Best advice you would give to a newbie Asian consultant joining a primarily white firm?

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Don’t tokenize yourself, as many have the tendency to do just to fit in/draw humor from. This continues to breed unequal perceptions/biases that already live in white peoples’ minds.

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Find your mentors and sponsors. Find a set of friends. Relationships really matter - don’t under estimate that. It s a political world and going good work is necessary but often not sufficient to succeed.

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Mentors make a huge difference - having higher up allies makes a big difference because they're able to advocate for you more

Assess early on whether there is real opportunity for longevity at the firm/office. If you're able to identify a path to partner via strong relationships with mentors and sponsors (as mentioned above), then consider the pros and cons of that path. If not, then reach out to alum in other fields and determine what your next steps look like

Main point being, you need to be proactive in charting your path, more-so than the "average" consultant IMO, since the bamboo ceiling is real (sometimes exaggerated but it does exist)

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Quite broad, but I find it very important to establish yourself as an individual. Some people might try to relate to you by “meeting you at your Asianness” with references to conventionally Asian media, interests, mindsets, etc. Essentially parsing you in whatever conceptual shorthand they are familiar with. This may be done with good intent or bad, but I generally try to steer the conversation into something more balanced, without obviously shutting it down and coming off as defensive. Just want to show that I have a range of interests and opinions, and they have to do a bit more cognitive work to digest what I’m about. Of course, if someone is a genuine enthusiast about some stereotypically Asian thing that is actually relevant to me, that can be a nice way to bond. I just try to distinguish between what to share in different situations, to avoid being typecast while also not putting on an act

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I knew one east Asian guy who won the genetic lottery - 6 ft 1, chiseled jaw, model build. Rose up to SM in a few years out of business school.

He was competent (not the best, but above average). He was able to charm senior leaders especially the women. He always kept it professional.

If that was only me. 😂

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He was good at harnessing his relationships to lead BD and internal initiatives better than he could by himself. Conversely, he helped elevate others as well.

Same as always: be part of the tribe. Stand out strategically.

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Echoing a lot of what others have said but in a different way. Opportunity isn’t just a concept or a function of hard work, opportunity is attached to specific people and relationships.

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There's some good advice from prior posts so will make this short. I know it's not easy but try to be assertive, pro-active and confident.

I agree with the comments above. Find mentors and people who you can network with. It never hurts to have good relationships with the people who you are working with.

Listen. Learn.

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