We recently connected with Betsy Cohen and have shared our conversation below.
Betsy, thank you so much for joining us. You are such a positive person and it’s something we really admire and so we wanted to start by asking you where you think your optimism comes from?
I believe the USA can be a better place for all of us. As one of the first women who rose in corporate America, I saw the value that bringing that new talent source created for the business community and for my personal well-being. Now, working with international talent and New Americans, I see how the US can be better for all of us if we find ways to use their talents and welcome them into our communities. I saw my mother, a single mom of three after our dad passed away when we were young, rise to the need to support our family. And I see the resilience of international people who come to the US, regardless of whether it is through a corporate move or due to a humanitarian crisis. They all face new challenges of culture, language, work skills, getting children settled in a new country, and their own mental fortitude. I see their struggles as we and others in our community help them to acclimate and succeed over time. This gives me continued optimism
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I lead the St. Louis Mosaic Project, a program of the non-profit World Trade Center-St. Louis. I was an exchange student to France in high school and loved working with international people in my corporate career. This led to my work leading the St. Louis Mosaic Project. Our goal is to have St. Louis be the fastest growing major metro for foreign-born people, to add population, skills and culture to our community. After having a long corporate career for the world’s largest food company where I was the first woman Vice President of Marketing of an operating division, I had a chance to take my business skills, my marketing skills, my knowledge of our community and my love of international experiences into a new role to make a civic impact. This is so exciting because our region has had success welcoming many different nationalities over the years, from Vietnamese in the 1970’s to Bosnians in the 1990’s and recently with many Afghan people. In addition, through refugee programs and corporate moves, we have people coming from all over the globe to add to our region’s strength. It is very rewarding to work with companies relocating international talent, the international students at our 16 universities, the families who bring other family members and refugees. Something new is that the St. Louis region’s annual global conference in September 2024, Growing Global, will for the first time focus on Global Talent-Local Impact, including the work of the St. Louis Mosaic Project, the International Institute of St. Louis and refugee resettlement and work, our international mentoring programs and our international student support for career possibilities in the region.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Three skills that impacted my journey were ambition, openness to new opportunities and breaking boundaries. I always looked ahead to what bigger programs or experiences I could apply to obtain, and leveraged different people I knew who could help me. And now, I help many others become aware of new opportunities and I find ways to support them to get selected to attend or be recognized. I want those from historically underrepresented groups or international people to see that they need to put themselves forward so that they can gain new skills AND that those who provide opportunities need to see these individuals in the applicant pool so they can be considered. My advice is that you seek mentors and make specific asks of them. Ask them to nominate you for an award or recognition that you deserve, ask them to bring you to an event they are attending, ask them to keep you in mind for regional task forces or projects that can expand your networks and skills, plus grow your regional reputation as a successful “go-to” person. Do not be humble to a fault- be proud of what you can contribute going forward and seek to be at the tables where decisions are made. Sometimes mentees are surprised to learn that other people ask to be nominated for opportunities or awards, as they had not seen how that happens. If you do ask someone to nominate you for an opportunity or to be a reference, please provide them with the needed info about the opportunity and write for them the three reasons you are a good candidate so they can do you justice in their own remarks.
Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?
The book that has played an important role in my development has been the book I wrote, “Welcome to the U.S.A.-You’re Hired! A Guide for Foreign-Born People Seeking Jobs”. This took me out of my comfort zone as I had never considered becoming an author, but many of those who read my career advice on LinkedIn asked me to put my advice into a book. This book and now platform of advice for international people on their career journey has elevated my influence and given me new opportunities to help more people nationally and internationally. This developed me as someone who can help and mentor more people than I had thought possible. And recently I added to my website https://www.WelcomeYouAreHired.com with an eBook about the newest hiring trends in 2024 and other resources. My nugget of wisdom is that in today’s online and digital environment you can share your own knowledge more broadly than you might imagine- you can write a short eBook about a topic you care about and make it available via pdf or another format to the world! You can gain feedback and knowledge from other experts or those who need your knowledge. This makes you a continual learner and someone who can leverage the newest technologies to make further impact in the world.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.WelcomeYouAreHired.com
- Linkedin:linkedIn.com/in/betsyhcohen
