Ep303: Culturally Relevant Career Tips to Empower You, with Oscar Garcia

02/23/22 • 44 min

Changing Lenses: Diversify Your Perspectives

Almost all the career counselling, mentorship, corporate training etc. I’ve received have been almost exclusively from white people. Nothing wrong with that – I’ve been blessed to receive great advice and support from many white leaders over the years.
But I’m not white. And I had to filter a lot of the info I got through my cultural lens.
So when I discovered Oscar Garcia, the special guest for this episode – I knew I had to have him on the podcast. Oscar is a Hispanic-American immigrant who went from being an ESL student to an author and founder of his own company, Aspira Consulting. Oscar’s mission is to empower you, so opportunities come to you.
If you, like me, have been craving career advice and mentorship from a racialized corporate leader who is relatable and relevant, Oscar provides that in this episode.
👉🏻And if you know someone who needs culturally relevant empowerment, please share this episode with them. You can share straight from wherever you’re listening to this podcast right now, or from my website, www.changinglenses.ca/podcast.
Thank you, JEDI friends!

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Three key components of culturally relevant leadership training
How we can translate lived experiences and immigrant experiences into relevant job experience for recruiters
What the best universities and professors can’t teach you
How people from humility-based cultures can still promote their accomplishments
How racialized people and immigrants can be fully themselves and feel empowered to succeed in Western business culture

Link to episode transcript here.

Are you looking for job search and career coaching?

As a racialized, recovering recruiter, I'm here to 👉🏻 "Help you survive the search!"👈🏻 Click the link to learn more!

Find more support and resources, and contact me directly at: https://www.changinglenses.ca/

Guest Bio and References/Links

About Oscar Garcia:

Oscar is the Founder & Chief Empowerment Officer of Aspira Consulting, a Silicon Valley training and consulting firm providing culturally relevant career and leadership programs. He is an introvert turned international speaker. Oscar has given over 500 seminars and trained over 20,000 professionals across five continents. His training style is of a “practrainer” - he actively practices what he trains others to do. He is an ESL (English as a Second Language) student turned contributing author to “Hispanic Stars Rising Volume II: The New Face of Power”, where his story, I AM A MINORITY, highlights the importance of embracing the struggle, valuing our identity, and the power of vulnerability. As Chief Empowerment Officer, Oscar empowers you, so opportunities come to you.
Find Oscar on:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chiefempowermentofficer/

Website: https://aspiraconsulting.com/

“Career Talk with OG” Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/career-talk-with-og/id1530311004
(or wherever you get your podcasts)
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✨Support Changing Lenses✨

Buy me a Bubble Tea! 🧉👉🏻https://www.buymeacoffee.com/changinglenses 👈🏻

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Three key components of culturally relevant leadership training
How we can translate lived experiences and immigrant experiences into relevant job experience for recruiters
What the best universities and professors can’t teach you
How people from humility-based cultures can still promote their accomplishments
How racialized people and immigrants can be fully themselves and feel empowered to succeed in Western business culture

Link to episode transcript here.

Are you looking for job search and career coaching?

As a racialized, recovering recruiter, I'm here to 👉🏻 "Help you survive the search!"👈🏻 Click the link to learn more!

Find more support and resources, and contact me directly at: https://www.changinglenses.ca/

Guest Bio and References/Links

About Oscar Garcia:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chiefempowermentofficer/

Website: https://aspiraconsulting.com/

“Career Talk with OG” Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/career-talk-with-og/id1530311004
(or wherever you get your podcasts)
.
.

✨Support Changing Lenses✨

Buy me a Bubble Tea! 🧉👉🏻https://www.buymeacoffee.com/changinglenses 👈🏻

Previous Episode

Ep302: Loc'd Out at Work: Black Hair Discrimination, with Walter Gainer II

If you’re Black, you’re probably well aware of what Walter Gainer II is going to share in this episode. (Trigger warning, the content may be traumatizing or upsetting to you – please take care of yourself and stop listening at any point.)
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If you’re not Black – you NEED to hear what Walt has to say. I thought I knew about the issue from the general media – but in my privilege, I had no idea how pervasive and intrusive anti-Black hair discrimination actually is.
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If you’re an employer or manager – you especially need to hear Walt’s stories. Workplace discrimination is insidious because it’s rarely overt. #WorkingWhileBlack is a real thing, and if you’re thinking, “not at my company” – think again.
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Tune in as Walter changes our lens on how we see Black hair in corporate North America.
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In this episode, you’ll learn about:

🎙️ The racialized origin of the term locs (or locks, or dreadlocks)
🎙️ Hair discrimination against men
🎙️ A defining moment in Walter’s loc journey
🎙️ Advice for people with locks in corporate jobs
🎙️ Advice for the rest of us to see locs differently

Link to episode transcript here.

✨Are you looking for job search and career coaching?

As a racialized, recovering recruiter, I'm here to help you survive the search!
👉🏻https://www.changinglenses.ca/jobcoach👈🏻

Find more support and resources, and contact me directly at: https://www.changinglenses.ca/

Guest Bio and References/Links

About Walter Gainer II:

Walter is a host and producer of Boss Locks, a show where we speak to Black leaders from all around the world to identify the range of Blackness and hear their stories of new growth. Walt’s mission is to create support systems for people Working While Black and lead the world to new growth.

Find Walter on:

Website: https://bosslocksmedia.com/
Podcast on Apple (or wherever you listen): Boss Locks
Twitter
Facebook
Instagram
LinkedIn

References and resources in this episode:

The CROWN Act (to end hair discrimination): https://www.thecrownact.com/

Walter’s Facebook group to support professionals Working While Black: https://www.facebook.com/groups/workingwhileblack

LinkedIn Creators Accelerator: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6886299814888296448/

✨Support Changing Lenses✨

Buy me a Bubble Tea! 🧉👉🏻 https://www.buymeacoffee.com/changinglenses👈🏻

Next Episode

Ep304: Building Walls against Immigrants: Systemic Barriers to Employment, with Xin Yi Yap

When you’re job hunting, does it sometimes feel like you’re trying to breach an impenetrable fortress? Recruiters and hiring managers talk about attracting top talent, but when it comes down to it, they act more like an immigration department trying to keep undesirable people out, than warmly welcoming people in.

And if we’re going to compare recruiting to an immigration process, the best person to do that is someone who’s going through both. Meet Xin Yi Yap, the special guest on this episode. She is a Singaporean who moved to the U.S. to go to university, and now that she’s graduated, she needs to work in a qualifying job in order to stay in the country.

You don’t have to be a foreign student or visa worker to relate to Xin Yi’s story. If you’ve ever been rejected by an employer because you didn’t fit their profile; or if you’ve ever been passed over for a job you KNOW you can do because of your accent or other irrelevant excuse – then you’ve experienced what I call the Gated Community Effect.

This is the second of 4 LinkedIn Lives that I’m re-sharing as podcast episodes. If you’d prefer to watch the full video recording of the whole Live episode, you’ll find it on my website at www.changinglenses.ca/trainingvideos.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

How U.S. immigration is like the Hunger Games
Stereotypes and microaggressions against international students and employees
The fallacy of “stealing jobs” from citizens
Why we need to decolonize self-confidence
How employers can recruit more equitably
Inspiring advice for international students and job seekers today

If you know someone else who’s going through the Gated Community Effect, please forward this episode to them so they can feel supported. You can share straight from wherever you’re listening to this podcast right now, or from my website, www.changinglenses.ca/podcast.

Thank you, JEDI friends!

Link to episode transcript here.
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.

Are you looking for job search and career coaching?

As a racialized, recovering recruiter, I'm here to 👉🏻 "Help you survive the search!"👈🏻 Click the link to learn more!

Find more support and resources, and contact me directly at: https://www.changinglenses.ca/
.
.

Guest Bio and References/Links

About Xin Yi Yap:

Xin Yi (She/Her) is an IDEAS (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Social Justice) practitioner, certified Diversity & Belonging Facilitator, and analyst. Hailing from Southeast Asia, Xin Yi looks at IDEAS issues through an intersectional and international lens. She understands that systems of oppression manifests differently throughout the world, and is thus able to facilitate conversations of change with folks from different backgrounds.

Xin Yi has also worked with multinational organizations on a multitude of ways to cultivate equity, inclusion, and belonging for all, from IDEAS workshops to strategy implementation.

Find Xin Yi Yap on:

Website: https://www.xincereyiyours.space/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/xin-yi-yap/

References in this episode:

Poem by Rupi Kaur from her book Home Body: https://www.stylist.co.uk/books/rupi-kaur-home-body/450832

Changing Lenses: Diversify Your Perspectives - Ep303: Culturally Relevant Career Tips to Empower You, with Oscar Garcia

Transcript

Episode Transcript

Please note: the transcripts attempt to stay true to the essence of each conversation, while maintaining clarity and readability. As a result, certain "filler" words, and nuances of tone, emotion and emphasis will be missing.

If you're able, you're strongly encouraged to listen to the audio podcast. Transcripts are generated using a combination of speech recognition software and human editors, and may contain errors.

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