't want to find someone
Speaker 1: who was already an assistant director somewhere else, because as
Speaker 1: an ambitious person myself, I knew they'd probably just be
Speaker 1: waiting for me to leave so they can take my job,
Speaker 1: and they get bored, and maybe they would get poached
Speaker 1: by a company who was going to give them the
Speaker 1: director title they were looking for. I went and found
Speaker 1: someone who actually didn't have every bit of experience that
Speaker 1: maybe on paper we said we were looking for. I
Speaker 1: wanted someone who was going to be excited, someone who's
Speaker 1: going to feel challenged, someone who was going to wake
Speaker 1: up and say, oh, this is challenging, but I've got
Speaker 1: Mandy on my side. I know I can do this,
Speaker 1: And that for me was really important and it was
Speaker 1: a key strategy that I used all the time in
Speaker 1: my hiring and I wish they'd tell more hiring managers
Speaker 1: this in general, that when you bring in talent who's
Speaker 1: not checking every single box, talent who you can grow
Speaker 1: and invest in and develop, you're going to retain people
Speaker 1: for longer, and you're going to some of the issues
Speaker 1: that everyone is complaining about and moaning about Now, why
Speaker 1: is everybody quitting? No, there's such high turnover. You know,
Speaker 1: all these snowflakes, they just want to go for the
Speaker 1: highest paycheck. Well, have you actually looked at who you're
Speaker 1: hiring and are you developing them? And are you finding
Speaker 1: people who have room to grow and feel challenged? Because
Speaker 1: we're not all looking for the highest paycheck. A lot
Speaker 1: of us just want to do meaningful work that excites
Speaker 1: us and challenges us and gives us something to like
Speaker 1: use our incredible brains to do. You know, we don't
Speaker 1: want to be bored and feel staggnedant all the time.
Speaker 1: So this is as much of a message for you
Speaker 1: as it is for any high remanager. Listen out listening
Speaker 1: to me right now. I'm just going to pretend like
Speaker 1: a lot of you guys are hiring managers. You know,
Speaker 1: the next time you're hiring someone, think about Charelle. Think
Speaker 1: about who is a high potential member of my team
Speaker 1: right now who may not have every single skill set
Speaker 1: that I'm looking for, but as a great worker, they're diligent.
Speaker 1: You know, I've seen them overcome challenges. I like to
Speaker 1: work alongside them, and I know they can be trained
Speaker 1: and taught what do you know, you may create the
Speaker 1: next incredible manager. And if we really want to lift
Speaker 1: women of color up in corporate America, we need more
Speaker 1: hiring managers looking to women of color on their team
Speaker 1: at the entry level positions and saying how can we
Speaker 1: create a path for them to succeed here? And if
Speaker 1: you don't do that, and if they leave, if Charelle
Speaker 1: leaves and you miss out on this fabulous talent who's
Speaker 1: ready for a management position, well then it's your fault
Speaker 1: at the end of the day, you know what I mean. So,
Speaker 1: whether you're a hiring manager or you're charl right now,
Speaker 1: I hope that y'all hear what I'm saying. We have
Speaker 1: got to create opportunities for people to advance, and we
Speaker 1: have to think of hiring managers as the conduit for
Speaker 1: that advancement and train them and how to identify that
Speaker 1: high potential talent on their team or outside of their team,
Speaker 1: bring people in, being able to invest in them and
Speaker 1: help them grow. And tell me if that does not
Speaker 1: create a team where your engagement levels are high. People
Speaker 1: want to be working people like their manager. I mean
Speaker 1: it worked for me, okay, and I was pretty good
Speaker 1: at it, so use this for whatever you want to
Speaker 1: use it, Charrell, best of luck. Hell's yes, go for it,
Speaker 1: and if it doesn't work out of this company, don't
Speaker 1: let that stop you from applying externally until you find
Speaker 1: the next step for yourself and keep advancing. That's what
Speaker 1: it's all about, right all right, y'all, this has been
Speaker 1: a really fun episode. Thank you so much for your questions. Again,
Speaker 1: you can go to Brandnambission podcast dot com and submit
Speaker 1: your question there or slide into our DMS. We are
Speaker 1: at Brannambission Podcast on ig until next week. I am
Speaker 1: Mandy Woodriff Santos aka Mandy Money. I will see y'all
Speaker 1: next week. Hey ba fam, we could not do this
Speaker 1: show without your support or the support of our team
Speaker 1: behind the scenes. The brown Ambision Podcast is produced by
Speaker 1: Cumulus Podcast Network. It's edited by the wonderful Emani Crosby
Speaker 1: and produced by Tanya Bustos. Dennistimplinsky is our in house
Speaker 1: tech guru and I am Bandy Woodrif Santos, your co host,
Speaker 1: and I will see y'all next week.