I attended Ascend’s event today, this time purely as an attendee and no longer an organizer. It was a panel of East Asian people. Three of them were managing directors and senior consultants at Accenture. Ascend also ordered sushi and boba for us. I think it went well – 30 people showed up (including the board members).
My biggest takeaway was to speak up and advocate for yourself so people can notice you and give you more opportunities in corporate America. It is not something that we Asians are used to doing, especially if we grow up in households where we preach hard work and humility. They gave an example that their parents never returned their unsatisfied purchases at the store to avoid conflicts. So, we need to learn to break out of that and become our greatest advocates. When it comes to specific logistics to make this happen, they gave us a big tip: dripping. That means sprinkling my achievements and milestones to my manager over time. Keep it clear and concise since they are all busy. Also, I should plan to get my promotion by getting advice from other colleagues and practicing the following position’s job description.
Trang "Tee" Nguyen 