Ep 316: Work Should Give You Wings, Not Shackles! ft. Drew McCaskill

spans runs the gamut. He most recently was leading d and I Diversity and Inclusion strategy for the global sales, marketing and public Affairs function at Facebook M I've heard of it, and US consumer marketing and global communications at Nilsen, where he also led communications for Nielsen China. And he was named one of PR Week's Top forty under forty PR executives and co authored y'all co authored the award winning Diverse Intelligence series on the economic and cultural impact

of multi cultural consumers. So, without further ado, welcome to the show, Drew.

That's sort of like what I've always done, even at Serious I was culture and economics contributor at Serious XM. My strong opinion is that women and people of color need to all of us should have a LinkedIn platfor profile. I don't just say that because I work at the company.

I thought that beforehand, but now I definitely realize that every ten seconds somebody gets a job on LinkedIn, and there's a lot of opportunity for information sharing, and I truly believe that the people perish for lack of information, and when the information is there and free and all you have to do is use the tool. I'm like, Yo,

that's us, Let's get on it. Because I think about Twitter, right like, African Americans in particular, let's talk about black folks for a second, make up fourteen percent of the population, but we make up about twenty eight percent of active conversations on Twitter. Imagine if we over indexed on a technology tool and platform that was literally created to connect people to economic opportunity. What that could look like. What if we over indexed in a place where everybody is

having conversations about economic opportunity, about getting the bag. That's a whole different way of using your time online. And part of what I do as a career expert is to, you know, I feel like sometimes having a person who looks like you, who comes from your community, who sounds like you, who talks like you, giving you that information, it will oftentimes make people say, oh, Okay, I can

trust this voice. I mean I had I feel like I've built some credibility long before I came to LinkedIn, and I think, you know, the mission is good enough for me to leverage that credibility to help people understand the opportunity that it's out there.

twenty I didn't realize that stat. That's just you know, black Twitter is so strong. We all know that, but I didn't know there was the stat behind it.

felt like, oh, I don't think it's for me. Actually it is. So I'm having conversations in our community about how to use the tool, how to make it less daunting, right, how to find information that is that's germane to you and your experience, and a lot of the things that we did, Like we just spent all of February and March doing specific content around entrepreneur black entrepreneurs. Right, black folks are black all twelve months, not just February, shout

out to that. And so in the entire month of March, we highlighted and profiled black women entrepreneurs and them telling their stories and how they found how they found community as well as opportunity on the platform. And the more that you sort of have those conversations and amplify those conversations, the more when people come to the platform they start

to see content that looks familiar. Right, But we also wanted to be incredibly useful, and that's a journey, and it's a journey that I'm excited to be a part of the leadership on so that people do feel more

they do feel more connected to the platform. But we got a lot of work to do and in terms of that, and you know, there's a lot of investment going into that, but it's also around you know, I think sometimes career conversations can feel like medicine, right, and you know, if you've got you know, a sugary snack over here and a little bit of medicine over here, like that sugary you know, Twitter snack.

Be really keen about what your superpower is and talk about your skills and your experience, right, and why what people need to know about you as a professional. That's really really important. Use keywords that are that are really germane to the work that you do, right, and talk about your skills. Skills, skills, skills. That's how people find you is based on skills. Skills are the key to

the algorithm. I will say in addition to that, if you're an entrepreneur, say what you're looking for and figure out who what groups there are that you can join on the platform. There are lots of groups for entrepreneurs. If you're an entrepreneur in finance, join the finance groups. If you're an entrepreneur and you have a service or

a business, do all of those things. If you're if you're a professional looking for a traditional job and you're actively looking for work, there are a couple of tools. One that I think is absolutely amazing and it is called job Alerts. Job Alerts allows you to look for a job while you're eating, sleeping, working at your current job.

Because you set up a profile of the types of jobs that you want, the geographies that you're looking at, companies that you would like to work for, and as soon as a job posts on our platform, and there are millions of jobs that post on our platform globally, every day, you get an alert in your email that says, hey, a job that matches your profile that you set up just opened up. Here's how you can now go and

apply for it. And I would say engage. Engage in terms of finding the people on the platform that are part of your community and even people that you want to be a part of your community, particularly if you're an entrepreneur. I think LinkedIn is a great way for you to engage with your network, with people who are talking about and about the business that you also are about, and using the platform as a networking tool is incredibly important.

So if you are if you are a person who's in that sort of phase of I'm I'm working, but I'm also an entrepreneur at the same time as many of as many folks are in sit in both of those categories. Having a service page in addition to your LinkedIn profile page that talks about this is my business, this is my other business that I do, I'm a freelance writer, or I'm you know, I'm on the speaker circuit, and have that connected to your to your profile page

as well. That says that that makes it easy for people to search for you if they're looking for somebody with your skill or somebody who does what you do right. Also if you're looking for if you are a person who's looking for a job, LinkedIn has a feature called open to Work you can turn on.

Like we know that that it can be a little daunting, but opportunity at LinkedIn dot com also helps you look at these are the top jobs that people are looking for right now. This is the way that you can write a really cool bio in that top part right there that uses the keywords to help people find you.

to get like freaked out. I mean, the job's report just came out Friday. It's still really strong. It's a little bit under what we saw in May, but still really strong. And an unemployment it's still so low. But you must be getting the same kind of questions I get from my coaching clients, which is, you know, do I need to change my Do I need to try to find a job quicker than I thought? Is it going to be really tough to find a job in

six months? So for job seekers who are maybe a little bit anxious about what's happening in the economy, what what would you say to them about their hopes for finding a better opportunity.

real about it. I think that there's going to be some contraction in the market, and that's you know, that's my opinion, not as an economist, but as somebody who reads the paper every day, and I think for job seekers, one of the things that you have to do is get really clear about what it is that you want to do and why is it. Is this the right time for you to make that move? What are you

looking for in a new opportunity. You also have to think, I've got to now really investigate these companies before I before I leave the job where I am today and go work for somewhere new, and I've got to really get a good idea of what I'm getting myself into. I think what we saw a lot in the what we call the Great Reshuffle, others call the Great Resignation, is that there was some there was some resignation regret

on a lot of folks. A lot of people boomerang back to their old jobs if they were if those jobs were still available, because they looked at that number, and they looked at the prospect that they're looked around all of their friends were changing jobs, and they thinking, Okay, well the block is hot, let me go out and

get this additional bag without thinking about the culture. And so what I would say to job seekers is you've got to be really clear about what it is that you want from work, why you want it, and what your expectations are, so that when if you do make the decide to make that move, you know the right questions to ask. And you need to be asking companies just as many questions as they're asking you in the interview process. Are there people in leadership who look like me?

You know? You know who? Do I know who works there? Right? Is there someone who works there who has a life experience similar to mine? Let me reach out to them and ask them and ask them about their experience working there, Like you have to investigate the companies that you're going to go work for just as much as they're thinking about you and googling you and all of those things. And so culture matters. The other thing I would say

is it's still very much an employee marketplace. But I do think that folks have to we'll see that contraction. And so now it is making that decision. Do I am I looking for more flexibility? Am I looking for more money? Am I looking for a different a different role altogether or in a different industry altogether? How and is there an opportunity for me to make those moves internally? Because a lot of what companies are saying right now is my next employee may be my current employee, just

in a different role inside of this organization. A lot of people leave great companies because they got shitty managers, right, and so there may be an opportunity to think through how do I move on from this particular role and still stay with this company if there's an opportunity in other places that in that in that world you have not because you ask not. We have to get really, really confident in the fact that there's so many more things that are negotiable now than they've ever been before.

Employees have more voice and more choice than they've literally ever had before. There are more platforms for folks to be vocal about their work experience, and their lived experience, and companies are being a lot more mindful of that now than they've ever been, and they're taking on and they're taking on a lot more empathy and care than they've had than they've done before, because now they literally have to.

you care about black people? All of a sudden, everybody was like scr.

And I said, because you're not the only financial brand. I mean, I'm beating financial brands off with a stick. I said, they just camped out, you know, in front of my my budgeteste to port. You know, they don't even care that I'm working with there, and you know, with the whomever. They're like, we'll go next. And I'm like, but why, And then of course it was like the answer was something to the effect of, like, oh, because of the racial reckoning, you know, we want to do better.

I said, let's be real, what is the financial benefit for helping black and brown people? Because you're a company, you're not I mean you you know, y'all been down bad, so like like for real, and so if you know, for folks who are like making decisions now about what company to work for, what are some things that they should be looking at as it relates to modern challenges that that that companies have to have to account for.

in the world between Spain and Mexico. Is Black America, right, And so when you put that into context, that's companies are like, oh wait, well what wa wait a minute, And black folks, particularly led by black women, are demanding more of the people that we spend our money with. That's just point blank period, right. I think that companies are reckoning with the fact that there's an empathy gap out there. People are disillusioned with church, they're disillusioned with government.

They've been disappointed with all of these organizations and entities that have had such huge impacts on their lives, and they're thinking that the one place where I have some

modicum of influence is now work. And companies are having to get religion around the fact that people are expecting them, employees and consumers are expecting them to have some sort of you know, moral impact, right to be moral actors, and that's so new for most companies, and you're now seeing companies like figuring it out right, Like you see a lot of companies that are saying, Okay, row has happened. What can we do for the women at our company? Right?

We can't change the laws in the world, but what can we do for our folks. Well, what we can do is that if you need a reproductive health benefit that you can't get in your state, we're gonna pay for your travel so that you can get that benefit and still be able. And we're gonna look out for you. We're gonna look out for you. Right, you're seeing companies now say, wait a minute. Black folks have you know, thirty plus percent more student loan debt than their non

Hispanic white counterparts. It takes them a decade longer to pay it off. Okay, we can't do anything about whether or not the government is going to is going to write off student loan debt. But for our folks, we're going to create a student loan debt relief program for our people when you come work here, right, or we're going to bring in the budgetista to talk to our employee resource groups about how to actively pay off student loan debt or how to use company benefits to do

those things and do those things effectively. And so if you're a prospective employee, the first thing you got to do when I talk about researching companies is in those interview processes, ask hill, can you give me an idea of what your black employee resource group does? Or can you give me an idea of what your pride employee resource does. If it's just parties and potlucks, then that might not be That might not be what you need, right.

You might need something bigger than parties and potlucks. And shout out to the parties and the potlucks because they breed culture. But you also have to think about how does this benefit me? Right? Are there people in leadership who look like me? I've always said that if the senior most person in your organization of color in your organization is the person, then you probably have a D and I problem. Right, So you need to look across and see are there people who are who are in

management and leadership who look like me? Talk to somebody who else used to work there or who works there currently, what is your experience like we have to do peer to peer mentorship and peer to peer information sharing as people of color primarily much more so than any other group because our experience is so differentiated when it comes

to when it comes to being at work. I say the same thing with people who are part of the queer community and the LGBTQ plus community, is that the questions that we have to ask are different, right, and what is your commitment to diversity and inclusion? You can ask that question. Are there any other people of color who are going to be on my team? You can

ask that question. If those questions make the people that you're talking to at work uncomfortable, it may be an uncomfortable environment for you once you get there, right, Like, lean into the discom for in the beginning so that you won't have to sit there and be uncomfortable for the next eighteen months while you're looking for a new job.

ever had before. And I think that a lot of it is around being able to say. I think that we've been conditioned to just stay in the pocket, don't ask too and don't ask any questions, don't do this, just be happy to be here, and that's it. And I think that that, particularly for younger professionals, that's not good enough. Anymore. It is perfectly okay to say this is good, but I think we can do better. That is okay to say in this world that this is good,

but I think that we can do better. That's for your career as well as for just how you move through the companies in the spaces where you're where you're working.

opportunity and you can. There are places that exist where Adrian McCaskill can be, you know, an executive and a budget neist to can be getting these checks for all the monies, you know what I mean? Like, those places do exist. Maybe they're harder to find, but they are out there, you know.

to that. If you're in a state that does not provide you with a safe mechanism for not being pregnant anymore, if that's what you's so desired, so we're like, okay, you know, and if you're in that state and you've decided to terminate the pregnancy and you're not able to, well, we will give you money to be able to safely come to a place where you can do so. And so like so don't think like you're listening, you're like, oh, that's all. It's only these big companies. It's like no

small companies can commit, you know. I asked my CFO. I said, how much if everybody said yes, you know, just in case, like, how much can we commix?

And so what I say to people all the time is do not let these jobs steal your edges, your hairline, if your men steal your joy, right like, because there is a place out there where you can go to work, be your authentic self and thrive. You do not have to just stay somewhere and just try and survive, and survival is not optimal. We want you to thrive, right and there are places out there where you can do.

You may have to jump out of that you may have to jump out of that boat right and try something that you've never tried before, or get into a place where you're saying, I'm going to take control of my career and I'm going to use all of the tools in my tool belt to do that. But work is supposed to give you wings, not shackles. The reason why I go so hard around talking to people about their power and their choice and their voice is because

work is supposed to give you wings and not shackles. Right, money is supposed to give you wings and not shackles. That's the biggest piece of this, right. And so the reality is that I don't want we've got to speak abundance into the lives of other people, because I can tell you that at my grown age, many of my peers and I'm in my forties, many of my peers have never had anybody speak abundance over their lives. Professionally. They've told them about lack, They've told them about limitations,

they told them about well, these are the rules. You got to follow this right here, and this is what you got to do, and keep your head down. No, you deserve better than that. You're better and bigger than a job. Right. And so most of what freedom looks like for many of us who are working, and we're all working in some way, shape or form, is figuring out what your mission is, right like, what do you what problems do you want to solve in the world,

what's your superpower, how do you use it? And what's in service to And that sounds lofty, but it makes all of your decisions so much easier about work and your jobs. And I say that plural because previous generations where there was this thing that people just told you, get that good job and don't do anything to make them white folks mad at you. Right, yes, and that is the wrong way to think about any of this. Right,

is your superpowers? Can you can have three or four jobs if you lean into your mission and your superpower, if you lean into just I got to do everything I can to keep this one job. Managers will come and managers will go. Jobs will come and jobs will go. Most of the jobs that half of us have, especially in our twenties and our thirties, our vehicles and not destinations most of us don't need. There are plenty of folks in jobs that they really don't need to just

set up shop and stay at that job forever. That job is probably a vehicle and not a destination, and we've got to do a mindset shift around it. Because there is abundance around us, and that's up and down socioeconomic lines. All that's across the board as it relates to people who are first line, in frontline workers, as well as people who are in corporate environments. There's abundance out there.

that the sky is falling down. If you could just give a piece of advice to our listeners, you know, whether they own a business, whether they are in their careers, like you know, as they move forward, because to your point, there's a lot of people who have not had abundance spoken over them, like one last piece of advice that, you know, to give them that little boost, you know, as they as we navigate, you know, what is likely going to be a recession or whatever else is coming up.

that you want. And the first thing is find your flock. We have this. We've been taught that like there's gonna be that you can get this mentor or a sponsor, and somebody in an ivory tower somewhere is going to come down and anoint you with the knowledge that you need to take the same career path that they took when they were your age fifteen twenty years ago and the world was totally different. Find What I would say is get find your people right, find a community and

network the hell out of it. I my group chat has saved my life so many times. And we as people of color, I think there's a lot of there's a lot of ego and shame tied up around talking about money and talking about compensation. We got to disavow

ourselves of that notion. Find people that you can have real conversations with and you can information share and that you can talk to about and you can say, did they give me all of the interns from Howard because I'm black, or you can say, wait a minute, I don't know how to I don't know how to negotiate for equity. Tell me the SKUs again. What should I be asking for? Is am I asking for enough? All of those things matter. Peer to peer mentorship will save

your life as a person of color. You just got to find the right people who are willing to share information with and you share information back with them. Your network. That information that comes from your network is amazing. Glean into it. Don't let the old rules about not talking about money, or I don't want you to know how much money I make, or I don't know what the only want you to want what my offer was, Let that go. It's not a competition. Community will save you.

The other thing that I would say too is always be in the market. Always be in the market. You know, when you are comfortable, that's the best time to still be looking around to see what your other options and your other opportunities are. Right, that's when you have the most power to shift and to change. Because I will tell you that God will make you so uncomfortable in comfortable situations that you can't help but move and get out of that situation so you can go and be

who he called you to be. And I know that to be a fact. I've lived that myself, and so I would say, always be in the market, Always be understanding what you're figuring out, what your value is in the market. And the last thing I'll say is the last thing that the ref says to the two fighters in the ring before they ring that bell, is protect yourself at all times. And I say that to women, I say that to queer people. I say that to

people of color. Protect yourself at all times, meaning protect your peace, protect your integrity, protect you know, the integrity of your work and your work quality. And don't let these jobs break you. Don't let them break your spirit. Don't let the markets break you. Don't let the things that are going on in the zeitgeist break you. I said this to like about a year ago. I said, White America discovered that racism is real and that June

tenth exists, right. And what I said to my what I said to my black friends and colleagues all the time, is like, you do know that if somebody walks up to you and ask you to explain racism and the history of racism and all of that to them at that particular moment. You don't have to get involved in that, right, Like, there's all of these things that I say about protecting your piece, whether it's at work or in any other place. And that's also like taking a break when you need it,

asking for help when you need it. Like, don't you know, we did a survey around queer professionals and like fifty six percent of them say that that all of the anti gay legislation and the stuff that was happening in government, right, the stuff that was happening around them was giving them was causing them to have mental health issues. That's over half, right, And so we don't have the luxury of not of being able to turn off the world just because we got to get up and go to work at nine

o'clock tomorrow, Right, we don't have that luxury. I still am a black man when I get up and go to work and do all those things, and when I'm driving to work, you know, I also have in the back of my head that one in one thousand black

men will be killed by law enforcement in this country. Right, I still have to go to work and do all the things and So what I say is like, protect yourself at all times, meaning like give yourself space for peace, whatever that means, even if that means looking for a new gig, even if that means taking some time off, even if that means saying, you know, I'm excited that you want to have that conversation. I wish more people outside of the black community were interested in learning. I

applaud you in doing that. I'm just not the right person to help you with it. You know what I'm saying, find your flock, always be in the market, and protect yourself at all times.