Are you a first generation professional? I want to hear from you.

BeatrizAlbini·Jul 07, 2020

Hi All-I'm a life and career coach shifting my focus to leadership development and the career success of first-generation professionals. I've been having a bit of writer's block as of lately. I need your help to break it.1. What are other topics that as a first-gen professional you like to read about?2. If you have to look back at your life and career, what was the one piece of advice that you will give yourself?3. If you are a first-gen executive/ leader, what do you wish you knew early on in your career?4. How can I as a coach- be useful to you?As a reminder, first-generation professionals are defined as those who are first in their families to enter the corporate/professional office environment (big, small or medium size org)Many many thanks!

teresaman·Jul 08, 2020

To answer question 2, is that advice from family may stem from expectations drawn from their upbringing and life experiences, that can so vastly differ from my own. A prime example of this, as a first-gen professional, is when discussing my career challenges with my mom and grandmother (with highschool and second-grade elementary education, respectively, with no formal jobs) that their responses are always to acquiesce with the present state because "one should be happy to have a stable income", which is something that I strongly do not believe in. So it's important to recognize where advice like that comes from, and to still hold our ground on what we believe in.

BeatrizAlbini·Jul 09, 2020

Thanks Teresa I really appreciate your input.

Leilani213·Jul 10, 2020

Interesting post! :) Some thoughts...1. Navigating conversations about pay with family/community - my parents have been very open-minded, but nonetheless, it's uncomfortable to discuss 'how to negotiate pay rises' when you already earn more than their highest salary. Perhaps also where to seek personal advice? There are things like career changes, pay, troubles at work which cannot be easily discussed with colleagues or sometimes friends - but also don't feel appropriate to unload onto recruiters etc. (Elpha is one good place for this kind of conversation!)2. Ask questions, be bold and always ask for more than you expect. This is general advice I'd give to women to be honest, but everything good I've learned has come from being curious, taking a chance on myself/others and I have regularly been disappointed because I set my expectations too low3. n/a4. Not sure if I'm your intended audience, but might be - my parents have untraditional careers but nonetheless are comfortably middle class now - so I don't know if i'd be your target! :)

BeatrizAlbini·Jul 17, 2020

Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts with me. Conversations about compensation and financial decisions is a recurring theme for sure. I so appreciate your input. Super helpful.