INTEGRATE Chicago - Clarissa Beyah-Taylor - Breaking Through: Key Elements to Career Navigation

1. Clarissa S. Beyah-Taylor
Vice President, Exelon
Pepco Holdings Communications
1
Breaking Through
Key Elements to Career Navigation

2. Overview
• Understanding Your Brand
– Candid self reflection
• Career Evolution
– Differentiating yourself with key tools
– Professional portfolio
• Using Your Network To Advance
– Defining and leveraging your network
– Career navigation insights
• Q&A

3. Understanding Your Brand

4. What Sets Me Apart?
What Do I Do Best?
What Am I Known For?
What Are My Interests?
Where Do I Belong?
What Value Can I Create?
What Are My Strengths?
Your Brand: Who Are You?
?
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5. What’s in Your Brand?
Occupation
RelationshipsCommunication
Reputation
• Actions & Behaviors
• “Say-Do” Ratio
• Achievements
• Failures
• History
• Job(s)/Role(s)
• Skills & Expertise
• Talents
• Organization(s)
• Work/
Community
• Boss
• Peers, Team(s)
• Affiliations
• Family/Friends
• Adversaries
• Non-Verbal
– Appearance
– “Perceived “
– Demographics
• Verbal
• Discoverable- Social
Media
5What do you say about yourself & others?

6. Career Evolution
Differentiate Yourself with Key
Tools

7. Investing in YOU
How many have you created about…
Y. O. U. ?
How many presentations,
proposals, summaries or
reports have you constructed
about… a project… a plan…
an event… an organization?
?
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8. Career Tools
Stand out…
when you are not in
the room
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Amplify your story, share depth of
experience & breadth of skills
Showcase your journey, expand on
outcomes you’ve achieved
Provide evidence and visuals of
impact you drove
Demonstrate understanding of
opportunity, share your approach
Set yourself apart — stand out from
the competition
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9. Career Evolution-- Invest in Yourself
Essentials to Proactively Advancing
Your Narrative
Who You Are
Your Tools
What You Deliver
Your
Executive
Portfolio
Key Tools
Differentiate & Win
• Skills
• Capabilities
• Experiences
• History
• Accomplishments
• Contributions
Amplification
Foundation
Elevator
Pitch
Your Network
Your Support Team
• Navigate
• Grow
• ID Opportunities
Brand
Ambassadors
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10. Your Narrative
• Short, simple & easily
understood
• A clear expression of
who you are
• Easily repeatable &
adaptable
• In your voice
Your Personal Statement

11. Accomplishment Summaries
Play the Numbers Game.
Think Money, Time, and Amounts in relation to your
accomplishments
SPAR – Storytelling Format
$
S Situation: Context and setting — new business model, org. restructuring
P Problem: Challenge resulting from context — need to respond, act
A Action: Step you took, program you led, project/product launched
R Result: Outcome — In numbers where possible (charts, infographics…)
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12. Differentiate – An Executive Portfolio
1
2
Fill gaps lost in resume
or cover letter
Resumes give linear,
more narrative view
Cover letters are short &
focused on why you are
applying
Fill gaps
1
Show organization skills
& thinking process
Verify points made
during an interview
Identify past work
experience and current
correlations
“Show“ your
skills
2
Give More Depth &
Breadth
Help visually-minded
reviewers grasp concepts
Give More
Depth
3
When complementing other career tools, a portfolio can
add a powerful advantage.

13. Key Considerations…
Creation requires extensive preparation, long hours of
planning and work
•Focused on your expertise and ability to make a
bottom-line contributionObjective
•3-20+ pages depending on type of content…
•Content will vary for each individual
•Flexible structure options— narrative, slides,
electronic…
•May include graphs, tables or charts, pictures
Format
•Presented directly to decision maker(s), search team
or panel… person most likely to be your bossAudience
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14. Many Types of Portfolios
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Portfolio(s) can vary or change based on where you are in
your career AND what your objective is
Output examples…
• Booklet format with “sleeves”
• Work Samples – Creative, Writing, Published Work
• Slides from Projects
Early Career OR
Creative OR
Technical Focus
Input Examples…
• Narrative Summaries
• Charts showing outcomes achieved
• Descriptions of projects and outcomes (vs. samples of
work product)
Mid-Career OR
Project
Management
Focus
Outcomes, over time… examples….
• Career Snapshot
• Key Trends, themes and outcomes over time
• Types of functional expertise
Leadership,
Strategy Focus

15. Bonus Differentiators
Proposal or Project Analysis
Few individuals will take the time to create …when done correctly…can
be critical differentiator
Demonstration of your knowledge, insights, problem solving
approach and work methods
1-2 page(s), using a bulleted or narrative form
Key issues you would address if you were to receive the role
Summary of position needs/environmental landscape based on
your industry knowledge, research of role, understanding of
organization
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16. Tool Amplification: Do’s and Don’t
Do
• Share with trusted network
for candid feedback
• “High-touch hand-off” to
decision maker(s)
– Following or at end of
interview(s); To trusted
sponsor
• Sound judgment critical in
how you share
• Regularly update
– Save key files, examples,
summaries after projects end
– Email accolades…
Don’t
• Show and Tell during first
interview
• “Present” during interview
• Email lots of tools in advance
• Broadly circulate them
• Include confidential
information that is not yours
to share
• Include references /
endorsements without
permission 16

17. Using Your Network To Advance

18. What is Networking
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1 Relationships with Professionals – Foundation
2 Ongoing and 2-way – Constant Care and Feeding
3 The most effective way to advance your career– Results
70% of all jobs are found through networking. 60% are never posted or advertised-
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Employers fill the majority of job openings through the unadvertised, or hidden,
job market.- --Occupational Outlook Quarterly

19. Mapping & Activating Your Network
Already
know
Bridges
Can
Hire
A- Already Know
People you already know: (favorable
AND unfavorable) personal,
professional, social…
B- Bridges
Contacts who connect or introduce
you to “C” decision makers
C- Can Close or Hire
Decision Makers with authority to
hire now or in the future
Might include former supervisors or
colleagues who have been promoted

20. Breaking Through
Think through channels for advancement
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Current
Company
Social
Professional
Sites
Association Job
Boards
Executive
Recruiters
Your Network

21. 1
Know Your Brand – Assess it, Build It,
Grow it, Proactively Maintain it
2
Manage Your Career– Develop a network
and suite of tools
3
Outcomes Matter– Ensure brand materials
pass the “So What?” test
4
5
Update Your Portfolio Regularly– regular
maintenance is easier than creating from
scratch
Summary
Invest in yourself– Create a portfolio that
suits you & sets you apart