How Identity Has Influenced a Brand Consultant's Career at JessKimia Consulting
Jessica's Iranian-American heritage significantly shaped career navigation, creating a tension between family values and American business culture, a struggle Jessica describes as "going back and forth between...my values and what's been a social construct." Despite facing microaggressions and implicit bias, Jessica leveraged their unique background and "incredible amount of privilege and freedom" to build a successful career as a Brand Strategist and Business Consultant, ultimately allowing their background to "lift rather than limit."
Cultural Identity, Work-Life Integration, Entrepreneurship, Overcoming Challenges, Implicit Bias
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Jessica Hekmat
Brand Strategist + Business Consultant
JessKimia Consulting
Boston University
MBA from UCLA Anderson School of Management
Communications
Consulting & Related Professional Services, Advertising, Communications & Marketing
Entrepreneurship and Business Owner
None Applicable
Video Highlights
1. Integrating cultural values with American business culture: Jessica discusses the challenges and rewards of balancing her Iranian heritage with the expectations of the American workplace, highlighting the importance of self-awareness and understanding one's own privilege.
2. Overcoming limitations and biases: She addresses the potential limitations placed on women who want to have families while pursuing demanding careers. Jessica's journey shows how she navigated implicit bias and microaggressions, using her background to empower rather than limit herself.
3. The impact of privilege and freedom: Jessica reflects on the significant privilege she has as a first-generation American, allowing her to choose her career path and pursue her aspirations. This contrasts with the experiences of others, especially those facing limitations due to cultural norms or societal expectations, making her journey inspiring and insightful for students interested in similar fields.
Transcript
As someone who identifies as a first-generation Iranian American woman, how has that impacted how you navigate your career?
I think primarily it's the integration between the values of my culture and upbringing in the context of American business and work culture. Family is extremely important in my culture, and having room for that has always been important.
It has also been kind of this subconscious voice of something that could hold me back as a woman, thinking about the limitations of someone who wants to have a family in terms of my business career path. So that's been a struggle for me, going back and forth between understanding what's my voice and my values, and what's been a social construct either by the American workplace or the Iranian American culture.
But I also acknowledge that I have an extreme amount of privilege. As a first-generation American, I have the freedom to choose my career and my path. I also had a family that was supportive, even though they didn't understand what I did in my job for a very long time.
Coming from a community of immigrants who were self-starters and entrepreneurs, I chose to work for others in the beginning of my career, figuring out how I wanted to pivot to working for myself. All of these things played a role, not always consciously, but especially now with the revolution happening in Iran, it's even more top of mind for me.
The incredible amount of privilege and freedom and autonomy I have to pursue my career, and that I wasn't married at 15 or 16, and that I get to make those choices. At the same time, there's always going to be implicit bias for people who identify as people of color, or multiracial, or first-generation American.
I've experienced microaggressions throughout my schooling and my career that didn't always land or resonate right away. But generally, I feel I've been able to acknowledge how my background has informed my aspirations and allow it to lift me rather than limit me.
Advizer Personal Links
jesskimia.com, https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicakimiabakhsh