Project Upgrade Her

I have been on both sides of hiring table.

As a First generation immigrant and Chartered Accountant who has built a thriving global career, I know the fundamentals don’t change.

Your mindset is going to play the biggest role in you bagging that role, especially when you’re already walking in having to prove twice as much.

The biggest changes which helped me crack interviews were this

✅ Thinking of myself as a consultant or a problem solver, not a candidate desperate to be picked.

✅ When you see yourself as the KEY to their problem, you shift into the driver’s seat mindset instead of exuding a “pick me” energy.

That shift alone changes how you carry yourself in the room.

You still have to do the groundwork.

Know your strengths, know the career stories that directly relate to the job, and be able to articulate them in a storytelling format.

Interviews are the playground where preparation meets practice.

Being taken seriously at work and being perceived as Senior Leader was never about hiding who I am.

It’s was about being strategically authentic, not raw and vulnerable.

Raw & vulnerable is oversharing, no filter and no ability to read the room.

Strategic authenticity is knowing which parts of you to bring forward.

you don’t have to shrink and be someone else to be seen as capable. You need to know which parts are working in your favour.

If your goal is work optionality too, so heres the plan.

If you think $80K with a 2% raise for the next 20 years is your path to financial freedom, it’s time to run the numbers.

You think you have time. The math says otherwise.

As a WOC in corporate, you’re often the last one considered for the raise, the stretch role, the promotion.

Waiting for the system to compound your income isn’t a strategy.

Building skills that compound it yourself is.

Here’s what that actually looks like:

→ Clarity: Being absolute as f clear on what you actually want and being clear of your value, because you can’t negotiate for a future you haven’t defined.

→ Negotiation: Negotiation is not a personality trait , it’s a very learnable skill and it does take time and practice.

You need to learn how to negotiate with data, confidence and conviction. You need the skill not only for your performance reviews but also for your promotion conversations and salary negotiations during interviews.

→ Personal Brand: Building a personal brand that works for you even when you’re not job hunting, so opportunities find you instead of the other way around.

→ Articulating Value in Interviews: Learning how to communicate your value effectively and storytelling is a skill which can be learnt.

→ Building network: as you grow in your career, you need a network which can advocate for you. Start building a network not just internally but also externally.

→ Job Search Strategy: Job searching smarter, not just harder, with a strategy instead of a spray-and-pray approach to applications

I teach all of this inside my private coaching. These are lifelong skills, not one-time hacks.

Comment 9TO5 and I’ll send you a free guide to get started.

Performance Review time is coming up, so don’t walk out when they say - no budget - use this script

I once accepted a job without negotiating because I was raised to be grateful.

A year later, I found out a colleague doing the exact same role was paid $15,000 more.

It was the same scope, but the only difference was that he negotiated.

Women of colour earn 25% less than a white man doing the same job.

Part of the reason is the conditioning, we were taught that asking is greedy, that we should be grateful just to have the offer.

That belief is costing us thousands every year.

Hundreds of thousands over a lifetime.

Here’s what to say when they play the “no budget” card:

“I understand. Can we agree on a number now and the actions I need to take to achieve this with a time frame? I’m keen to move to the next level and would love your guidance”

You’re not asking for money today. You’re asking for a documented agreement. That’s very hard to say no to.

Screenshot this & follow along as I am on a mission to help you build a happier & Well paid career

Sources: Women of colour and the Wage Gap – Center for American Progress

Steal my exact plan to quit a toxic job⬇️

✅ Rack up your savings – Build your Emergency fund if you don’t have it yet.

These funds are basically cash reserves that are specifically set aside for unplanned expenses or financial emergencies.

Set aside a portion of your income each month dedicated solely to this fund, aim to build it to cover at least 6 months’ worth of living expenses.

✅ Upskill

Audit and identify the missing skills for next job. Learn these from course hosting websites like Udemy, Coursera, Skillshare, Linkedin Learning. Use ChatGPT to fasten up your search.

✅Go hard on Networking-

Remember the hidden job market is basically jobs which are not widely publicised but are filled through network. It becomes a lot more important during such times to stay VISIBLE to your network.

How I went from analyst to manager and became Top 10% Earners as an Immigrant:

→ Said exactly what I wanted. Out loud.

No hinting, no waiting to be asked.

→ Gave my manager a clear runway:

here’s what I’m working toward, here’s the timeline.

→ Built relationships beyond my manager, so my career didn’t depend on one person’s opinion of me.

→ Tracked my wins and brought them to the table myself, instead of hoping they’d be noticed.

This is how I built a high six-figure career. By working hard but also by communicating well.

One brutal truth though: if your manager though, if your manager doesn’t like you and if the relationship does not improve, no amount of clear communication fixes that alone.

→ Try to address it directly, once.
→ If nothing shifts, move teams.
→ If nothing’s available, start looking outside.

Don’t spend years in a place that was never going to back you.

This is part 1 of a 3-part series. Follow along, part 2 drops this week.

Unscripted series - Where I share the details which AI censors.

I hated how I felt in that job

This is a very vulnerable share. But also an important one.

These experiences are far more common. And those who are financially vulnerable, face the biggest brunt.

I still remember running back to my home to get the call, my heart was racing so fast and I literally hated how I felt.
No one should feel that way.

I’ve had my fair share of bad managers, but I never expected that I would land up in a toxic situation again.

Only difference between previous experiences and this one was that I was financially prepared to quit if it did not serve me.

It’s unfortunate, but the society runs on money. One should never have to choose between money and happiness.

And as exactly what I did in this moment, I knew I was unhappy in this job, and so I quit with the safety net that I had built.

The goal isn’t just more income. It’s building optionality.

I’m a Chartered Accountant, and I’ve build a high paying career navigating various countries and systems over 14 years.

I have condensed all strategies that I’ve used to build this high paying and fulfilling career in my FREE ‘9to5 Leverage Playbook’

Comment “9to5” and I’ll send it over to you.