Thrive in Color: How to Master Self-Advocacy and Command Your Career as an Underrepresented Professional

Devika Brij shares proven tools and strategies have helped thousands of underrepresented professionals create the exact careers, salaries, and work/life balance they desire, despite the institutional and systemic barriers arrayed against them.

According to research, 60 percent of your overall career success hinges on your ability to self-advocate.

However, as a professional of color, communicating your value and contributions, stepping up for opportunities, and commanding the salary you deserve may feel like your biggest challenge, too.

Author Devika Brij is here to show you that it doesnt have to be this way. As the CEO of Brij the Gap and consultant to multiple Fortune 50 companies, Brijs proven tools and strategies have helped thousands of underrepresented professionals create the exact careers, salaries, and work/life balance they desire, despite the institutional and systemic barriers arrayed against them.

Thrive in Color goes beyond motivation to address the specific action steps needed to proactively design and manage your career trajectory and bridge the gap between where you are and where you want to be. In this comprehensive playbook for professional empowerment, youll learn

How to create a personal brand regardless of your current role or level of seniority
Why you need to own your narrative for career advancement (instead of letting others create it by default)
How to create a powerful elevator pitch and executive summary that will clearly convey the value you drive at work
How to strategically manage your relationships with your leaders to reach your career goals
Master your mind to alleviate imposture’s syndrome
How to effectively cultivate your network of advocates, including sponsors and mentors
How to navigate unsafe spaces with managers and colleagues
The keys to mastering negotiation
How to exit gracefully when your current role or company no longer fits

In the end, our success isnt only for us. Its for every person who looks like us who is coming up behind us. By taking responsibility for our career trajectory, we make it easier for others to thrive as well.

Table of Contents

Introduction
Chapter One / Stop Playing It Safe
Chapter Two / Performing Under the Microscope
Chapter Three / The Self-Advocacy Dilemma
Chapter Four / Own Your Narrative
Chapter Five / Mindset: The Guardrail for Your Bridge
Chapter Six / Your Elevator Pitch
Chapter Seven / Your Executive Summary
Chapter Eight / Cultivating Your Network of Advocates
Chapter Nine / Managing Your Manager
Chapter Ten / Conquering Your Performance Evaluation
Chapter Eleven / Mastering Negotiation
Chapter Twelve / Your Exit Strategy
Chapter Thirteen / Thrive In Color
Afterword
Resources
Acknowledgments
About the Author
About the Publisher