The new career woman

Anyone that knows me personally will tell you one thing : Shaday’s about her business. 

As a young professional woman, I am learning things I didn’t really learn in school (or maybe I did)l. At first, some of these lessons were very aggravating, but I’m moving towards acceptance. Strangely, I have been enjoying the process in retrospect, but was very overwhelmed during it. 

Set Clear Boundaries: This can manifest in many ways. I have worked for companies where staff was expected to clock out and stay in the facility to complete work. Nope. Time is money, and I aint got it if I’m not getting paid. What I have learned, is that if there is a discrepancy between the workload and the time allotted, some overtime needs to happen the work simply will not get done. Now, you’re probably wondering “but Shaday, what if I get in trouble for missing deadlines etc.?”. Good point, I know we all have responsibilities. The issue with this, s that you are now misinforming the company, they are assuming the workload is manageable, since your getting it done. Ask for help, and if help is not provided, there are other jobs out there. 

Boundaries extend into work relationships as well. Work relationships should be strictly professional. Spread the love and try to treat everyone equally. I learned this one the hard way, but hey, were all human. And since we are talking relationships, of place relationships, listen to me and listen to me good: NO WORK PLACE romance or hook ups. Been there, done that. That opens the door for many issues that you simply don’t want in your workplace. So please, just don’t. There are too many people in this world.  

Speak up sis (or bro or folk)! I know we have feminism now and the playing field is becoming more even, but there is still work to be done. We all know about the glass ceiling and pay gap. That is still very real. I have dealt with sexual harassment in many workplaces (not my current job because I don’t play that), and to be honest, it shook me. My first experience with this, I kept quite because I did not want to create hostile work environment etc, but I have come to learn that I don’t give a damn. Fk that. Jobs are stressful enough without adding safety concerns and harassment .. No thanks. I’m snitching like hell. Fk that. This also applies to asking for a raise. Yooooo. Ask away. Companies are motivated by money. Makes sense right. But every workplace is a business. If you are doing your job well enough as you are, why would they be motivated to pay you more? They will not. Ask for what you need and have a game plan if it is declined. This is situation where knowing your worth really helps. In knowing what you bring to the team, you can walk up in that meeting with your standards held high. Keep receipts, so that when the conversation does come up, you are able to explain why you should get a raise. Show them ways in which you have attended their pockets, and help motivate them to keep you because you bring results babyyyy.  

Anyoo, those are things I gathered from these last two months or so. I hope that was helpful and I look forward to growing through more experiences to share with you all.  

Thanks for stopping by,  

Shaday