NetKiEnt Career Blog

A few weeks ago, I spoke with a client who was distraught over humiliation she experienced at work after learning that many in her office believed she was only promoted because of Affirmative Action. She found it difficult to work because she wondered how many others held the same belief.  As I tried to convince and remind her that she earned her promotion, she questioned her abilities. The experience shattered her confidence.  Unfortunately, many people of color are challenged with this same experience. The stress of trying to fit-in to a culture that doesn't seem to include them or the responsibility of properly representing their race is a part of their norm. Navigating Around Workplace Bias describes their experience and provides tips on how to navigate around workplace bias.  If you have experienced discrimination of any type, report it. If the company has a process, go through the internal process first. The following resource can help determine...

In celebration of Women’s History Month, this article focuses on common professional challenges faced by women in the workplace. In this article, I discuss gender pay disparity and then empower women to leverage salary negotiation as a tool to even the playing field.   What do we tell her? I magine that your teen-age daughter came home from school deeply distressed. She tells you that her teacher told her that as a girl, the best grade she could accomplish if she did everything right was a 3.4 or B+. What would you tell her?  How many people would it take to keep you off of that teacher?    What if her best grade was “adjusted” to 3.78 or an A- due to the results of others including boys in her neighborhood and other factors?  Would that make things better? This scenario may seem extreme and impossible to imagine due to our laws. However, this legally occurs daily at many workplaces around the world including America through ge...

Who is at your conference table? In celebration of Black History Month, my articles during this month will focus on common professional challenges faced by people of color at the workplace. The topics themselves can be quite controversial due to the reluctance and avoidance of frank discussion.  My intention is that this topic becomes a topic of conversation at the workplace and evokes action among organizations and individuals to create an inclusive diverse workplace. My inspiration comes from some of my own experiences as well as those minorities who face bias silently or in private because they are afraid that their career will be negatively impacted.  In my article Hiring Bias: When what you know won’t get you hired, I discussed the challenges and considerations minorities face when applying for a new position. Once in the workplace, the added stress of bias and discrimination is an additional pressure that minorities regularly experience. The simple considerati...

Credit: Shutterstock In observance of Black History Month, my articles during this month will focus on common professional challenges faced by people of color at the workplace. The topics themselves can be quite controversial due to the reluctance and avoidance of frank discussion. My intention is that this topic becomes a topic of conversation at the workplace and evokes action among organizations and individuals to create an inclusive diverse workplace. My inspiration comes from some of my own experiences as well as those minorities who face bias silently or in private because they are afraid that their career will be negatively impacted.   This week I will explore bias while job searching. Facing bias while trying to find a job as a person of color.   The hiring process is normally a stressful time for most candidates. Most candidates focus on capturing their greatest career achievements in their resume and perform interview preparation activities. For mino...