Anna
After approximately ten years of excellent experience at Amoco in sales and marketing—a textbook career path, but one similar to that taken by most of my peers—I knew I had to differentiate myself somehow. With supervisors and senior management who would listen, I began to seed my conversations with my desire to use my Mandarin language skills in business, specifically to be part of any expansion in China.
Although I had performed extremely well, I did not assume that I would get considered for the same opportunities as men. People recommend and advocate for individuals in large part because they can “picture” them in the job. Those making decisions have a hard time picturing people who are different from themselves in these positions.
As most leaders are men, women don’t generally receive equal consideration without a conscious intervention process. So I worked it, making sure that I communicated far and wide within the organization my desire, my credibility, and my skills. Within a few years, my efforts paid off. When Amoco considered opening a downstream office in China, my name came up.
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