last word
Non-Traditional Experiences:
Your Key to Career Growth
By Marie Y. Philippe, Ph.D.
S
Corporate Vice President, Culture and Organizational Effectiveness
The Lifetime Healthcare Companies
“Sorry, this could have been
a real promotional opportu-
nity for you if only you had
supervised others before.”
Sound familiar? You can
replace “promotion” by “new
job” and “supervised others” by “developed a strategy” or
“presented to large audiences,” or just about any other
scenario that comes to mind. The point is that it is easy
for anyone to get caught in the proverbial Catch-22 at
work. The job cannot be yours because you do not have the
experience, and you cannot get the experience because you
do not have the job. How do you get off that treadmill?
Although not unique to ethnic minority employees,
the challenge of growing one’s career in the corporate
world seems particularly daunting for many talented
women and various minorities. A determination to move
ahead, supplemented by innovative thinking and good
negotiation skills, can make a difference. Here are some
ideas for consideration.
Leadership skills. For many corporate positions requir-
ing supervisory experience, there are alternatives a number
of corporations are willing to accept. Do not underestimate
any lead role that you had held while in the military, during
community board service, or in church groups.
A significant trait of leaders is to inspire and teach
others; therefore if you can help your employer or future
employer make the connection between your “Scout leader”
abilities and your ability to inspire those whom you are in
a position to lead, you will have a distinct advantage over
your competition.
Public speaking. Many professions require a supe-
rior command of verbal communication to large groups.
The idea of public speaking can be frightening even
for professional public speakers who often admit that,
despite their apparent ease, they can experience butterflies or
stage fright.
64 Pro f i les i n D i ve rsit y Journal March/April 2010
To build that experience outside of the office, con-
sider joining an organization like Toastmasters, and using
every opportunity to compete: practice at local high schools
that usually welcome professionals to inspire students,
practice in front of your congregation, volunteer to
emcee at family events, etc. It will be hard to discount
your practical experiences as you enumerate them during
your interview process.
Strategic Thinking. When coaching very talented, yet
career-young individuals, the area where they overwhelm-
ingly express a lack of confidence is the knowledge of
strategy. Yet, strategy is part of what we all do to survive as
intelligent beings.
We budget our savings over given periods of time in order
to buy a house or a car; we develop a plan to juggle work,
family, social interaction, school, study time, vacation, etc.;
we evaluate risks almost daily—the risk of pre-spending a
year of discretionary income when tempted to purchase a
coveted designer handbag, or investing all of your 401(k) in
the company stock vs. diversifying with other instruments.
Your real life strategic decisions—those with impacts lasting
over a year—can translate into business equivalents.
No matter what obstacle is thrown into your career path,
you can creatively circumvent it. It may not be easy for you
to make the connection, because we are so conditioned to
think that the only relevant experience is the one gained in
the workplace. We must retrain ourselves to perceive the
value we have created for ourselves in gaining solid experi-
ences outside of the office. Helping those making decisions
about your career understand that you deserve an opportu-
nity because you have indeed developed the needed skills
in a non-traditional setting can be the genesis of your new
corporate success. PDJ
Marie Y. Philippe, Ph.D. is well known for her leader-
ship contribution in corporate culture transformation
through strategic diversity initiatives and organizational
change management. She can be reached at
marie.philippe@lifethc.com.