Sister Table Talk

The Certified Scrum Master (CSM) online course is a transformative approach for individuals seeking to enhance their project management skills. For women of color, this course offers benefits that can contribute to their career growth and foster leadership empowerment in the workplace. This blog post explores the specific advantages the CSM online course provides women of color, emphasizing the potential for skill acquisition, network expansion, and leadership development. Accessibility and Flexibility - One of the primary benefits of a CSM online course for women of color is the accessibility and flexibility they offer. Many women face unique challenges, like balancing self-care, work, and family; however, online courses allow women to tailor their educational journey to fit their schedules to pursue professional development without sacrificing other essential aspects of their lives. Inclusive Learning Environment - Online CSM courses foster an inclusive learning environm

According to Fortune Magazine , the average Black woman will have finally earned the same amount the average non-Hispanic white man earned a year earlier—eight months later. That’s a problem, not just for Black women who lose out on $900,000 in lifetime earnings, but for everyone. Black women who normally are the heads of their households (i.e., primary breadwinners) earn 63 cents of every dollar a white man makes. Shannon Williams, director of Equal Pay Today - a project of Equal Rights Advocates stated, "The issue of equal pay is not just a woman’s issue because it trickles down into our families, communities, and the overall economy." The Black Women’s Wage Gap is a problem for everyone, but everyone isn’t working to address it! One way to close the wage gap is to close the skill gap. The SOFEI Group is working to decrease pay inequity among women of color through free professional, technical, and certification training for women who want to upgrade their skills to el

The Entrepreneurship and Small Business (ESB) certification program prepares small business owners and leaders to succeed in today's competitive business landscape. An ESB certification will validate the skills and knowledge for individuals to work in a middle-skill trade profession, as an entrepreneur, or to pursue small business career aspirations with an understanding of core business principles and essentials to launch and sustain a successful business. Candidates of the ESB Certification will need to have a conceptual knowledge of entrepreneurial and small business principles with a minimum of 150 instruction hours. However, students are not required to have real-world business experience to take and successfully pass the ESB exam. The ESB core concepts are: Entrepreneurship Recognizing and evaluating opportunities Planning, starting, and operating a business Marketing and sales Business financials and funding Exam criteria: Complete a one-year high school level cours

Doctors write medical prescriptions to help patients heal. Training providers design or deliver training modules to meet the learning needs of their trainees. Patients must take their prescribed medicine according to their doctor's instructions. If they don't, the healing process may not reach its full potential. Trainees that participate in training and place their training material on a shelf will abort their potential to apply what they've learned in their training session. Doctors and training providers are not perfect, but they are skilled in their craft. If patients and trainees do not use or apply the information given to them to heal or perform better at work or in business, the outcome does not rest in the hands of the physician or trainer. It solely rests in the hands of the patients and trainees.

Where are you? Where do you want to go? How are you going to get there? These are the questions a technical instructor asked to help trainees learn how to change directories using DOS (i.e., Disk Operating System). Post-DOS days, the technical instructor realized these questions apply to our everyday lives, and we believe these questions can help individuals get unstuck in their careers, relationships, or finances. If you feel stuck, click here and download our guide that can help you get unstuck.

Industrialized jobs have depleted in America, and if you want to stay afloat in today’s economy, you need skills that people want and what they’re willing to pay for. Essentially, your work will be based on your key strengths, accomplishments, self-marketing, connections and your performance. And that’s authentic connections, not pretentious ones to simply make a sale or to gain a client. Social media is falsifying some efforts to connect. Some people think they’re gaining connections based on their followers. If followers aren’t being acknowledged or valued, there’s no connection. But information sharing to an audience that can relate to their content. The realities of today’s workforce have changed. Job security no longer exists, and safe careers are simply a myth. To achieve a successful career, entrepreneurial (i.e., always exploring opportunities) skills are a must. You have to rely on your inner resources to be self-managing to plan and execute your own career. No one ca

”And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set amoung our members, that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the curse of nature; and it is set on fire by hell.” (James 3:6) ”But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men who have been made in the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceed blessings and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so.” (James 3:8-10) The danger of the tongue. James compares the tongue with fire because it cannot be controlled and the damage it causes cannot be reversed. And, sometimes when water is added, it spreads the fire instead of putting it out! When I worked in the corporate world, a manager attempted to assassinate my “working” characteristics with lies about my inability to perform tasks in a male-dominated career. The manager also stated, “I was not a team player and did not like to be critized.” I conf

In 1980, Mary Catherine Swanson (an English teacher) created AVID - a program designed to help underrepresented students succeed in high school and college. The program's philosophy is: "Hold students accountable to the highest standards, provide academic and social support, and they will rise to the challenge." A group of AVID middle school students completed their assignments fifteen minutes early and wanted to watch YouTube videos which were unrelated to AVID. When asked to turn off their videos, a student responded with: "My mom watches YouTube videos all the time at work, so why can't we watch them at school?" What legacy are we leaving our children in reference to work, finances, or service? Students need role models to coincide with their lessons to advance academically, socially, or economically. And their parents should be their first point of reference. The industrialized workforce is depleting and individuals that choose to watch YouTube

If you’re not happy with your job, whose fault is it? Is it your manager’s, co-worker, the economy, your bills, or you? What impact does your hatred have on the people you serve through your job? To show up every day to a job you hate doesn’t benefit anyone but your creditors. Hatred is difficult to hide. It will resonate through your attitude and your work. Staying at a job you hate may seem logical with the high percentage of unemployed and underemployed people. But if you choose to stay, why hate it? Why waste your time and your employer's? It’s challenging to have a servant attitude through hatred. If you’re not willing to serve, you’re not willing to work at your best capacity. Work isn’t solely about us! It’s about service. If we’re filled with hatred about our work, does it mean we’re too full of ourselves? Sure, people can be difficult and challenging, but their actions should not contribute to our hatred. Every day we show up for work, we should know our pu

A prospective partner contacted The SOFEI Group to offer their services to build their brand. This person was turned down because their main purpose to join wasn’t about helping us achieve our mission – it was self-serving. If your ultimate reason to secure employment or start a business is to make money, you’re off to a bumpy start. Many MLM (Multi-level Marketing) business owners plummet because they see an opportunity to make money, instead of an opportunity to improve the lives of others with their product or service. And, many businesses are not experiencing exponential growth because it’s replete with self-serving people who choose not to use their skills, experience, or education to serve. In this knowledge-based workforce, employers and business owners want to connect with believers, leaders, or servants. People who believe in the organization’s mission, goals, and objectives; leaders who can influence people to achieve greatness, and people who do not mind serving thei

At least I have a job – but it’s not rewarding, fulfilling, or impactful. At least I have a man – even though he’s married with children. At least I know dynamic, elitist people - but don’t have authentic connections. At least I go to church – but don’t have a spiritual connection to God. At least I’m liked – but you yearn for unconditional love and encouragement. At least I have a GED – but was born with potential beyond a general education. Energy exhausted striving for the least is a fast race to the bottom. If you’re going to run, strive for the top (i.e., your best). No one spends time practicing to enter a race with the intention to lose or end at the bottom.

Emotional Intelligence is linked to an ability to identify, assess, and control emotions. Depending on a woman’s estrogen level or her season of life, controlling her emotions can be a challenge – even in the workplace. Here are some tips to strengthen your intelligence: Get Real With Yourself - Identify and deal with the source of negative emotions because nothing positive derives from them. Suppressing or camouflaging these emotions with shopping, smoking, or eating are temporary coping mechanisms that can lead to other challenges. Know Your Role – Be clear on your purpose for working; the benefits and impact your contributions have on your employer’s bottom-line, and how your role coincides with their mission and core values. Don’t React, Get the Facts – There are many women reacting to events based on their emotions instead of facts. Feelings should never be used as a deciding factor in the workplace because they aren’t tangible and cannot be validated. Define Your Outc

After spending nine relentless months looking for work at a local one-stop career center, an unemployed single mother regained hope to find employment when she learned how to build a career in customer-service from the results of a complimentary MAPP assessment provided by The SOFEI Group, Inc. Filled with passion to provide great customer-service to her next prospective employer, this single mother landed nine interviews within nine weeks of attending The SOFEI Group's Microsoft Office Specialist certification training program. Her hope was restored and momentum to find employment soared, but something was preventing her from getting hired - her forgiveness for being unemployed! This breakthrough came when a career development facilitator of The SOFEI Group looked her square in the eyes and said, “Your smile isn’t in harmony with the way you really feel about yourself, and maybe this spirit is resonating during your interviews - preventing you from getting hired.” Tears s

Discovering and crafting your gift and sharing it passionately with greatness! In our How to Create a Great Career workshop, we teach people how to build great careers from their innate qualities; not from skills they’ve learned to make a living, but from their God-given gifts to make a life. During the workshop, we demonstrate how people like Serena and Venus Williams, Tiger Woods, and Michael Jordan were able to get corporate sponsorships because of their ‘greatness’ in their respective sports, not because they had good marketing skills to promote Nike, Hanes, or Buick. God created us to succeed so others can experience Him through our work. And, He cannot accomplish this through people that know how to wear or drive success; but through people that are willing and spiritually fit to do the work He has called us to do. Success is a divine right. Don’t allow the definitions or opinions of others hold yours hostage.

Working hard but your career is going nowhere fast? Are you unemployed and on the fence to find familiar work to pay bills or need to start new because your old job is obsolete? If you answered yes to either question, you can redirect your efforts and move your career in the right direction. Here’s how: Evaluate the underlying cause of being stuck in your career. Do you believe this is the only work you're qualified to do? Jobs are scarce so you're thankful for what you have and you've decided to stay where you are. You've worked in this field and don't know what else to do. You believe you're too old to start a new career. Get in the driver seat; take your career off ‘auto cruise’ and determine where you want to take it Resolve negative emotions associated with unemployment Assess your skills and determine who can benefit from them. List your contributions and the impacts. Create a career plan (inclusive of a personal mission statement and goals) to

Contributors! Yes, employers are looking for people to join their business as a contributor, a problem solver, not a leech. Employers are not hiring to simply increase their payroll. They’re more likely hiring to address business needs or challenges. What about you? Are you selling your skills to get a job to pay the bills? Or, are you selling your skills to make a business contribution? If your job search strategy is simply to get a job to pay bills, you need to change your job search approach. Here’s how: Find your niche (everyone is great at something) Change your self- talk ( there aren’t any jobs, nobody’s hiring ) Change your Circle of Influence (surround yourself around problem-solvers) Conduct research to learn about your prospective employer's business trend(s) and industry (e.g., find out how they make money, the dynamics and demographics of their customers) Discover and decide your contributions and benefits you want to make for your prospective employer and create a “

“Who you talking to” was the response of an employee who was requested to remove her large earrings and neon colored nail polish prior to returning to work from her break. Her manager responded with a threat to fire her if she didn’t respect his request and the company's dress code. Fashion is a great way to express our identity, but it should not cause us to lose our job. Here are some suggestions to keep your fashion and your job: Learn and stick to your employer’s dress code - Fashion should coincide with your employer’s business image. If your employer is conservative, then your attire (i.e., hair, nails, and clothes) should follow suit. Don’t let your fashion overshadow your skills – First impression is a lasting impression. What’s the first impression your attire gives? Does it scream at prospective or recurring customers? If so, tone it down. Go Neutral - Trim your nails and wear neutral nail colors. And, limit nail art in a conservative work environment. Save

Have you ever spoken to a person that knows everything they don’t want, but can’t articulate what they do want? If we don’t know what we want to do with our lives, others or life circumstances will mold our lives for us. And, the same can apply to our careers. As a result of today's economy, many people are not seeking a career; they’re looking for a JOB - (JUST OVER BROKE). A JOB can help you get by, a career will help you live! Here are a few suggestions to jump start your career. Pray and Ask for Divine Guidance – Everything we do should bring glory and honor to God. And, this also applies to our career choices. God does not want us to work to simply meet our financial needs and wants. Ultimately, our vocation should be our ministry (i.e., what we’ve been gifted to do). Redefine Your Identity – Many people have defined their self-worth based on what they do and not who they really are. Take time to learn your true self and take this authenticity to your new career. S

Thou will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on me. (Isaiah 26:3) One of our clients has been without bipolar medication for months and has missed counseling sessions designed to help stabilize her mind and life because her monthly disability income exceeds her eligibility to receive medical and counseling assistance. Her inability to receive bipolar treatment is an impediment to her health, family, and prospective employers. Several studies show, African-American and Latino women experience a higher rate of depressive symptoms and psychological distress compared to white women due to a convergence of societal, biological, and socioeconomical factors. Some of the risk factors are: stress due to racial discrimination; health problems (e.g., hypertension and cardiovascular disease); educational attainment , single marital status , and being a working mother . Depression screening and prevention programs must take into account these and additional factors in order to be suc

What's the big deal about single mothers, I was raised by one and I turned out okay! Were the words of a business leader running for a Prince George's County Council position. There are many successful leaders and great people that were raised by single parents. VEINC is not presenting single mothers as damsels in distress or victims of society. However, due to the increased percentage of households being led by single mothers not only in Prince George's County, Maryland, but within our Nation, it's a big deal when single women-headed households have in some regard become the normal family structure. According to Sociology for Families , single-parent families are normally female-headed and single women typically do not earn the same income as a single man; thus, there is a consequent economic struggle and burden not experienced in a single-father household. Single mothers often must work overtime shifts to compensate for the low salaries, thus taking time away from th