PepTalkHer Founder & CEO Meggie Palmer spoke to Brittney Oliver from Lemons 2 Lemonade. Forbes named her one of “Nine Black Women Leaders Dedicated to Empowering Others.” Brittney talked about the barriers that black women face in a job search and the workplace, as well as her top tips on how to keep relationships fresh.
“The job search is just so much harder for women of color. There’s a lot of racial bias that we have to deal with. It’s gender bias and it’s racial.”
Meggie: Brittney, we're so delighted that you're able to join us all the way from Tennessee. You've had an amazing career and I'm really interested to hear a bit about your journey from where you started to how you got to where you are today. You founded a company called Lemons 2 Lemonade, I love the name by the way!
What’s the story behind Lemons 2 Lemonade?
Brittney: Lemons 2 Lemonade is such a passion company for me. It's how I fill my cup every day. Lemons 2 Lemonade was based off my career journey. When I graduated from college, little did I know that I would go on over 100 interviews to try to get a PR job. It wasn't even my first job and it wasn't even in my career. I had a hundred interviews just to get something right.
A lot of people don't really think about how hard that is to be rejected that many times. I was living in the city of my dreams. New York was where I always wanted to be. So, to get those rejections was really hard and I had to learn how to navigate through that. I carried an embarrassment and a shame around that job search until four years later. I decided to share my journey online, it's also on my LinkedIn, and it went viral.
There were so many people who shared that they had similar career journeys and they wanted more content. I decided this doesn't have to be it. Let's keep creating this career content and keep creating these conversations.
Meggie: It's interesting because the article that you wrote that went viral specifically talked about some of the challenges facing women of color. Can you talk about that experience?
What are the challenges that black women encounter during a job search?
Brittney: The job search is just so much harder for women of color. There's a lot of racial bias that we have to deal with. It's gender bias and it's racial. That intersectionality is what a lot of people don't realize.
A recent report showcase that junior level, black women have the hardest time with the broken rug. So, that's the bottom layer level just trying to get up from entry-level. That was a spot that I also struggled with.
The things that happen include having a harder time finding mentorship and advocacy. We talk about sponsorship all the time; not having the sponsors that we need and the people to advocate for us; then visibility. We’re trying to figure out how to be visible within the workplace. ‘How do we participate?’
Meggie: I like that analogy that you use: the broken rug. I hate that it exists. But, I think it's a really interesting analogy when you think about this idea of a career path, being like a ladder. It’s like you’re trying to climb and climb towards that glass ceiling.
There's a lot of unemployment right now. What are your top pieces of advice for people who are experiencing the rejection that you talked about? You mentioned that that was really challenging and you eventually got to a point where you're able to turn that lemons situation into lemonade. How did you do that? Because when you're in the grind and when you being rejected, you're stressed and it's really depressing. How did you get out of that?
What advice can you give to people who are going through employment rejection right now?
Brittney: The first thing I had to learn was that I wasn't alone in my journey. I self-isolated because of that. I felt like I was the only one experiencing it so I didn't ask for help. You really need help when you're on your journey. So, that's the first thing: know that you're not alone.
Even with the pandemic that's happening right now, with so much unemployment, you're not alone. There are other people. Find that community to help support you during that time so that you can give yourself grace. Don't beat yourself up about the position you're in.
The second thing is because you're not alone, you have to rely on your network. Relationships are key, so network. Now that we can't really go to live events like we used to, there are virtual events. There are virtual communities where people can go: to network, to meet people, to get that support, and to find opportunities.
That's the second piece of it. Keep those relationships fresh. That's also a key to networking. When you meet people, keep the relationship fresh. Because when you hit that career lemon, you can reach out and people will already know what you've been doing and where you're at.
Meggie: I think that's so important. A lot of people struggle with that right now because they're not going to events and not talking to colleagues over the water cooler at work, or whatever. But they're awesome, great ways that you can build relationships even remotely.
How do you keep relationships fresh remotely?
Brittney: One thing that I've been doing is doing check-ins. I do a check-in email and a check-in virtual call. I've been reaching people whose numbers I don't have but are my business colleagues. Every week, I'll send around five emails to different people and just check in with them, see how they're doing, give them a brief update on what I've been doing, and how I can be of service or help to them during this time.
Meggie: That’s a habit that you've built into your remote working? I love that. I love this concept of being of service. I know it's important to the work that you do and I really believe in that concept as well. Someone that I met when I very first moved to New York talked about the idea of ‘Give, Give, Get.’ Like in your service, you’re giving, you're helping and hoping maybe eventually, you'll get. But it's not that initial contact with the hope of getting, to start with. I love that idea which is similar, in terms of being of service.
Brittney: Because I realized that when you're trying to connect with senior leaders, a lot of them are busy and so many people are reaching out to them, wanting, and needing something from them. So, if you can just reach out a helping hand and say, ‘how can I be of service or help you?’ It is refreshing for them. It can be small, like a newsletter. You can do something for their social media, maybe blast a virtual event that they have coming out is really easy.
Meggie: I really love that and I think it is a really cool idea. Forbes named you one of the Nine Black Women Leaders Dedicated to Empowering Others. In terms of how you're being in service, tell us about what you're doing.
How can people get involved with your community?
Brittney: So, Lemons 2 Lemonade is a networking series. It’s a speaker series where I put people of color on stages and we talk about career challenges. Right now, we're not doing any live events because of COVID. But we have a biweekly newsletter that offers tips.
By going to BrittanyOliver.com, you can sign up there for the email. We have the newsletter, the blog, as well as upcoming partnerships with different organizations to talk about how to navigate the job search during this time.
Meggie: Well, that's a really important resource. The figures for unemployment the other day is astronomical. So, I think that is a really important service that's really needed by so many people right now. Thank you for the great work that you're doing. I think we could talk for hours because I know you also help people a lot in terms of getting press coverage and building their personal brands. I want to wrap this up. What is one tangible thing that people could do now, even in isolation, that you think will pay dividends for them in the future?
What's your tip for those who want to make sure that at the end of the pandemic they have done one thing to progress their career?
Brittney: That's a good question. So, one thing that I think people could do right now would be to reevaluate. Take this time to reevaluate your career goals and what you want to be doing in the next five years or next 10 years. This is the time to do it, so have a check.
Take that time to just check yourself and check your goals and see if they're aligned with what your plans are. You can slowly start making that plan to pivot if you're not where you are right now or where you want to be right now. Slowly start to make a plan to pivot.
Meggie: I love that and I'm hoping that the curve does flatten soon so that we can come to one of your Lemons 2 Lemonade events. I really want to check it out. I love your philosophies around finding the silver lining no matter the situation. I think that's a really powerful message. Thank you for the service and the work that you're doing. We're excited to keep in touch and hopefully, those events will be back and running sooner rather than later.
Check out Brittany's amazing work on Instagram, @lemons_2_lemonade, and website.
Previously, we wrote something about Wild Heart, Boss Brain, Your Rights at Work, and Top Tips to Pivot Your Career. To catch up on our previous discussions with experts, you can visit it here.
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