Introducing Inclusion Tech Japan: Tips for Developing Your Career

Inclusion Tech Japan is a community-driven initiative led by tech professionals focused on raising awareness for underrepresented minorities in the tech industry. Their first event held this week at Pivotal Labs Tokyo discussed the topic of promotions as well as better relationship-building techniques with your manager. Event speakers were Yui Anzai, Product Manager at Pivotal, Meghan Radke, Product Designer at Pivotal and finally Yan Fan, CTO and co-founder of Code Chrysalis. An intimate group of about 20 tech professionals in the industry gathered to share information, tips and experiences of day-to-day life working in leading tech companies. The event started off with a panel discussion answering questions about "Diversity & Inclusion" followed by a presentation by Yan Fan on how to build your career. Attendees learned how to take easy and actionable steps that could improve their relationship with their manager as well as ways for getting recognition for “invisible” work. 

A roadmap to build your career  

Step 1: Write 2 columns labeled “Visible Work” and “Invisible Work” 

Fill out the columns with tasks from the past 3 months you’ve received praise for, allocating them where you see fit. Tasks can range from something as small as sending a follow-up reminder e-mail or as large as landing a new client.

Step 2: Find out what goal your team or company values

Then, ask yourself ‘what work am I doing that drives this value for the company?’  (examples include finding new economies to scale, solving customer success, etc.) 

Step 3: Make S.M.A.R.T. goals with your manager 

S.M.A.R.T. goals are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-bound. Make sure to send a follow-up e-mail to your manager with a summary of your goals and plans on how to achieve them.

Be recognized for your success

Yan claims that managers and employees oftentimes do not see eye to eye on what the idea of success looks like. In order to consistently remain on the same page, you can try the following three strategies:

     1.  RAAC your feedback 

Repeat the feedback, even if the feedback is painful

Accept the feedback, even if you don’t agree

Ask for advice on how you could improve

Communicate the change to your manager or colleague after implementation

     2.  Document your successes 

When you’ve received praise for the work you’ve done, thank the person with a visible  e-mail. By doing this, you are able to reflect and track the impact of your projects.

      3.  Update your resume with these 185 powerful verbs

Powerful action verbs such as “programmed” (instead of “led”) and “mentored” (instead of "managed") will impress not only future hiring managers but also your current managers and colleagues.

Meaningful Diversity & Inclusion

Yui says, “women [have been] systemically filtered out when trying to further develop their careers” (Read about “Womenomics” here). She shares that Pivotal actively pushes for gender equality balance. Hiring managers are committed to this as the company implemented a process requiring at least two minorities in the pipeline before making a final new hire decision. Yui is also one of the leads for grassroots efforts facilitating D&I annual report and research.

“The goal is to build a culture that is encouraging for everyone”, Yui concludes.