For many Latinos, a key personal barrier impacting success in career management and job interviewing is cultural modesty: hesitancy to communicate one's accomplishments and abilities to the employer. Self-promotion is the number one issue raised by the two hundred+ Latino managers, recruiters, and CEOs we interviewed and surveyed for Barron's The Complete Job Search Guide for Latinos. It has also been the experience of many of the thousands of our readers and Latino clients we have served.
Latinos are often raised to think that speaking about themselves and
their accomplishments is boastful, rude, disrespectful, and "mal
educado." As the dicho goes, "La persona no ha de ser de
dichossino de hechos – A person is not made out of talk, but of deeds."
We are taught not to brag about our efforts and to let our work speak
for itself. However, holding back can be a disadvantage in our competitive
society. Instead, we should choose to speak honestly about ourselves and build
our personal power.
Tueres el arquitecto de tu propio destino - You are
the master of your own destiny.
Yasmin Davidds, motivational speaker and author of Empowering
Latinas: Breaking Boundaries, Freeing Lives, often expresses the following
quotation in her presentations.
"Personal power comes from within and when you embrace it, you feel
as though there is nothing in the world that you cannot handle. It helps you
recognize that everything in your life is a choice, and it reinforces the truth
that you have complete control over each and every one of those choices. While
we may not have control over the events that occur in our lives, we have
control over how we react to these events. You, alone, are in control of your
destiny."
We have earned our academic and professional credentials, worked hard to
develop our expertise, and sacrificed to make it in our careers. We also bring
to the table the rich assets of our heritage. Our multicultural experiences
and/or language skills are critical business assets employers are seeking (read
Maximize Your
Culture and Language in Your Job Interview).
Self-confidence is a concept that for some appears to be
unattainable. For too many years Latinos have been hounded by the "peon"
imagery that has unfortunately been stereotyped in media. But the heart of our
combined Latino cultures is a proud one; consisting of outstanding attributes
that fuel modern Latino success. Embrace your value to unleash your personal
career power.
As we navigate through the workplace, we must learn to value our
abilities and present ourselves with "confianza" –
confidence! When we learn to do this, we build personal career power and begin
to feel more comfortable communicating our value to employers – and making more
headway in our careers.
¡BUENA SUERTE!
Posted by Murray A. Mann and Rose Mary Bombela Tobias
Principals, Global Diversity Solutions Group, LLC
Authors, Barron's The Complete Job Search Guide for Latinos
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