Hey there love! My name is Mercedes Swan, the Career Love Coach, and my passion is providing career coaching for Black Women! 

Through the years I've helped countless Black women make the pivot into their passion-driven dream jobs and get exactly what they want out of their careers. 

I know it's so important for Black Women to get career advice from another Black Woman because we often face different barriers, different standards, and different rules to advancing our careers. 

So today I wanted to share a little bit more about me, my journey, why I do what I do, and why it's so important for Black women to work with another Black Career Coach in a Q&A blog post!

These Q&A questions are based on common questions I get from my community, clients and mentees so let's get into it!  

What is your career path and how did you get there?

There is a whole video sharing how I launched and grew my HR career but to put it briefly, I was pursuing my bachelor's degree in Psychology and my master's degree in Management with a concentration in HR. I landed an HR internship with a fabulous boss and quickly advanced to an HR Assistant and then an HR Coordinator. When the company culture changed I was ready to shift to a new career path and I landed an amazing job with my Alma Mater working as an Executive Recruiter/Consultant. About a year into that role, my manager left and was really supportive of me advancing into the role. That's when I became the manager leading a team of recruiters! 

While I was in that role I fell in love with DEI work, and made my career pivot in April 2023 to become a Diversity Manager! I'm LOVING it and I wouldn't change my career path for anything! 

How did you start Career Coaching Black Women?

Not me having another video addressing this. I launched my business in 2018 primarily to serve Millennial Professionals, but the ENTIRE time I was coaching 95% Black women. I have a specific memory of hiring a recruiter to take on some of the work I was doing because the company was growing so much. We interviewed a very established Black Woman who was a supervisor and had a great track record. Unfortunately, she interviewed terribly and didn't really package her skills. It wasn't just that interaction but hundreds of resumes, interviews, and other interactions with talent that just missed the mark. 

I felt that job seekers didn't really have the tools, resources, and coaching to be successful. So I launched my coaching business aimed at helping Millennials. After the murder of George Floyd I changed my business to serve Black professionals and last year I changed my business to serve Black Women.

It's the happiest and most successful I've ever been in my business and I'm blessed to say I found my calling. 

Why is career coaching particularly important for Black women?

I mentioned at the beginning of this blog that Black Women face so many challenges that others just don't have to deal with. As Black women, we have to be so careful about how we move. One bad manager, one bad job, one bad move, and our career could take years to rebuild. 

The world doesn't set us up for success and we really need guidance from other Black women about how the workplace works for Black women. On top of that, our support systems often don't give us the support we need in the workplace. We aren't taught how to advocate for ourselves, we aren't taught professional branding, and we aren't taught the strategy behind job searching. 

So, I think in order to have a long-term successful career Black women really need that guidance, coaching, and mentoring. 

Can you highlight a success story of a Black woman you've coached and the role coaching played?

So I am writing these on the fly and I didn't reach out for permission, but I'll tell you my favorite story of my favorite client - anonymously. But my favorite client who I now call a friend came to me really traumatized from her career. She is amazing at what she does. When I tell you TRANSFORMS the organizations she works for... I mean she is just the best who ever did it.

Despite that, she had been fired from every job she ever had. She dealt with bosses who were threatened by her and would throw her under the bus. She had been passed over for promotions when she was already doing the job, and she had been locked out of career advancement due to her really bad interviewing. And she'll tell you that. lol. 

Before she was working with me, she was unsure if she'd be able to advance to the next level in her career because of her career history.

But babeeeee! She signed up for my full career coaching package. She learned how to brand herself, she learned how to write a fire resume and she learned how to interview with confidence! And she transitioned into her dream job in less than 90 days after enrolling.

Every time I connect with her, I think about the growth she's had over the last few years and how much impact she's had in the lives of those who get to experience the impact of her work.

That's the stuff that just lights me up! I LOVE seeing those stories, and I get to see a lot of them! 

What strategies do you recommend for skill development and career growth?

This is such a broad question, and to be honest I hate it. It's not really the question itself I hate, but it's hard to answer this question without more information. We each have a unique range of experience, knowledge, and skill sets, and that really impacts where and how we should grow.

We also ALL have very different career trajectories as well! So my honest feedback is to conduct a gap analysis to identify a few things:

• Where do you want to go?
• What does it take to get there?
• What do you need to do and learn to make it happen?

Here's a really great YouTube video about this: https://youtu.be/Twzg6AZmoJw 

How can Black women overcome imposter syndrome and self-doubt in the workplace?

Oh! Don't get me STARTED! Imposter Syndrome is a myth... and I recorded a whole damn video on this. Imposter Syndrome is what Black women experience when they have been MADE to feel like they are not enough or that they do not belong. Black women have been conditioned to stay small, doubt themselves, and ensure others are comfortable around us. 

Now self-doubt STILL happens... and that is what I will address, but I will not be telling Black women to fix something that is being done to them. 

OKAY! Rant over. The way to overcome self-doubt and lack of confidence is to find evidence of your experience. If you feel like you can't handle big projects, think about times when you've been successful at managing projects or performing big duties.

Like most of the time you've done this and are letting your fear and anxiety lie to you. You got this!

What distinguishes a coach who is a Black Woman from those who are not?

I think we should work with the career coach that resonates and speaks to us the best. It's the most important criteria for success. But I think there are certain experiences that only other Black women can truly understand. 

The way we have to show up at work, the dynamics we have to navigate, and the experience we have is different.

Sadly, the career growth, development, and pivoting strategies that work for white men and women and even other minorities just don't pan out well for Black Women. 

We play with different rules and we need a coach who understands that and speaks the same language. 

PLUS - two Black women in a room is a WHOLE vibe! 

What advice would you give to young Black women who are just starting their careers?

 I think three things:

1. Don't settle: I speak with so many older Black women who put their dream careers on pause because it wasn't the right time, they couldn't get their foot in the door, there were distractions, and everything in between. It's easier to do it now and really see the long term impact on being in alignment.
2. Start with Clarity: One of the biggest things that can destroy your ability to build your dream career and your confidence is not having clarity. I say that because if you are chasing something that is not really your dream or your passion, you will face barriers, rejections, and setbacks. It's like the universe telling you you're going the wrong way. Then you feel like you're not enough when really you have everything you need for going the right way. When you're going the right way... it's not easy, but those roadblocks just disappear. Get clear about who you want to be and what you want to do in this life. 
3. Put yourself first: Don't let these toxic ain't worth 💩 employers gaslight you, demean you, and control you. I've seen so many Black women (including myself) stay at a job that was no longer serving their best selves. If a company isn't doing right by you just leave. Every day you stay WILL impact your self-worth, self-esteem, and self-confidence. 

Reflections from a Career Coach for Black Women 

Wow, that was a lot! I did NOT think this blog was going to take so much time and effort to write but I'm glad I did it. 

I have been really feeling like sharing more about myself, me journey and my passion is an important part of showing up for Black women online. 

The other day I was reminded of a definitive story in my life and it inspired me to write this blog. So I'll share it below. 

"l was told that I wasn't enough because I didn't respect men and because I was raised by a "single mom" for most of my life.

Of course... I was told that by a man that I thought I could trust.
Today I can laugh at the irony, but I would be lying if I didn't say those words didn't stick with me.

I was a young girl doing all the right things: going to church, getting good grades, volunteering, being kind, and loving.

But somehow I was still defined by my proximity to men or rather the lack thereof.

Since then the quote "The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do" by Walter Bagehot has been an integral part of how I show up and do what I do (the irony of this quote coming from a man is not lost on me)

We LIVE in a world where Black Women are valued for their proximity to whiteness and men.
Bold statements like the ones I heard during my formative years AND the ones left on my social media channels... ARE the reason I show up for Black Women as a Career Coach!

We should never have to conform to white standards of professionalism to be respected and valued in the workplace.

We should never have to adhere to gender norms to advance our careers.

We should never have to settle for less pay because of racism and misogyny.

But often we do AND that's why we aren't going to continue gaslighting Black Women into believing we are anything less in the workplace.

Not as long as I'm breathing.

And if that means I don't respect men so be it - but it has to end.

I'm empowering Black women to do EVERYTHING that they've ever been told that they can't.