For the last decade, women have been told that if they want to get ahead, one of the fastest routes open to them is to join women`s networks and professional organizations, especially those in their fields.
The people who give this advice, and I am one of them, have found that professional organizations can help women get a better job, advance their career and give them the emotional support they need.
Betty Ost, president of the Westport chapter of Professional Secretaries International and a veteran networker, said in a recent issue of From Nine to Five, a newsletter published by the Dartnell Corp., that networking builds confidence and improves skills.
Her advice: ”Get involved!”
Reader Mary J. Theune asked TempoWoman, ”How do you network yourself or make the connections with the people who make the difference . . . in the professional realm?”
Here is how three women went about it.
PAMELA J. FERRIS
Age 36, product planner, AT&T, Lisle.
Ferris edits technical sales support material for telephone switching equipment and is president of Women of AT&T, an in-house network. She also belongs to AT&T Affirmative Action Support Committee and the International Association of Business Communicators.
Her commitments take time but are worth it, she said. ”You give, but you get. You hear a lot of war stories from women trying to advance in their careers, but through professional groups you learn strategies, new skills and experiences of other people. That helps you make more intelligent decisions about your own career.”
Ferris, a graduate of Elmhurst College and a former teacher, got her job at AT&T in 1983 through informal networking. In 1985 she was promoted to her present position.
”Through Women of AT&T, I`ve been able to get to know people in other organizations within our complex. I understand the corporate culture better. And it`s given me a support network.”
It also helped in 1985 when she was adjusting to her new role as a mother.
”Through our network I found out what other women did when they had babies,” said Ferris, who is married to a computer consultant. ”I was out for six weeks, and when I came back, everyone was so supportive.”
The network sponsors workshops and seminars.
”I`ve learned about my style of managing projects,” she said. ”I`ve gotten to know the faces behind names and the functions behind titles.”
The Affirmative Action group, made up of women and minorities, plans company-sponsored programs. The national business network she belongs to, Ferris said, ”helps me know what other communications people are doing.”
She advises other women to join similar groups. ”If you don`t, you`re cutting off valuable information,” she said.
RAE JONES
Age 34, director of communications, the Mayor`s Communications Project, City Hall.
”If you don`t get out there and belong to professional groups, no one knows you`re there,” said Jones, a journalist with a degree from Southern Illinois University.
”It`s like looking for a husband: You can`t sit at home and find one.”
Jones is very visible: She belongs to the National Association of Media Women, National Association of Black Journalists, the Black Public Relations Society and the League of Black Women.
”As a black woman, I need positive reinforcement from my peers,” she said. For several years she was the only black employee in her department at a large insurance company.
A former reporter, newspaper editor and corporate communications counselor, Jones was hired last year to establish a coordinated public relations office in City Hall. She heads a staff of five.
”When I changed jobs in 1979 and moved from a community newspaper to a large corporation-well, if it weren`t for my networks, I don`t know what I would have done,” said the journalist, who is divorced and has a son.
The League of Black Women fills a special need.
”It`s not confined to one profession. There are all kinds of black professional women who are members. They bring new ideas to me all the time.”
Through networking, Jones helps people get jobs: ”I feel a strong commitment to other women. We must reach back.”
Jones also finds that she is able to keep current: ”I need to maintain my ties and stay on top of technology.”
”You learn new things about your profession: You teach one another,”
Jones said.
ARABEL ALVA ROSALES
Age 28, assistant to the Illinois Secretary of State.
”If you set your goals and know what you want, joining organizations will advance your career,” said Rosales, who works as a liaison with the Hispanic community and women`s groups.
Rosales belongs to a long list of groups: the Mexican-American Business and Professional Women`s Association, the National Alliance of Hispanic Women, the Midwest Women`s Center, the Hispanic Alliance for Career Enhancement
(HACE), the Illinois Federation of Hispanic Chambers of Commerce, Executive Women in State Government and Women in Transit (a network of women involved in transportation).
Rosales, who previously worked for the Illinois Department of Transportation, joined the Secretary of State`s staff two years ago.
”When the position opened up, it was offered to me. I qualified for it through networking. I had contact with a lot of community organizations and knew names.”
A business administration graduate of De Paul University, Rosales said:
”The women I meet through networking give me a lot of ideas that I would never get sitting alone in a corner. The brainstorming is fantastic!”
Through HACE and the Mexican American women`s group, Rosales met Vilma Colom, a personnel director.
”We worked well together,” Rosales said.
Last March they started Luxury Time Cleaning Service, 2751 W. 22d Pl., and have eight women employees. Their enterprise got a boost when they announced it at a network meeting.
”We got a lot of clients. And we got jobs for women who need them.”
Her many professional connections have helped Rosales in her personal life, too. In 1982 she met John Rosales, Chicago branch manager for Coca Cola Bottling Co., at a networking group`s banquet.
”Four years and 25 meetings later we were married.”
Send comments and ideas for future questions to Carol Kleiman, The Chicago Tribune, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, Ill. 60611.
