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For this week’s episode of the Thomas Industry Update Podcast, I spoke to Q2 NextGen for Industry winner Rose Celestin. As senior strategic sourcing lead at WSSC Water, Celestin is undoubtedly an industry expert, but as a millennial — and a minority female one at that — Celestin has had a unique experience working her way up the corporate ladder.
Her insights in this week’s podcast episode offer listeners a unique look into the supply chain industry and provide actionable insight for future industry professionals to follow for an enduring career.
“Being a young millennial female definitely has its challenges,” Celestin explains. “Especially in our age range, we are very involved in social media, and so I think a lot of focus on carrying both your personal and professional brand will come into play; there has to be a balance.”
Establishing an Enduring Supply Chain Career
Celestin has always had an ambitious nature; she actually began her supply chain career at just 14 years old with no industry experience. At first, it was just a job to her, but she soon discovered the potential that the supply chain industry held for her future.
“I was fortunate and daring enough to convince my former boss to hire me, although I was very young and didn’t really have much of an idea of what I was getting myself into,” she recalls. “I didn’t really think of the opportunity as a solid career path at first, but I think because I was always willing to go above and beyond, that really impressed her… so much [so] that it made her really want to just dive in and really put so much effort into polishing me into a groomed professional.”
After realizing her future was in supply chain, Celestin took the necessary steps to build out her career, including building her personal brand and a network of accomplished professionals to help her achieve her own career goals in the industry. Celestin also recommends positioning yourself as what she calls a “thought leader.”
Becoming an accomplished industry professional can start with “something as simple as joining a professional organization and networking to gain some type of visibility and establish credibility,” she explains. “As you begin to build your professional network and forge good relationships, especially with your peers, you will start to be more aware of opportunities to contribute to the profession, and then as you continue to contribute, more and more opportunities will become available. You also don’t always have to just wait for someone to notice you.”
Building a Personal and Professional Brand
As a millennial, Celestin had her own unique take on building a professional brand, especially in how her personal brand plays into that. In my Thomas Insights column, Confessions of an Industry Millennial, I’ve previously addressed how the next generation of industry professionals will need to take command of social media to build up their online presence. But Celestin had her own unique take: our personal and professional accounts often don’t align.
“One of the things that I’ve noticed is that your personal circle tends to be quite different from your professional one, especially on social media. So, when we think of platforms like LinkedIn and we compare them to platforms like Instagram, they’re kind of different because your following tends to be a little different,” she says.”I still have to learn how to leverage my social media, especially being a young minority female, there’s unconscious bias and learned stereotypes, but you don’t want to leave any room for people to guess or write your narrative for you.”
“You want to be able to defend your background and defend your credibility,” Celestin goes on to explain. “Trying to find that balance can be tricky because your personal life is just your personal life. You may be at a beach one day and just decide that you just want to post a picture at the beach, but LinkedIn is not the only platform that people will search for you on. There are so many other platforms, and so there definitely needs to be a balance.”
Overcoming Unconscious Biases
As Celestin worked her way through the ranks of supply chain and strategic sourcing, she did encounter instances of unconscious bias and learned stereotypes based on her age, race, and even gender. She even recounted an experience of being accused of plagiarism when she was recruited as a leadership contributor for Forbes.
“Landing a contributor role on Forbes, personally, was a major accomplishment that I’m very proud of because it’s always been a personal goal of mine,” she recalls. “One thing that I noticed, though, is that within the network, not only was I the youngest, but I was also the only Black contributor. I have a youthful appearance, and people don’t always expect me to know as much as I do or have the level of business acumen that I have. I found that a lot of my drafts were met with a lot of skepticism and scrutiny because [the editor] just wasn’t convinced that I was really as knowledgeable on the pieces that I was writing on.”
The experience was one that Celestin says was “emotionally draining,” but she learned an important lesson: “Know what you bring to the table and don’t let anyone downplay your ability.”
“Definitely be brave enough to leave the situation if you feel like it makes you feel inadequate. Don’t be afraid to speak up, but also be very strategic in the way you speak up because, of course, your reputation precedes you. You have to remember that there’s a learned stereotype,” she advises.
Making Space for Diverse Female Millennials in Industry
Listen to my full conversation with Rose Celestin about being a part of the next generation of industry leaders, including overcoming adversity and commanding a personal and professional brand, in the latest episode of the Thomas Industry Update Podcast. This episode is available to stream on the following platforms:
Image Credit: Thomas Industry Update Podcast
