My journey to Mujeres camino al éxito

Photo: Chary and I strike a pose at the 'Mujer Latina Un Dia Para Ti' event last year.

After grad school I moved to NYC where I embarked on what I hoped would be a short job search. I wasn’t sure what I was looking for so went on many exploratory interviews with companies from various industries. I was pretty much on my own crossing this huge ocean of options hoping I’d anchor at the right port. It was pretty tricky and landing the ‘dream job’ proved more challenging than I thought.

I used to wish I’d had a community of peers and mentors that I could have exchanged job search tips with, learned a bit about various industries, what’s in a job title? where do I go to network? how do I negotiate my salary? Well, you get the idea.

After more than two dozen interviews and at least that many temp jobs my journey landed me at the doorstep of top agency Young & Rubicam in their Hispanic practice agency The Bravo Group. The next phase of my life had begun, my career in advertising/public relations, where I had some amazing experiences, a few trip ups and more learning than all my years of college combined. I’ve since worked with many clients (Chase, the old AT&T, CVS, Suave and the “got milk?” campaign among others) and top-notch people.

In 2004 I had the opportunity to share my experience through my community work with a partnership with Women in Community Service in Miami. Then director Carmen Bernal and I joined forces to bring workshops on various topics to Latinas from dressing for success to tips on interviewing for a job. They were such a big success that I began writing a column to reach a broader audience. The column ran in Tiempos del Mundo (Miami) and then La Raza (Chicago). I’ve also written for Siempre Mujer magazine.

Mujeres camino al éxito grew from there as the resource I wish I’d had throughout my career. A place to learn about other Latinas who are launching companies, careers, or pursuing their passion and in doing so are overcoming challenges and defining what success is to each and every one. This is a forum, a white page if you will, where we all write bits of our story in hopes it helps guide another woman’s journey.

In addition to heading up this endeavor I am an editor in the corporate communications division of a large health and beauty company.

I’m also a committee member for the March of Dimes ‘Mujer Latina, Un Dia Para Ti” in Chicago. I was born in Acapulco, Mexico.