fostering professional confidence and peer mentorship through beijing womens network
TRANSCRIPT
Fostering Professional
Confidence and Peer
Mentorship Through
Beijing Women’s
Network
KRISTEN
CARUSOS
What is Beijing Women’s Network?
Welcome to the Beijing Women's Network, our goal is to
serve as a platform to provide women from diverse
professional backgrounds opportunities to connect and
share insights into experience they have had in professional
settings.
Visit Beijing Women’s Network Website here
Event Series
Healthy Living
• Monthly events designed to
bring a mixture of formal
panel discussions, fitness
events, and health education
seminars
• Partnership with Living BIGG
gym in Tuanjiehu, Beijing
Professional
Development
• Co-organized by Jing Jobs
• Designed for young
professionals, these
workshops provide on-going
training in workplace skills
relevant across industries.
• Training events are held at
local businesses or co-
working spaces.
Spotlight Dinner• Spotlight dinners bring our
community together to discuss current issues relevant to women in the workplace and society at-large.
• Each dinner we spotlight one of our members who leads a discussion centered on their own experiences or a topic of choice.
Why do we
need Beijing
Women’s
Network?
Enter the
Confidence Gap
Women and the Confidence Gap
Where we are falling behind:
Negotiating less
Making excuses for our accomplishments
Undervaluing our skillsets
Not asserting our authority
Asking for less raises and promotions
BWN Core Values
Helping each other
Self-improvement and growth
Inclusivity
Positive energy
Building authentic relationships
Jessie Wang, Founder of BWN
Our 2016 Numbers
Professional
Development
Workshop
Spotlight
Dinners
WeChat Group
Members
Registered to
EventBank 2016
Growth
Goals
First Event
9
30+
911
552
24 Workshops
26 Spotlight
Dinners
500 WeChat
Members
300 EventBank
3/23/15
How did we grow?
1. Created a WeChat platform that provided value and a sense of
community with rules
2. Planned event series (not one-offs)
3. Utilized EventBank’s integrated event, email campaign, and
membership management CRM
4. Gave people ownership and set specific responsibilities
5. Built partnerships and sponsorships with organizations like
Jing Jobs
Welcome to the Beijing Women’s Network
WeChat Group
Wechat Rules: In order to keep this group productive and limit spamming, below are
some rules and regulations for content.
Yes- Jobs, career related information such as events or news articles, questions
about basics related to work or professional developments, topics related to
women, questions related to working in Beijing
No- Advertisements selling things, renting apartments or related to various
business offerings, parties and promotional events If there is anything that you
are unsure of please PM Jessie, Kristen, Lily or Oma. If you want to join groups
geared towards the "No" category, we can also add you to related groups.
Challenges We Faced
Defining organizational goals and values
Data collection and managing growth
Administrative and event logistics
Timely event marketing and management
Knowledge Gained
Learning pains
Division of labor
Utilizing your interests and skills
Peer Mentorship
Career Introductions
Corporate Understanding
Problem Solving
Overcoming Obstacles
Work Best Practices
Career Planning
“But I could never mentor anyone. I
don’t have XYZ experience.”
Wrong!
Confidence Realized Through BWN
Helping people build confidence
Becoming the leader you want to be
Realizing my potential, skills, and value
Cutting out these phrases:
“I do not deserve this”
“I’m not good enough”
You can do it!
Sponsor others through encouraging
and advocating for your peers
Become a mentor and be a better
manager
Mentors motivate, inspire, and help
other people
Mentorship and Sponsorship- Forbes
Magazine
Main Points
1. Have the faith in your capacity to grow, learn, and
improve.
2. If you are not good at something now, you can work
hard and get better .
3. You are way more capable than you think and don’t
ever demean or limit yourself
Discussion Questions:
1. What would your ideal mentor be like?
2. What professional advice would you give yourself a year ago?
3. What is one of your professional weaknesses that you have improved upon and
how did you do it?
4. What is one of your strengths that you could mentor others in?
5. What are some skills that you would like to improve upon or mentor others in?
6. What factors do you consider most when planning for the future?
7. What is your biggest goal in the next year?
8. What value do you bring to a team?
9. Think about a time when there was a crisis and how you solved it.
Confidence Exercise
Imagine you are an HR manager hiring for your current position. Answer the following questions:
What skills does your position require?
What type of personality traits does the new hire need to have?
What new skills will the applicant need to learn once hired?
Is there any learning curve a new hire will need to work through?
You have all of these skills and strengths! Don’t forget it.
Upcoming BWN Events
Monthly Spotlight Dinner
Monday, July 25th, 2016
The Hatchery
Avoiding Business Culture Clashes
Thursday, July 28th, 2016
Inncube at Tuanjiehu
Kristen CarusosInternational Business Development Manager for EventBank
Co-chair of Beijing Women’s Network
www.eventbank.com, www.eventbank.cn