Roadmap to the Executive Suite

Taking Risks and Focusing on Your Path to the Executive Suite

March 11, 2021 Claudia Miller Season 1 Episode 6
Roadmap to the Executive Suite
Taking Risks and Focusing on Your Path to the Executive Suite
Show Notes Transcript

The pandemic has affected how people work and even women in executive positions have felt the changes. So how do you stay on the path towards the C-suite position that you are aiming for?

In this episode, we have another wonderful guest, Berenice Alvarez, Associate Vice President of Operations and Strategic Initiatives of Morreale Strategic Communications. Berenice is a skilled professional with over eight years of experience in communications, public involvement, and policy. She will share how she took a risk in working with a smaller firm and how she stayed on the path of her goal towards the executive position. She will also share her thoughts on the changes this pandemic has brought, having a mentor for your career growth, and her tips on how to achieve career growth. You will also hear some very interesting stories, including how she manages to be an executive and a new mother through the pandemic.

In This Podcast We Talk About:

  • How Berenice stepped up into her C-Suite role and taking a risk.
  • Why it can be exciting to work with small firms.
  • Negotiating salaries and what you can negotiate aside from salary.
  • Three tips for women who want to break through their executive roles.

Connect With Berenice:
LinkedIn

Links Mentioned:
34 Benefits To Negotiate- Besides Your Salary
Get to know more about My 90-Day Job Offer Program
Application to Work With Claudia Miller.
Roadmap to the Executive Suite
Networking Templates

About me:
I started my career like many people do: in an entry level role making around $35K a year, was the first to arrive and last to leave, putting a 110% into my job…But it wasn’t enough. 

I was consistently being passed up for promotions and realized I was being underpaid compared to my colleagues. 

I knew that in order to get ahead in my career and be able to make the money I wanted… to support the lifestyle I wanted…something had to change. 

So, I started investing in myself. I worked with a career coach, resume writer, read every career book that I could get my hands on, enrolled in career courses, and studied colleagues wo seemed to be crushing it in their careers. And after investing over $20,000 in resources, coaches, and books…and spending thousands of hours over five years…I realized that many of the common advice out there did NOT move the needle when it came to advancing your career! 

Instead, I handpicked and carefully selected what worked to create my now signature program, 90-Day Job Offer, that is unlike anything that is out there. I wish a program like this existed when I was going through my career advancement and salary negotiations. If so, it would have been a fraction of the cost and saved me over four years of frustration of trial-and-error. 

Since then, my clients have taken my ready-to-use resources to advance their careers in 90-days or less, and secured on average a 56% increase in salary (to date my clients have received $30,000 - $120,000 in additional earned income per year)!!

I help women in technology land fulfilling, high-paying jobs at a company that values and appreciates them. I’m on a mission to help women in tech collectively earn over a $1M in the next year. 

Will you join me?

Claudia Miller:

This is roadmap to executive suite podcast, a place where we talk about accelerating your careers and how to get to the C suite, all tailored to the ambitious woman. We're here to have fun, feel empowered and get actionable steps to get you closer to your dream job and salary, no matter where you are in your career. I'm your host, Claudia Miller, and I'm a career coach who helps ambitious women get the jobs they want, all while getting them up to $50,000 in salary increases. I've been featured in Forbes, MSNBC, and a one of the top 23 Most Innovative career coaches of 2025 Business Insider. Welcome to the show, and let's get started. All right. Well, today we have our next guest. Our next guest is Bernice Alvarez, and she's the associate vice president of operations and Strategic Initiatives at Moreno Valley. I'm so happy to have you here. Bernice.

Berenice Alvarez:

Thank you, Claire. It's so nice to see you.

Claudia Miller:

I know we haven't seen each other in a while now. It's just a video. Well, I'm so happy to have you on the show. And congrats again. I know you just have a 10 month year old Camila, such a nice baby.

Berenice Alvarez:

Yeah, so she's a pandemic, baby. I think that's like her, like when people ask her what her fun fact is, I think that's gonna be one of them. She was born in April, like, in the middle of like, when no one knew how severe it was. And there was a lot of just, like, lack of information. So it's been awesome to be able to be at home, I've been working from home since March. So I didn't like I never expected this would be kind of my setup, I always kind of thought like, we have a nanny, I leave in the morning, come back and hang out with her. But I hear her all day, you may actually hear her in the background at some point. So it's been really nice to like, spend more time with her throughout the day and use my breaks to go in and check on her and play with her. So it's been awesome having her? Yeah,

Claudia Miller:

no, and I can't even imagine what you were going through. Like when it was, you know, time for delivery. Because like you said, there was so much we didn't know when I mean, we were I was naive, where I was like, this was gonna last like maybe like two months, and we'll be back to normal. And here we are also your laters I can't even imagine trying to give birth to a child, which so much unknowns. And, you know, I mean, I'm sure it was a very scary moments for you, um, as well, as you know, your husband? You know, I know that you mentioned that I kind of wanted to talk a little bit more about that. So, you know, you're currently the Associate Vice President of Operations and strategic initiatives. And you know, you're a very high level up within the company. And now you're our new mom, Have things changed for you, since you know, that happened? Or would you say, I mean, of course, there's a lot of things that changed because of the pandemic. But overall, do you think things have changed or not?

Berenice Alvarez:

I think so I think the way that I'm managed, my time has changed, like I, you know, I've never been an early riser. But now I find myself having to wake up earlier. So I can get some emails in, you know, uninterrupted before you are like nobody with teams and zoom and you know, like text messages. So I use my time to think a little bit more efficiently. And I, you know, we have childcare, and she needs to leave at a certain point. So I need to end my day at a certain time, you know, so I plan my day a little bit more efficiently. But, you know, besides that, not too much has changed, I think I've always been very committed to my work. And I continued that, you know, during my pregnancy, and then also afterwards, it's, you know, I make time for my professional career. And I also make time for my family. So I can balance those priorities a little bit. But, you know, I do, we are in COVID, in the pandemic, and I'm not really going to networking events or events outside of the regular work schedule that I actually attended quite a lot, you know, pre all this and pre starting my family. And so it'd be, you know, two, three times a week that I'd be out until eight or 9pm. And now I'm like, how am I going to do that when we go back to, you know, normal life, I don't think I'll have that flexibility and freedom anymore. So I've also kind of wondered how that's going to change my relationships within the industry and the dynamics, you know, that happened during those networking events. So it's just kind of something that I'm kind of looking at from a different perspective now that I'm a mom.

Claudia Miller:

Yeah, no, definitely. You know, one of the things like, you know, and what I've heard from, like, clients that I've worked with in some of them are actually now like pregnant, they're gonna say, like, I don't know how things are gonna change, I still want to stay focused in my career. And I'm a firm believer of, you can have everything you just can't do everything, like you're just going to have to systematize or delegate some other things. For example, like, whether it's like cleaning or ordering food or something like that, in order for you to be able to squeeze in and it sounds like you've just gotten really good at prioritizing is just something's gotta give and there's just not an important anyways and kind of reallocating your time and how you prioritize items. Right?

Berenice Alvarez:

Exactly. Yeah. And I mean, I put in the work Monday through Friday, so that the weekends are dedicated to my family, you know, and sometimes that means, you know, working kind of when she goes to sleep late nights or waking up early. So yeah, it's all about prioritizing, and we're very lucky that we have the, you know, the help during the day, I don't think I could do this with working and then also, like taking care of her during the day. So that's something that was very obvious to me is, I can't do everything. And so we need to kind of make time for my different priorities.

Claudia Miller:

Do you think that you're able to do this because of like how your company is supportive? Or do you think that it has nothing to really do with that, and it's more of you taking that ownership on your side, because, you know, our previous person I interviewed executive woman, she mentioned that she was very vocal with her company saying, This is my family time. And this is very valuable to me. So I want to make sure that I still fulfill those needs with my business and what I have to work to do. But I also need to leave early because I need to pick up my child at daycare, or I'm going to be a few minutes late, because they're coming in at nine as opposed to eight because I need to drop off my daughter at daycare. Yeah, I'm

Berenice Alvarez:

so I'm really fortunate I work at a female owned and led firm. So we're, like, small to midsize and growing and all the executive leadership team is women. So it's like, it's just, it's awesome. It's fun, it's why I was drawn to the company. So I and I think we're all in very similar places in our lives, including, you know, our presidency, oh, she's a young family too. And so I think we all understand, you know, that there's priorities and times for everything. And sometimes you have to leave, you know, a little bit earlier to make doctor's appointments or, you know, commitments with your family, your kids. And so, my work is very supportive of that lifestyle. And I think we're very collaborative. So we try to balance each other out as a team to make sure that things are still getting done and deliver when they need to. So that's something I've always kind of looked for. And, you know, we're culture is just if they can, you know, it's important to me, that, who I work for, and where I work, understands that there's different priorities in my life and anyone's life. And that, you know, they respect that. So, I'll definitely put in the work when I'm at work. But you know, after that, it's kind of my own. And so I appreciate you know, that people understand that. Yeah,

Claudia Miller:

and I think it's so important work, like you mentioned, you were very intention, intention and strategic, where you are going to be working at. And because of that, now, I don't know how you feel about this. But I feel like that also has an impact on your mindset, your mind body, because you're not worried like is my manager hating me, because I'm leaving early, even though like, trust me, I would be at work, but my child needs to be picked up or they're sick, and I need to take them to the doctor, I feel like a companies can be adding a lot of that additional stress where it's unnecessary, like, you were very intentional. So now you can work in a company where you have that flexibility, and you still have a demanding job that you're still able to fulfill, but still be able to carve that time off for your family, which is very important and a priority to you.

Berenice Alvarez:

Yeah, and I think everything's gonna change, you know, and we're culture because of the pandemic, because I think, you know, what I've seen a lot of organizations and companies have learned that it is possible to manage, you know, your regular responsibilities, but also be flexible enough to make time for, you know, other engagements that sometimes happened during the work day, right, and not having to take off a half day of work to go do that, and, you know, take away from your vacation time or your personal time off, it's just, you'll make up the work some other time. So I think that may change, you know, in work environments and cultures moving forward. So I hope that like other companies, and firms kind of adapt that mentality to

Claudia Miller:

likewise, you know, I worked at companies where they're like, you can never, we can't work from home, like, it's just impossible. And all of a sudden, companies had to figure it out. Like, really quickly, in the few days of like, hire, you're gonna have your entire workforce work from home. And now they're seeing kind of like those benefits of, you know, we don't have to spend money now in retail space, and we're saving so much. And, you know, unfortunately, I think that sometimes that some people are working, like from eight to 687, because it just extends the day in their home, and they're not commuting or anything like that. So that's kind of like the negative part of it. But I agree with that. I think it's changed of how we just work overall. And I'm glad that at least now companies can see like, you can allow your employees to work from home, let them be as long as they do the work. There's no problem where they work out of and actually might save you some money.

Berenice Alvarez:

Exactly. No, I agree with all those comments. Okay,

Claudia Miller:

well, you know, I want to kind of pivot a little bit and, you know, I have seen your like your work history and, you know, you've had a really impressive background and, you know, I wanted to showcase and want you to talk a little bit more to our listeners of you know, tell us a little bit more of like, how did you break in, get your first manager role, like, tell us a little bit more about that for some people out there that maybe in that so contributor Ron are looking to break into management, how can they do it? And, you know, tell us about how you did it.

Berenice Alvarez:

Yeah. So out of school out of college, I actually took a risk and took an internship in Springfield, Illinois, I didn't know anyone there. But it was a great opportunity for me to work with in the General Assembly, I was literally making like nothing like under like, $18,000 a year. But I knew I was at the right place because of the relationships and kind of the experience I was getting there. So I kind of just, you know, I took a lot of lateral moves in the beginning of my career, because for me, it was important to really understand what I wanted to do, and what I didn't want to do. So both of my, you know, careers where I started, were working at very large organizations. And so it's very easy to get lost, you know, when you're working at a place with like, over 100 people. And so I felt, you know, that there wasn't a lot of opportunity for me to move up, or really, like stand out, because there were so many people ahead of me that were also, you know, trying to get to the top. And so, you know, there was an opportunity for me to move to a smaller, firm and kind of a growing firm, where it'd be, you know, I started and there was like three other people on the team. And so I was really kind of given the opportunity to lead and be in charge a lot of things that I had never done before. Or maybe I felt like I wasn't ready to do but, you know, my boss took a chance on me. And I took a little bit of a risk on her too, because she told me, she's like, I have to make sure I have the work to bring you on. And if the project ends, you know, there may not be anything else for you here. But I just felt like, I had to weigh kind of what I wanted in my career, which was to lead and to manage. And so I wasn't getting that you know where I was at, and I didn't see a path for me there. So I took a risk, and it's paid off. You know, I went from managing a couple of interns to you know, we're a team of 17. And growing, I think will be 25 team members by the end of the year. And I've been able to hire many of the people on the team. And I have my team built under me. So sometimes I think it's about taking kind of a risk, but really knowing what it is like what your goals are and what you want to do. And why do you want to lead right? Like, do you just want the title? Well, you know, that's very different from actually wanting to manage and lead because there's a lot of work that goes into that.

Claudia Miller:

Yeah, like, if you want the title, just start your company, make yourself like the executive position.

Berenice Alvarez:

Right, managing is hard, you know, managing people is one of the most challenging things that I do. Because you're not just focused on your workload and your commitments, but you're also having to think about your team, are they growing? Are they happy? Do they have the right skills? You know, are they the right fit? And you know, as a leader in organization, there's a lot of responsibilities to to make sure that, you know, we're delivering on our projects, our clients are happy. And so it's just it's been an interesting journey. And I'm really thankful that I took that risk on myself, and also where I'm working right now.

Claudia Miller:

Yeah, I mean, it looks like it's definitely paid off, because you've been working from the company for for close to five years. And you moved up from director to associate vice president and now associate vice president of operations and strategic initiatives. So that's amazing.

Berenice Alvarez:

Yeah, it's been great. Yeah, it's also kind of fun working in a small firm, too. Because as the firm grows, I've had an opportunity to kind of decide what I want my role to look like. And that's, you know, based on the things I realized I like, and I don't like to do. So that's been exciting, because I'm like, Where else can I actually like, create my own title?

Claudia Miller:

Or like, I don't want to do that. I think it should go more towards that

Berenice Alvarez:

role. I'll focus on this side. Exactly.

Claudia Miller:

So like, you know, I mean, you've had great success. And so tell me a little bit more like what would you consider to be your like, your life motto? That's kind of helping you throughout your entire journey?

Berenice Alvarez:

Yeah. So I think my life motto is, I've always kind of focused on what I'm doing, and never really tried to like, I've always stayed in my lane, right. So like, I know what I want to do with my career. And I've never really taken a look at what other people are doing. Because everyone has a different career path. Right? And so, I think it's easy for you to get distracted by like, oh, well, someone with my experience, or someone I know is like already an executive and why am I not? And so you don't know what path they took to get there or what your path is laid out for you. Right? So I've always been a firm believer of like, put your head down, do the work, do the best work and that's gonna get noticed. And that'll help, you know, elevate you and move you along your path. So I think sometimes being you know, a female executive or even like a female professional, it's easy to, you know, see other women as your competition. And I just I don't believe that I think that women are there To help each other and to pull each other up. And so, you know, a lot of women have helped me get to where I'm at in my career. And so I'm like all for helping, you know, more junior level professionals helping them in their career, too. But yeah, I think for me, it's just making sure that I'm doing my best work. And that's going to get noticed. And that's going to get me where I need to be.

Claudia Miller:

No, that's amazing. No, and I definitely agree. And that's one of the reasons why I would started this podcast because I feel that I want to give a platform to highlight women like yourself, where you've, you know, achieved that executive level position. And I know there's so much more for you in your career, this is just even the beginning of it. And how can we empower each other? And one of the things that I've seen from like talking already with executives is it's all also aligned towards mentorship and having that right person to guide you. Can you tell me a little bit more of like, Where have you found your mentors? Or how have they come to that position to be able to guide you in being sure that it's the right person to?

Berenice Alvarez:

Yeah, that's a good question. So I, you know, if you look at anything, any blogs, or any career advice, kind of platform, it's always suggested to get a mentor. So a couple years ago, I was like, Really, like stuck on like, Okay, I need a mentor, I need a mentor, I'm never gonna be successful, I don't mentor. And then I realized, and I really couldn't find, you know, that one person or like, I was like, This is my mentor. So I was like, maybe my strategy is wrong here. Because I feel like I'm doing pretty good in my career. So how have I gotten this far without having a mentor. And what I realized is that I like take what I like about people from every, like, from everyone, from all the bosses that I've had, from, you know, my colleagues from, like, role models, celebrities, politicians, you know, whoever. And like, if I like something about them, I kind of read up a little bit about their background, how they got there, like, what their motto is, you know, we'll get biographies on them. So I've had like, unofficial mentors, but I think, you know, what I really gravitate towards is people who are like, really strong leaders. And so, you know, I've had a great opportunity to work with leaders, not only, you know, with, like, who are my direct bosses, but just other people in the industry that I work with, so, but I still would love to find my mentor. I would love to have someone that, you know, I can check in with at certain phases of my career and say, Hey, like, Do you think I'm heading the right way, like, kind of just use that person to kind of be my soundboard. But yeah, I don't have an official mentor,

Claudia Miller:

ya know, and I'm glad that you brought that up, too, because it kind of mentioned not only your mentor doesn't always have to be like, Hey, this is, you know, X person, they're my mentor. It's just many things out there. Like you read blogs, you find out like what's happening, who are these leaders, and, you know, I found a lot of that information as well for myself. And I feel like, even when they say you're the average of your five closest friends, sometimes when you're spending a lot of time listening to someone, or reading their blogs like that I would consider to be one of your five closest friends, even though it's not a tangible person that you're having a conversation with, it's you're getting to learn their perspective and their insights. Or they might have years of experience and you're just reading a book or watching a video or something. And you can extract a lot of information just through that you don't necessarily need to have a person to talk to.

Berenice Alvarez:

Exactly.

Claudia Miller:

Well, great, you know, so tell me a little bit more of based on everything that you know, what we've talked about? What are some great stories or case studies that have people that you've worked with, or you have advocated for? So like, for example, like maybe you see some of your employees? And you're like, I'm just surprised about how many of them don't even negotiate their salary? Or they question themselves so much. And I know they can do it, they've already done it before. But when I put them on the spotlight, they just freeze like, can you tell me a little bit more about that? Because there might be some of our listeners out there that might be on the other side of that seat might say, I don't want to negotiate because I'm going to sound greedy, or I don't know if I'm good enough, you know, that imposter syndrome happening?

Berenice Alvarez:

Yeah, no, that's, I love that. Because I remember that, you know, one of the big things about your career is your negotiated your salary significantly by asking for it. And so, that is something that, you know, as someone who, I guess, hires a lot of people, I'm shocked by how many people don't negotiate because, you know, like, there's usually wiggle room in, you know, a lot of these salary or hiring processes, because I think once you get to a point where you're being offered something, it's because that company or firm has already spent a ton of resources in the recruitment and the interviewing and so you're basically if you're getting offer, like you're the best candidate. So, you know, I think for sometimes for hiring managers, they don't want to go back and redo the process. So they're willing to, you know, give you a little bit more wiggle room. So that's my little like insight into hiring. But, you know, I didn't negotiate my first job because I didn't know that was a thing, because no one ever taught me to do that. And then, like, try it for my second role. And I was like, put on my big girl pants. And I was like, I'm gonna negotiate, but I was like, super nervous. And they said, No. And I was like, Okay, I'll take whatever you offered me, you know. And then later on, I realized that I was at the bottom of the range for that position, you know, so I was kind of like, oh, there was definitely wiggle room. So you know, for some of my latest careers, I've definitely negotiated, I think, you really have to believe in your skills and your value, so that you're comfortable asking, and you need to do your research as to what people in that position get paid. So I would definitely recommend that I think practicing when you're going into, you know, the conversation, whether it's, you know, for a new job, or your it's like your review, it's always more comfortable to practice with someone so you don't feel so awkward kind of talking about money. So that would be you know, kind of like some pointers, but I actually forgot what your original question was, I love this topic. Because like, yeah, people

Claudia Miller:

don't do it. No, I was just asking, like, you know, have you seen, like, some interesting insights of like, where people are not negotiating your salary? Like you mentioned today, you're shocked, I was chatting to help people, like people have a range, and nobody wants to go with their second option. You've so many time resources, and there's a reason why they're getting the job offer. Because you've you know, as you know, hiring manager like this is the person that would do the best job? No, I don't want to go with my second option, I rather have you. So it's important for people to recognize that because I get asked, well, how do I know I'm in the position to negotiate? Well, if you're employed and have a job offer, you're in the right position, like, yeah, here's value that you're bringing.

Berenice Alvarez:

And it's not just about money, like your salary, you can negotiate, you know, your time off, you know, you're up to your vacation days, you know, you could negotiate your work schedule, like, do you want to have flex time? Or do you want to have like, you know, your nine to five, like, there's so many health benefits, like, there's so much that goes into negotiation? And so someone once told me, you don't get what you don't ask for? Because no one can read your mind. Right? It's like, you have to ask, and the worst thing that they're gonna say is no, and it's staying sometimes. But like you asked, and I think most time people are more willing to, you know, to try to work with you and accommodate, maybe you don't get what you're asking for, but they meet somewhere in the middle. So it's uncomfortable, but I think you'd be happier for asking and knowing what the answer is, and wondering, could have negotiated a little bit higher.

Claudia Miller:

Yeah, I was reading a stat that and don't quote me, it's around this number. But it's like 79, or 80% of people that ask for a raise, typically get a raise, but also the people that you know, get the raises and get that salary they want, they have higher employee satisfaction. So not only are you getting the job and you're happier, but also you become a more productive employee, because you're satisfied with the salary they offered you I actually talked to an HR person where they said, I used to when I was a young HR person, hiring people, I tried to like lowball them and give them like a lower salary because I thought that was going to make me a great HR person, I save this company this much money. In the end, I ended up costing the company more money, because those employees ended up quitting after a few months or a year, and they left because they felt they were being underpaid. So it's in your best interest to ask for that salary you're looking for because not only will you be happy, but the company is going to be happy. So you know, there are people that are going to be trying to lowball you but always know that, for most cases are never offer you over the salary range, it's usually between that number. And I actually have two cases where a client, they told her, they can only pay her actually, this recent client just got a job offer two days ago, and I told her the job was only going to pay up to 145. That was a maximum, they offered her 150. Her She was previously making 105. So even when they give you a salary, or you see a salary range in the job posting, never believe it, they're still trying to add a cushion and a wiggle room in there. And if they really want you, they're happy to do it, I'm sure an extra 10 15,000 They probably spend more on like utilities, or like toilet paper, or maybe not so much right now. But

Berenice Alvarez:

recruitment alone is expensive, you know, and so, yeah, I think there's always wiggle room and especially if you work, you know, at a place where like a smaller place, sometimes it's easier to talk directly to, you know, the person you'd be working with, or, you know, the president of the company, because I think sometimes the HR, they don't always understand the values, you know, so they, they have, you know, the salary that they were given and that's it. So sometimes it always helps to talk to the person or the team that you'd be working with because I think sometimes they can advocate for you to you know, if you need different salary requests. arguments. So I, I suggest that as well.

Claudia Miller:

Yeah. And I also want to bring back to your point that you said I thought was very important is there's just so much to negotiate besides your salary, especially for some people that look to work for a non for profit, or a very smaller company where maybe they can't give you that salary. But maybe they can pay, I actually had a client where they paid their Lean Six Sigma, Black Belt, and that's a $10,000 certification, they're happy to do because the company gets to put that as a tax write off, and you're happy because you get that $10,000 certification. So you can get creative on how or what you can do to really, you know, that's $10,000, that person no longer has to pay out of their pocket, because their company's paying for it. And everyone wins in those situations. So look at other benefits. And, you know, I'm glad we had this conversation. So what I'll do now is, I'll actually have a list of 37 benefits, you can negotiate besides your salary. So for people that are out there that don't necessarily know what that list is. I'll have it posted in the on the website. Yeah, there's so much.

Berenice Alvarez:

So that would be a great resource and tool, I think, for people who have upcoming negotiation conversations, just to see what you're actually where your priorities are. Maybe you realize you're okay with your salary range, but you prefer to have maybe a flex schedule where you work the four days, and you have Friday's off? I don't know. So I think there's definitely different ways to explore it.

Claudia Miller:

Yep. And and also, like, if you're a new mom, there's companies out there that pay for the daycare, or they'll put that stipend, and again, the company uses that as a tax write off. Exactly. Daycare is not cheap. I've heard from friends and like, it's how much maybe it's just sort of daycare. So

Berenice Alvarez:

yeah, I try not to think about it, because I'm like, well, to happen, right? So it's an unnecessary expense.

Claudia Miller:

Alright, so no, no, I want to talk a little bit more. And lastly is, you know, if what are some three things or tips you want to share with other ambitious women out there that are looking to accelerate their careers and want to move to the next step, whether they're entry level, or maybe they're in that director position, trying to break into the executive role, you know, what are three things that you recommend for them.

Berenice Alvarez:

So I think, for you, it's not even just professionally, but for you to be where you want to be or get where you want to get, you have to know what that is. So you have to define what your path is, you know, do your one year five year tenure goals, even if it's like, your tenure is kind of like a pie in the sky idea. But it's like you have to be guided somewhere, you can't just not have any idea what you're doing, because you're gonna be all over the place. Maybe not get to where you want to be. So, you know, when I was starting, I always knew I wanted to be in like, public service or public relations, I didn't know what that was going to look like, I didn't know I was going to be, you know, doing operations to. But so I like I knew I needed to be something in policy. So that's kind of how I got my foot in the door, because I took that internship in Springfield, just because it aligned with what my longer term goal was. And so even now, in this career, like I still set, you know, those like, one year, five year and 10, year, even like 20 year goals for myself, because I want to make sure that I stay on my path. And if I start to deviate, it has to be for a good reason why I'm deviating right, and without a plan, I'm kind of like steering the ship without, like any direction. So that would be one of my tips. I think relationship building goes a long, long way. Whether that's like building you know, friendships or relationships with people in your industry, or, you know, your, wherever your social professional kind of groups, you never know what those relationships are going to where they're going to lead. I have so many people in life who I met very early on in my career, and it was just, you know, acquaintance, casual conversations. And I've either ended up like, working indirectly with them, or working for them, or someone has connected me to someone, or they're just like good friends. And I'm like, oh, like, it's hard to make friends after, you know, after college. But now they're like my professional work friends. So building relationships, it's hard to do sometimes it's not always like fun to go into a networking event, not knowing anyone, but I've kind of like learned just how important that is. And so I would recommend that for anyone, not just starting, but also like if you're mid level senior level, that's like, I think super important for you to build those relationships. My third tip, I think we kind of already talked about it, but it's making sure that you advocate for yourself. I think, you know, I have a really strong support system, from my family to you know, my husband to my friends, we all do very different things. No one even knows what I do. They're like, what you communicate like, what do you do like, but they're always like, so proud of, you know, my accomplishments and rooting for me and you know, likewise with them, but I think at the end of the day, I'm still my biggest cheerleader, because everyone's focused on what they want to do you know, but like I'm the one that has I live up to my own expectations. So I always try to advocate for myself when it comes to promotions or getting more responsibility or, you know, trying new things. So that's, you know, I think you have to kind of be your own fan. If you you know, if you want to move ahead and be proud of the work that you do.

Claudia Miller:

Now, that's amazing. Thanks for that. I love that. We have to I think you said something like we have to meet our own expectations. Yeah, that's really good. Well, thanks so much for these. It was such a great having you on the show. And even towards relationships. You never know anyone because we met in college. And here, you're on the podcast.

Berenice Alvarez:

I was trying to think I'm like, how do we meet? Because I don't? I mean, I think we were both part of like sororities and fraternities. But I'm like, I don't know if we had a class together. But like, here we are, you know, 10 years later, and five years or two years? Yeah. It's awesome. You just you don't know this, like how people will come back in your life. Actually. Funny story. My husband, the first class I took at UIC, he was in my English class, and we just like knew each other because we were like the two Latinos in the class. And then like, we never really kind of like hung out or anything through college. And it was after college, many years later that we like, reconnected, I'm like, oh, like, I would have never thought that you'd be ended up. But like,

Claudia Miller:

I've met my husband, and so how many years ago?

Berenice Alvarez:

So it's just like, it's interesting. You just, you really have to kind of be open to meeting people and building relationships.

Claudia Miller:

No, I definitely loved I feel like that's honestly been the theme. I've already, you know, interviewed a few executives, and every single one of them, including you says, I owe it to where I am today. Because of the network connection, somebody on and I had a conversation with, five years later, they were my boss. And now I'm like the executive, or CFO. So always you never know, it's it truly is a small world and be open to having those connections and getting to know one another. Because who knows that might be your next, either husband, or a spouse or a partner, or it can also be your next boss or a person that's advocating for you and helping you accelerating your career.

Berenice Alvarez:

Yeah. And I think, you know, for people who are like, What do I say to people, you know, like, through LinkedIn, or at an event, it's like, well, now we all have the pandemic is like this, like shared experience, everyone has a lot to say about it, because everyone lives their own, you know, is living their own kind of personal journey through it. So there's your talking point, like, use that as kind of an opening. And, you know, you never know where that conversation is gonna lead.

Claudia Miller:

Yeah, and like to that point, like, you can all you can reach out to LinkedIn. And let's just say if I was trying to reach out to you, Bernie, so say, hey, Rooney's you know, by the way, I heard you on the podcast, I thought it was really great. I'm actually interested in public relations. And I know that's one of your callings in your passion. I would love to get on a quick call with you. I know Zoom is a little bit you might be zoomed out at this point. Haha. We got a quick 2030 minute call just so I can get some of your insights or expertise and how, you know, I can maybe pivot into this new industry. I'd be happy to send you my questions over because I understand you're busy. And you're a mom as well. Let me know you know what time works day for you. Or if you want me to send over those questions, if you want. I look forward to hearing from you. Exactly. And that is that. Well, thanks again, Bernice, for coming on the podcast. Is there anything I can help you with? Or, you know, can people reach out to you if they like?

Berenice Alvarez:

Oh, yeah, absolutely. So I think I shared my LinkedIn information, happy to talk about anything. So you know, sometimes I'm a little slow on responding, but I will respond eventually. So I appreciate you having me on here. I look forward to hearing some of the other podcasts and learning from other women too.

Claudia Miller:

Yeah, of course. We'll have a great rest of the day. Bernice, you too. Thanks for listening in. If you liked this episode, you can go to our website roadmap to the executive suite.com For show notes and sign up to get alerts. All new episodes will be posted every Thursday. Talk to you next week.