Hiring and Retaining Asian/Pacific Americans
Michael Soon Lee, MBA
Copyright © 2007 by EthnoConnect – All Rights Reserved
Stereotyping vs. Tendencies
Stereotyping
Assuming everyone is the same
Tendencies Similar behavior based on commonality
APA’s The Workplace
2008 American Labor Force
71% Whites
13% Hispanics
11% Blacks
5% Asians and others
APA’s In The Workplace
Asians are expected to join the labor force at
a faster rate than any other racial group
Major reason for the increase - immigration
APA’s In The Workplace
47% In Management/Professional/Related Jobs Financial managers, engineers, teachers, nurses
23% work in sales and office occupations
15% work in service occupations
11% work in production and transportation (Source: 2005 American Community Survey)
APA’s In The Workplace
Not All Asians Are Alike Japanese = upper management
Asian Indians = computer science/engineering
Chinese = legal & financial services
Filipino = medical & healthcare
Filipino = sales (http://www.asian-nation.org/employment.shtml)
APA’s In The Workplace
Overrepresented In Federal Jobs
7.3% of professionals
3.2% administration
3.7% technical
APA’s In The Workplace
Generational Differences
1st - Tend to be entrepreneurial
2nd- Gravitate towards more traditional jobs
3rd - Are more non-traditional
Sales, journalism, art
APA Education Levels
86% of Asians 25+ have at least HS diploma
49% of Asians 25+ have a bachelor’s degree
25% of whites have a bachelor’s degree
20% of Asians 25+ have a graduate degree
Higher than any other group
Benefits Of Hiring APA’s
• Hard work (Confucian philosophy)
• Language skills
• Negotiation skills
• Team players
• Respect authority
• Global perspective
Challenges In Hiring APA’s
Stereotyping• Technical• Strong in math• Not good verbal communicators• Not interested in sales
Challenges In Hiring APA’s
Stereotyping• Global perspective
Even APA’s who’ve never been outside US• Perpetual foreigners or outsiders• Assumptions that all Asians are alike
Challenges In Hiring APA’s
Unfriendly Hiring Practices
Communication styles can vary
- Visual/verbal: reading
- Visual/nonverbal: charts/graphs
- Auditory: talking
- Kinesthetic: showing
Challenges In Hiring APA’s
1st Generation Asians Tend To Be Visual/Nonverbal
American hiring is based on auditory
Don’t always express ourselves well verbally
Challenges In Hiring APA’s
Internal Challenge
Cultural bias towards modesty holds them back
May understate resume’
Keep boss updated on what they’re doing
Challenges In Hiring APA’s
Must Get Involved With The Community • Ads are relatively ineffective• Long term commitment• Ask for referrals from current employees
What incentives?
Retaining APA’s
Challenges & Strategies For Recruiting APA’s
• Feel isolated
Networks can be very helpful
• Must get involved with the community
• Long term commitment
• Ask for referrals from current employees
What incentives?
Retaining APA’s
APA’s Tend To Be Tolerant And Patient
Need to be proactive in airing grievances• Shouldn’t wait to be recognized
• Should ask for more responsibility
Retaining APA’s
May believe mistakes are shameful
Suggests failure
May be tempted to defend or deny The American workplace is tolerant of mistakes
Retaining APA’s
Don’t Like Competitiveness Of Some Companies Provide integration training when they first join See contradictions between home & company culture Workshops or classes that deal with cultural integration and “constructive competition”
Retaining APA’s
APAs Need To Learn To Communicate Effectively - Toastmasters - They must learn to network Formally and informally
- They must learn to challenge supervisors in a comfortable way Ask for clarification
Retaining APA’s
• Foster professional development
• Provide opportunities for networking/mentoring
• Not connected to traditional networks
Retaining APA’s
• Lack of mentoring/coaching
• Need to learn the power dynamics How things really get done
Michael Soon Lee, MBA
Copyright © 2007 by EthnoConnect – All Rights Reserved