How Identity Has Influenced a Founder's Career at YourNegotiations.com
Gerta's immigrant background, specifically from Albania, initially led to navigating a career in the US "a little blindly," lacking familiarity with fields like consulting. However, this experience, combined with the challenges of being a woman in male-dominated fields, ultimately fostered resourcefulness and negotiation skills, transforming perceived disadvantages into assets in their entrepreneurial journey, proving that "differences have been assets more than drawbacks."
Negotiation, Entrepreneurship, Overcoming Challenges, Immigrant Experiences, Women in Tech
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Gerta Malaj
Founder
YourNegotiations.com
Wellesley College
MIT
Mathematics, Data Science, Statistics
Coaching, Speaking & Writing
Entrepreneurship and Business Owner
International Student, Honors Student, Scholarship Recipient, Immigrant
Video Highlights
1. Being an immigrant helped Gerta develop skills in navigating uncertainty and operating without a blueprint, which she sees as assets in entrepreneurship.
2. Gerta emphasizes the importance of learning about available opportunities and networking with locals when navigating a new professional environment as an immigrant.
3. She advises women not to be intimidated by men in the workplace and to leverage their resourcefulness, viewing challenges as opportunities for growth.
Transcript
Here's the cleaned transcript:
**Q13: How identity impacted career**
As someone who identifies as a woman and an immigrant, how has that impacted how you've navigated your career?
I am an immigrant from a tiny country, Albania. One of the ways I can think of how it impacted my career is that when I was applying for full-time jobs, I had no idea what consulting was. We didn't have consulting in Albania, and we don't have a stock exchange. Looking back, I feel like I operated a little blindly.
Companies would come to interview at my college, and I would just pick randomly without a lot of structure. For immigrant students, I recommend learning as much as possible about how things work, and learning from locals. Learn from people who are from the US, and also from that specific state where your college is. It's very important to know all the opportunities that are available.
On the other hand, don't be afraid to be different. I think my differences have been assets more than drawbacks. Being an immigrant has definitely helped me be a better negotiator and entrepreneur. I was already navigating the world in the dark when I moved to the US. Similarly, with entrepreneurship, I feel like I'm operating in the dark too. There's no blueprint, and I'm not familiar with this environment. It can definitely be an asset, and of course, there are some disadvantages as well.
Regarding the woman aspect, don't be intimidated by the men in the room. When I was working in tech, there were cases where I was the only woman in the room, and it was a little intimidating. Men are typically taller and louder, and you start questioning yourself. But there's not necessarily a correlation between height and competence, or gender and competence, or voice volume and competence. So don't be intimidated by the men in the room.
Being a woman has also helped me be an entrepreneur. Again, you have to be resourceful. I think as a woman, doors do not open as easily. So there are assets to these identities that are generally associated with some drawbacks.