Congrats to PowerToFly Partner HACE on Their 40th Anniversary Celebration
Register now for HACE's in-person and virtual leadership summit.
PowerToFly has been honored to partner with the Hispanic Alliance for Career Enhancement (HACE), a national non-profit dedicated to the employment, development, and advancement of current and aspiring Latino professionals, on several past summits.
Now, HACE is celebrating their 40th anniversary with a special in-person and virtual leadership summit happening this April 21st and 22nd in Chicago, Illinois and online.
For the last four decades, HACE has been committed to the Latinx community, specifically dedicated to the employment, development, and advancement of current and aspiring Latino professionals. Over the course of two days, HACE will bring together a diverse array of senior corporate leaders, educators, and elected officials, as well as current and aspiring Latino professionals!
Register for the event here.
Want to learn more about HACE? Watch this conversation with HACE CEO Patricia Mota HERE.
Finding the Right Industry, Country, and Work Culture for Growth: 3 Tips from Smartsheet's Pilar Rueda
It took her three industries, three countries, and half a dozen job titles, but Pilar Rueda has decided to adopt a new motto: "I'm going to speak up more and bring ideas to the table."
From Mexico City to London to Boston, and from manufacturing to finance to tech, Pilar is no stranger to having to find a way to fit into a new situation. But too often, the easiest way to do that was to accept the status quo and keep new ideas to herself.
"I was just finding places where I never felt like I could fully be myself," explains Pilar.
But when she joined Smartsheet, where she's now a Consulting Manager, things started to turn around. It took some time to adjust—Pilar had to get used to the differences in British versus American work customs (not to mention spelling, with all those dropped "u"s!)—but now she feels like she's able to show up as who she is on the job. That comfort allows her to share feedback, ask questions, and set development goals that excite her.
"It's important for me to find a place where I can have a voice," says Pilar. "I've been very lucky that Smartsheet takes diversity in all its aspects seriously, so that's why I've been very happy growing here."
We sat down with Pilar to hear more about her career journey, including why she thinks that tech companies, and Smartsheet in particular, are well-suited to create welcoming environments for people with diverse backgrounds.
Driving Towards Inclusion
Pilar's first job was in her hometown of Mexico City. She'd studied engineering and found a placement in a manufacturing firm, but from her first day there, she experienced adversities that made her feel out of place.
"It was a valuable professional experience for me as an engineer, but the atmosphere wasn't very open to women at the time," she says. "It was a male-driven working environment and little things like not having a ladies' bathroom or having to wear boots two sizes too big did not help."
That experience was enough to encourage Pilar to get out of the hands-on side of things and to switch to the business planning side. She applied for a master's in management at Imperial College London and moved there to study, then stayed to work in financial services.
That was more by default than by active choice, says Pilar. "When I graduated, I did not know how my skill set would allow me to thrive in the financial services, but that is where London's labor market happens to offer the most options," she says, smiling.
Pilar spent six years working in London. She learned many useful skills, including project management and how to perform in high-stakes situations, but they came with a cost.
"These were very high-profile projects, which required managing workflows between government authorities, boards of directors and other high-powered stakeholders. "As a result, there was a lot of pressure to stick to existing practices," says Pilar.
After six years of having to fit into rigid working cultures, Pilar decided to hit pause and take a few months to think through what she wanted to do next.
"Our VP [at Smartsheet] says that intentional luck is when you're prepared and then luck appears and you're there to meet it," says Pilar. "That's what it was with Smartsheet. I already knew what I wanted. I knew what I didn't want, as well. And I was working towards it. That's when the path opened."
The Benefits of a Culture of Growth
When Pilar's husband was offered a job in the U.S, they decided to make the move even though Pilar didn't yet have a role lined up for herself. She saw it as an opportunity to press pause and really think about what she wanted from her career.
Not long afterwards, Pilar was attending a career fair and met an HR rep for cloud-based collaboration platform Smartsheet. She was looking for a way to break into tech, which she thought would be a more inclusive field because of its intense focus on growth.
Because of her experience with leading big projects and being customer-facing, she was an ideal candidate for a consultant role there, and once she started in that role, she seized opportunities for professional growth.
"I think not many people get to experience the growth that we've experienced this year, especially in consulting where we almost doubled in size," says Pilar. "I'm constantly looking out there for things to improve. I guess it comes from my engineering training where you're looking for opportunities to make things more efficient."
She was promoted to senior consultant, and then to consulting manager. She credits Smartsheet's culture of growth and teamwork with the career fulfillment she's found and the increasing impact she's been able to make.
"I've been able to thrive in my role because I feel like my voice matters, that I can make an impact and have influence," she says. "When I have ideas for improvements, people take them seriously, and they give me responsibility to drive change."
That's a step change from what she experienced in her previous roles. "At Smartsheet, everyone's always willing to help you. It was a positive surprise that I had to get used to [at Smartsheet]. It's the mindset of growth—not 'I'm competing against you to continue growing,' but 'We can all grow together, with the organization.'"
Learning to Speak Up More
Even though she joined Smartsheet ready to make the best of an inclusive, friendly culture where speaking up wasn't just allowed but encouraged, it took over a year for Pilar to truly find her voice.
"Not only do I come from a different country, but I'd just changed countries, and it was a very different culture here in the U.S. I remember people saying things like, 'Oh, you're very serious.' I just didn't know how to be myself anymore because I didn't want to do or say something that could offend or upset anyone," says Pilar. She didn't consider herself quiet or reserved, but she was cautious trying to learn and embrace a new culture.
Pilar is learning what it means to be called Latina or Latinx. " The way I have previously identified myself is—I'm originally from Mexico, and I've lived a big part of my life in the UK," she explains. "Now I see myself as a citizen of the world."
It's been helpful, she adds, to see Smartsheet really commit to creating a diverse workplace. "Smartsheet has taken a lot of steps to try and make teams more diverse. For instance, they have created ERGs and hired a VP of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion to create awareness across the organization, so that's very encouraging."
"It's been an adjustment since I joined, but I've been very lucky that everyone's open-minded and we've grown together," says Pilar. "I am encouraged by the open environment, the ability to share diverse views and the culture of growth."
3 Quick Tips for Setting Goals That Are Right for You
In navigating so many different work environments, Pilar has learned how to channel who she is into whatever kind of setting she finds herself in. She encourages others to do that by:
- Being brave. "Speak up and say, 'This is what I want to do,'" says Pilar. "As a manager, if you don't tell me, I may not be able to help you. If I have more information, I can try and create that path for you to get there."
- Being true to yourself. "Don't just take the next role because you want to keep moving up. I've done it personally and it's not satisfying. You're not fulfilling yourself. You get the title and you're happy for a short period of time, and soon enough you realize that you may be pursuing someone else's goals and aspirations."
- Taking time to reflect. "We have this culture of everything needing to be a straight line up. But you can take a break, you can take a step back," says Pilar. She credits her two-month break between jobs as what helped her get the clarity to be able to start anew at Smartsheet, even though it was an entirely different industry. "Sometimes you do need to take that step back to be able to get to where you want."
Does a role at Smartsheet sound like the right next step? Check out what they're hiring for!
Lifting Latin Voices All Over the World: Learn more about Our Partners, Sponsors & Speakers
Learn more about the amazing speakers and sponsors from our October 2021 virtual summit Diversity Reboot: Lifting Latin Voices All Over The World; 4 days of fireside chats, panel discussions, networking sessions, and our 2-day virtual job fair featuring 16 companies.
From discussions on what it means to be a member of the Latinx community to the correct terminology to refer to this diverse community - we covered it all! If you tuned in, thank you! If you didn't, you can relive the entire experience on our PowerToFly website.
We want to extend a HUGE thanks to our Gold sponsors Pluralsight, UnitedHealth Group, Autodesk, Smartsheet, PwC, NGA, and American Express plus our Silver sponsor dv01. (All of those companies are hiring, by the way) This summit would not have been possible without the contributions of our Influencer sponsors Techqueria, Latinas in Tech, and APCO Worldwide.
Also, don't forget to visit our Merch Store and grab yourself some PowerToFly apparel, we donate 100% of the proceeds from our sales to TransTech Social, supporting transgender people in tech.
Registration for our last Diversity Reboot 2021 summit: Supporting Military and Veteran Spouses is now open! If you're a veteran or a military official looking for a civilian role that will leverage your prior skills and experience, or a spouse looking for a job that can accommodate your mobile lifestyle, we hope you'll join us to hear directly from companies committed to supporting military members and their families!
Special Moments from the Summit
Rep. Ritchie Torres: "If We Don't Care Enough to Fight, No One Else Will"
"If We Don't Care Enough To Fight, No One Else Will" www.youtube.com
Fostering a DEI Community as a Latin Leader
Fostering a DEI Community As A Latin Leader www.youtube.com
Claudia Romo Edelman: Creating Support Networks in the Latin Community
Creating Support Networks In The Latin Community www.youtube.com
When You're Aligned with Your Passion, "Magic" is Not Enough To Describe It!
When You're Aligned With You Passion, "Magic" Is Not Enough To Describe It! www.youtube.com
Dr. Anthony Ocampo's Take on Queer+Immigrant Identity
Dr. Anthony Ocampo's Take On Queer+Inmigrant Identity www.youtube.com
Our Gold Sponsors
Pluralsight
Founded in 2004 and trusted by Fortune 500 companies, Pluralsight is the technology skills platform organizations and individuals in 150+ countries count on to innovate faster and create progress for the world.With assessments, learning paths and courses authored by industry experts, our platform helps businesses and individuals close skills gaps in critical areas, innovate faster and deliver on key objectives.Our technology skills platform helps companies create life-changing products that better the lives of their customers. It empowers technologists to dream big and do big. And this is what motivates us every day.
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UnitedHealth Group
UnitedHealth Group is on a mission to help people live healthier lives and to help make the health system work better for everyone. A Fortune 6 company, they're focused on helping people live healthier lives while making the health system work better for everyone. Here, they seek to empower people with the information, guidance and tools to make personal health choices.They work harder and they aim higher. They expect more from themselves and each other.
And, at the end of the day, they're doing a lot of good for more than 142 million people worldwide.
Their biggest point of differentiation is their people - and the collective talent, energy, intelligence and drive their force of 305,000 individuals around the world bring to our mission every single day.
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Autodesk
They make software for people who make things. From the greenest buildings to the cleanest cars, from the smartest factories to the biggest stories, amazing things are created every day with Autodesk. Over four decades they've worked together with their customers to transform how things are made, and in doing so, they've also transformed what can be made. A car's performance now inspires the method of its manufacture, a city's infrastructure helps predict the unpredictable, and the creation of ever-bigger universes shapes ever-bigger stories.
Today their solutions span countless industries empowering innovators everywhere. But they're restless to do more. They don't believe in waiting for progress, they believe in making it. By combining and recombining technologies. By blurring boundaries, reinventing rules, and merging fields. By unleashing talent and unlocking insights across industries. By helping their customers converge on solutions to the challenges they all face today. At Autodesk, they believe that when they have the right tools to work and think flexibly you have the power to transform what actually needs making. The power to design and make a better world for all.
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Smartsheet
In 2005, Smartsheet was founded on the idea that teams and millions of people worldwide deserve a better way to deliver their very best work. Today, the company delivers a leading cloud-based platform for work execution, empowering organizations to plan, capture, track, automate, and report on work at scale, resulting in more efficient processes and better business outcomes.Smartsheet went public on the New York Stock Exchange in April 2018 and currently enables collaboration, better decision making, and accelerated innovation for over 76,000 domain-based customers in 190 countries, including 96 of the Fortune 100.Smartsheet is a passionate team of 1500+ employees spanning offices in Seattle, Boston, London, Edinburgh and Sydney.
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PwC
Join their community of solvers. They're inspiring and empowering their people to change the world. Here, you'll learn with purpose, lead with heart and put your skills to work to make a meaningful difference in the world. As part of a diverse team, you'll build trust and create innovative client solutions in unexpected ways. Their purpose, vision and values are what connects the more than 284,000+ people across the PwC global network of firms and helps distinguish us in the marketplace and with our clients. Discover more about the firm including our impact on society, our commitment to creating a culture of belonging, and how we are investing in technology and our people.Discover their new ways of working at PwC. Their hybrid work model includes three ways of working: virtual, flex and in-person. They're expanding the availability of the virtual option to eligible client service staff and new hires. Now, you can live anywhere in the continental US and work for PwC.NGA
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NGA
The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) delivers world-class geospatial intelligence that provides a decisive advantage to policymakers, warfighters, intelligence professionals and first responders.Anyone who sails a U.S. ship, flies a U.S. aircraft, makes national policy decisions, fights wars, locates targets, responds to natural disasters, or even navigates with a cellphone relies on NGA.NGA delivers world-class geospatial intelligence, or GEOINT, that provides a decisive advantage to warfighters, policymakers, intelligence professionals and first responders. Both an intelligence agency and a combat support agency, NGA fulfills the president's national security priorities in partnership with the intelligence community and Department of Defense. For information about the NGA's mission, vision, and goals, click here.NGA is headquartered in Springfield, Virginia and has two major locations in St. Louis and Arnold, Missouri. Hundreds of NGA employees serve on support teams at U.S. military, diplomatic and allied locations around the world.
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American Express
As a global company, it is vital to our success that our employees are as diverse as the customers and communities we serve. American Express has built a diverse workforce and an inclusive workplace— a culture we are committed to continuing.Through our Global Diversity & Inclusion strategy, we're able to channel our efforts in specific ways. We aspire to continue to develop a talent pool that brings together unique perspectives, backgrounds and experiences. We foster a workplace culture where differences are valued and expressed freely and all employees have the support they need to take risks, learn, and collaborate.
American Express logo
Our Silver Sponsor
dv01
They are dv01, the leading capital markets fintech driving technological innovation and transparency in structured finance. They built the world's first data management, reporting, and analytics platform tailor-made for lending markets to help prevent a repeat of the 2008 global financial crisis.
On their engineering team, they'll collaborate closely to create and develop products that promote accountability, data reliability, and transparency. They're looking for dreamers, thinkers, and doers to help us modernize Wall Street's tech stack.
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Speaker Spotlight
For your next bookclub:
Hispanic Stars Rising: The New Face of Power by Claudia Romo Edelman
Hispanics are 100% Hispanic and 100% American. They believe in the American dream and are incredible contributors to this country. US Hispanics represent 60 million people, 18% of the population, 12% of the country's GDP, $1.7 trillion of purchasing power, the youth population - and the list goes on! Yet, they are often invisible, negatively portrayed, seen as takers. Hispanics contribute so much to America, and now it is time for others to see just how beautiful and resilient they can be. Hispanic Stars Rising: The New Face of Power shares the stories about the experiences, challenges, and successes of Hispanic Stars nationwide. It showcases the diverse backgrounds, obstacles and contributions made by this strong and resilient population nationwide and shines a light on the beauty of this fundamental American community.
The Amazing World of Aviation by Jacqueline Camacho-Ruiz
This compilation of stories includes some of the most important names in aviation and space exploration. From the Wright brothers, who invented the airplane, to Sally Ride, the first American woman in space and the first to flyin the space shuttle, these stories will offer the readers the chance to understand how curiosity and hard work (and a little bit of fearlessness), allowed ordinary individuals to become extraordinary. Learn about how their actions contributed to the progress of humankind and how they became an inspiration for every person that has had an impossible dream.
The Latinos of Asia: How Filipino Americans Break the Rules of Race by Anthony Ocampo, Ph.D.
Is race only about the color of your skin? In The Latinos of Asia, Anthony Christian Ocampo shows that what "color" you are depends largely on your social context. Filipino Americans, for example, helped establish the Asian American movement and are classified by the U.S. Census as Asian. But the legacy of Spanish colonialism in the Philippines means that they share many cultural characteristics with Latinos, such as last names, religion, and language. Thus, Filipinos' "color"―their sense of connection with other racial groups―changes depending on their social context.
The Filipino story demonstrates how immigration is changing the way people negotiate race, particularly in cities like Los Angeles where Latinos and Asians now constitute a collective majority. Amplifying their voices, Ocampo illustrates how second-generation Filipino Americans' racial identities change depending on the communities they grow up in, the schools they attend, and the people they befriend. Ultimately, The Latinos of Asia offers a window into both the racial consciousness of everyday people and the changing racial landscape of American society.
Family Is Everything (Disney Encanto) by Luz Maria Mack
Disney Encanto tells the tale of an extraordinary family, the Madrigals, who live hidden in the mountains of Colombia, in a magical house, in a vibrant town, in a wondrous, charmed place called an Encanto. The magic of the Encanto has blessed every child in the family with a unique gift from super strength to the power to heal—every child except one, Mirabel. But when she discovers that the magic surrounding the Encanto is in danger, Mirabel decides that she, the only ordinary Madrigal, might just be her exceptional family's last hope. Girls and boys ages 4 to 6 will love this Step 2 Step into Reading leveled reader based on the animated feature film. Step 2 readers use basic vocabulary and short sentences to tell simple stories. For children who recognize familiar words and can sound out new words with help.
B.R.A.N.D. Before Your Resumé: Your Marketing Guide for Veterans & Military Service Members Entering Civilian Life by Graciela Tiscareño-Sato
Student veterans, military spouses, veterans in their first, second, or third career transitions will all learn valuable self-marketing skills, guided by a veteran who knows the transition chaos (and success!) firsthand. This book is essential if you're joining the ranks of veterans choosing the entrepreneurship track, if seeking your first career after leaving the active-duty force, or pursuing your first internship or full-time job after completing your degree as a student veteran.
Readers will complete the "extracting product attributes" exercise, see ample examples of great branding created by veterans Graciela has personally coached, and be able to write their own authentic personal branding to influence their intended target audience. Graciela teaches the reader a repeatable marketing messaging process that will be useful for years to come.
Those who wish to collaborate live with Graciela who will coach them to perfecting their branding and/or discussing their business startup idea will be offered the option to do so.In this marketing guidebook, Graciela guides you in becoming an epic storyteller of your unique value, long before you write your resumé which she reminds us all is a marketing deliverable. Taking this approach as she did during her career transitions means that your audience for your new forward-looking branding will be so intrigued by your value that they'll ASK for your resumé!
You'll be empowered to confidently communicate your value to make things happen, as Graciela did during her transformation from military aviator to technology marketing manager. Graciela freely shares the communication process she followed during her highly successful military-to-civilian transition, in which she was mentored by women veterans every step of the way.
Stop going at it alone.
And most importantly, stop listening to those pushing you into writing your resumé (or worse yet your LinkedIn profile) before you've done the essential work to understand your personal values and interests, your value to civilian organizations and the target audience you need to attract.
Learn to B.R.A.N.D. Before Your Resumé with a marketing-savvy fellow veteran at your side.
Learn about other companies that joined us:
US Economic Development Association