Prep, Push, Pivot. Octavia Goredema

      This book is dedicated to my daughters, Thalia and Marisa.

Introduction: My Commitment to Your Career

      Women of color are the most underrepresented group in the corporate pipeline. We are hired at lower rates. We are promoted at lower rates. We are retained at lower rates. We are paid at lower rates.

      Here's the irony. According to the United States Census Bureau, women of color are one of the fastest growing demographic groups in the United States. It has been projected that women of color will actually be the majority of all women here in the United States by 2060. But being a rapidly rising demographic isn't enough. We want opportunities. We want equal pay. We want promotions. We want to advance. What it takes to carve out a career is often debilitating and exhausting.

      When the road is this long, and this steep, we need all the support we can get. You might be at the start of figuring out your career, or you might have a deep bench of experience coupled with a proven track record. At every stage, we need support. I wrote Prep, Push, Pivot to help you find that support and help you to reassess, determine, and pursue your goals as you build your career.

Every day, whether it's in group sessions with hundreds of employees or in a one-to-one coaching session, I help professionals figure out how to do their best work. I'm the founder of a career coaching company called Twenty Ten Agency. I became a career coach because I'm passionate about the things most people don't see: the mistakes, challenges, and experiences that come before success. I'm passionate about helping people reconnect with their potential. My work is centered on supporting people who want to advance but feel stuck.

      Figuring out how to get unstuck is hard to do on your own, and not everyone has the opportunity to work directly with a coach. At Twenty Ten Agency, my team of coaches and I create career breakthroughs. Nothing makes me happier than hearing someone has finally achieved an important milestone. Our coaching is focused on understanding your values, getting real about obstacles, amplifying your potential, and reaching forward to pursue the next phase of your career.

      I wrote this book because I want you to know your worth, use your voice, and identify the best ways to find and do your best work. Whether you're looking for a new job, dealing with losing one, pivoting into something new, or returning from a career break, Prep, Push, Pivot delivers strategies to help you advance. This book is divided into three sections:

       Part I is focused on preparation. These first three chapters of Prep lay the foundation for knowing your worth, cementing your career values, bouncing back if you lose a job, and securing the salary you deserve when you land a new one.

       Part II is centered on pushing forward. Over the course of three chapters, Push helps you position yourself for a promotion, navigate a career break, and figure out how to align your career goals if you're also a caregiver.

       Part III guides you through pivotal professional milestones. These final three chapters, Pivot, address how to plan for a career change, discuss how to pay it forward, and provide an array of resources to help you achieve your next big milestone.

Some of the stories shared in this book are based on composite accounts of women who faced specific circumstances during their careers. Coaching conversations are strictly confidential, so the stories I share have been created with fictious details. But the perspectives and experiences shared in these stories derive from the opportunities, concerns, challenges, and accomplishments of women I've encountered who are striving to push forward.

      You'll also find Q&A sections within the book, sharing the frequent questions I've addressed during numerous coaching sessions and workshops. If you'd like to dig deeper, head to octaviagoredema.com where you will find a collection of Prep, Push, Pivot resources to help you accelerate.

      Knowing how to navigate your career at pivotal moments can be scary, lonely, and hard. The stakes are usually high, and we're often left to figure things out on our own. I wrote this book because I have one mission—to propel you forward. Prep, Push, Pivot is designed to help you achieve your goals at every stage of your career

      Know your worth. Land your next opportunity. Pay it forward. Never settle.

      Let's get started.

PART I PREP

CHAPTER 1 Know Your Worth

      Building your career is the most valuable, and the most personal, investment you'll ever make.

Navigating your career as a woman of color in the workplace, however, continues to be an uphill struggle. We are the fastest growing demographic group in the United States,¹ but we are the most underrepresented group in the corporate pipeline. As a career coach, I have one mission—to help you move forward.

      Knowing your worth underpins everything. Your worth will be tested by the systemic inequities that women of color face every single day.

I know how important it is to cement your career values because it took me a long time to figure this out for myself. I started my career just over two decades ago. Landing my first job after graduating from my university started a rollercoaster that has included being promoted, leading teams, international relocations, taking a career break, returning to work as a parent, and making a career pivot.

      It took me a long time to realize my career values were the foundation for everything. Countless times, I found myself in roles or situations that did not support my values. Despite this, I endeavored to do my best work, and yet even when I delivered results it just didn't feel right. In the past, the only time I considered my worth was when I was asked to prepare for a performance review. Even then, it was a struggle to self-assess my skills, and I calculated my worth through my employer's lens versus my own. Over the course of my career, I've created and pursued professional goals, but there were also hard times when I felt lost and uncertain of what I should be aiming for. By discounting what mattered most, I was working hard, but without a true purpose.

      So, what exactly is your worth? For many of us, it's how much we earn, but in truth your worth runs way deeper than that. It's about understanding what enables you to do your best work, defining your nonnegotiables for your career, and embracing your unlocked potential.

      As a first step, I'd like you to cement your career values, as this provides the foundation for the professional goals you will pursue.

Cement Your Career Values

      Your career values are your guiding light, in good times and tough times. They underpin everything. Jobs will come and go, bosses and coworkers will come and go, but your values remain—and they are unique to you.

      Remember, you have choices, and when it comes to your career you decide what matters most. I recommend documenting your career values using the following question prompts and reviewing and refining your responses several times a year. This makes your values a priority.

Your career values encompass the following core principles:

       Your achievements

       Your purpose

       Your inspiration

       Your style of work

       Your mission

       Your reputation

      Career values provide the foundation for you to create goals that align with your purpose and principles. In chapter 9, you will find a worksheet you can use to save your responses to the following questions:

      1 What matters