A Commitment to Equity and Community: Tracey Lam’s Job Search Story

Do you see your career as a journey or a destination? On this bonus episode of Find Your Dream Job, Tracey Lam shares why she expects speed bumps and detours as part of her career journey. Tracey has a long and varied work history, and she was not afraid to switch fields and sectors to find her dream job. Tracey also talks about why she narrowed her network to a small group of people when she began the job search process. Learn more about Tracey’s career history below in this installment of our Success Stories series. 

Transcript

Find Your Dream Job, Bonus Episode 79:

A Commitment to Equity and Community: Tracey Lam’s Job Search Story

Airdate: February 3, 2025

Mac Prichard:

This is Find Your Dream Job, the podcast that helps you get hired, have the career you want, and make a difference in life.

I’m your host, Mac Prichard. I’m also the founder of Mac’s List. It’s a job board in the Pacific Northwest that helps you find a fulfilling career.

One of the best ways to get good at job hunting is to talk to people who do it well.

That’s why once a month, I interview a Mac’s List reader who found a job they love.

Our guest today is Tracey Lam.

She’s the equity program manager at Metro. It’s the regional government for the metropolitan area in Portland, Oregon.

Tracey Lam believes that a career is a journey complete with speed bumps and detours.

In a story you can find on the Mac’s List website, Tracey says that each twist and turn in her career has taught her new lessons, both personally and professionally.

Why do you love your job, Tracey?

Tracey Lam:

There are many things that I really enjoy about my job. At the risk of sounding a little cliche, I really enjoy the people. I’ve had a lot of conversations with folks throughout Metro as I was getting on board, and I learned that they chose to work for a government agency because they really want to serve the public, and I really appreciated that, and most of the people that I talked to said that they love the Portland area and want to do what’s good for the region and for the people. I think because of that sense of responsibility and commitment to serving the public, I really feel like there is a great sense of collaboration.

When I first started, I had a lot of learning to do, and so whenever I reached out for help, people were so supportive and found time in their busy schedule to help me and send me resources, and it’s funny because I never thought of myself working for a government agency but I’m really enjoying it and I appreciate the challenge and the opportunity to see things from a different perspective.

As you know, Mac, I worked in TV news for a long time, so I saw government from that perspective, and now that I’m in it, I’m really enjoying it, and as a DEI practitioner in this public space, I feel like I can make a big impact on equity on a large scale.

Mac Prichard:

In your article for us, Tracey, you wrote about the challenge of bias in hiring. How did you make sure that Metro was a good fit for you?

Tracey Lam:

Yeah, I appreciate that question. Throughout my job search, there were red flags that I often saw, particularly in the job description, in that how did they word the job? Was there inclusive language? Was there a big, long list of minimum qualifications? Were they transparent about salary ranges?

Those were things I particularly looked for, and then some of the things that you don’t really notice until you’re in the process might be during the interview. What were their questions? Then, oftentimes, the last question of the job interview is, “What kinds of questions do you have for us?”

I really made sure I had equity-related questions in those, to ask them, what are their commitments? What are their specific actions and behaviors? And so, depending on how they answer, it’s usually a plus or a minus for me.

Mac Prichard:

You talk a lot in your article for us about the importance of your network, both in your career and in getting the job that you have today. Say more, Tracey, about how your network helped you get the position you have at Metro.

Tracey Lam:

Yeah, you know my friends have been the biggest resource in my job searches, and in two cases that I recall, I told a very select group of friends that I was on a hunt for new opportunities, and I was really explicit about the type of industries or companies I would or wouldn’t work for, and both times they came through for me.

Either through a referral or a job link that they saw, and what was helpful was that these friends knew me well enough not to send just random jobs to me, but jobs they thought would fit my needs, skills, and values, and so that was a huge help for me, and also, they helped with proofreading my resume, looking at my cover letters and even to some extent, there were a couple of times that I had to do presentations for my job interviews, I ran parts of the presentations by them and they gave me feedback.

That was really helpful, to tap into people who knew me and supported me in my job search.

Mac Prichard:

Some listeners might be reluctant to ask others for help in a job search. How did you choose the people in your network, Tracey, that you did ask for help, and how did you decide what to ask people to do?

Tracey Lam:

Yeah, it’s really about thinking about your network. Who do you trust? And whose feedback you value. They may not necessarily be your closest friends who you hang out at the spa or go hit the bar with, but they are people whose opinions are valuable to you and who might have a perspective that you don’t have.

And so, looking through the people who I have encountered throughout my career, both personally and professionally, just really looked at who would be helpful to me and who might have time as well, and I also looked at the roles that they have played in their careers, and what types of experience they might have, that might be pertinent to the job that I’m looking for.

Mac Prichard:

Did you have a strategy for figuring out who to ask and why? In other words, did you want to cast a wide net and let everyone know that you were looking, or did you focus on particular people who were related to goals or target employers?

Tracey Lam:

Mostly the latter, just focused on particularly the people who really understood my professional goals, and people that I have had conversations with about the job or maybe the struggles that I’ve had in previous jobs, and really focused on those people, and it was not a wide net for me.

Mac Prichard:

Why, Tracey? Why did you narrow that focus? What was your thinking there?

Tracey Lam:

That’s a really good question. I think it was mostly that I really just wanted a targeted approach. Being in communications, there were a lot of avenues that my particular skillset could take me but I knew there were certain companies and certain industries that I wasn’t interested in so I didn’t want to cast a wide net and then have everybody send me these links that might not be pertinent or something that I want. I really wanted to take a targeted approach with people who really knew me and my values and my particular, personal goals.

Mac Prichard:

One of the job search tips you shared in your article on the Mac’s List website was that you encourage people to apply for positions even if they don’t meet every required qualification. Why do you recommend this, Tracey, and how did this approach help you land at Metro?

Tracey Lam:

Yeah, there have been studies, and I don’t remember the statistics at this point, but there have been studies that show that women, and particularly women of color, tend not to apply for jobs if they don’t check all of those minimum qualifications and requirements.

That, to me, limits an individual, and I mentioned it a little bit in terms of the job description – if there’s this big old laundry list of minimum requirements, that for me is a red flag because are you really looking for a qualified person or are you looking for a unicorn, at this point? I think, to that, and if you don’t meet all of those qualifications, I recommend that you still apply for it because those might be skills that you can learn or there might be some sort of experience that you have gained in the past that you can apply and with a little bit of experience and guidance you can gain those skills, so that’s a really important tip for me, especially for women and women of color.

Mac Prichard:

What’s your best advice about how to acknowledge in your application that you might not have all of the required qualifications or should you simply be silent?

Tracey Lam:

I think the cover letter is really important and hopefully, the job that you’re applying for has asked for a cover letter and that is a really good place for you to explain how your experience is relevant. I don’t think that you necessarily need to point out the specific skills that you don’t have, but definitely let them know how you can apply the skills you have and what makes you a good fit for that role.

Mac Prichard:

You’ve had a rich and varied career, Tracey. You mentioned that you worked in television, you were a television news producer, you were also a nonprofit leader, and now you’re working in regional government.

What advice do you have for listeners who want to change careers, particularly to move from one sector to another?

Tracey Lam:

Yeah, I give this advice to people I mentor. I think, first, figure out your personal and professional values. What do you stand for? And when you’re applying for a job, make sure that the organization and its leaders have proven themselves to also have those values. Sometimes, it’s not about the job itself but more about the organizational culture, which can make a difference in whether you like the job or not. So, for me, getting into an organization where the culture fits my values is more important than a job title.

Mac Prichard:

What didn’t work in your job search, Tracey?

Tracey Lam:

Honestly, I think LinkedIn’s easy button was questionable for me. You can see the number of people that “applied” and usually that number is a really big one, and I don’t think, I don’t remember receiving any responses from companies when I actually used that button, and to me, it just doesn’t seem like an intentional way of applying for a job, and so when I was reflecting on my job search, that was one of the things that didn’t work for me.

Mac Prichard:

When you reflect back on the search that brought you to Metro, what do you think was the key to your success?

Tracey Lam:

Some of my successes have really been about my failures, too. By the time I got to interview with Metro, I had had a few interviews already, so every time that I didn’t get a job, I looked at my answers to the interviews, I looked at my cover letter, I looked at my resume, and really refined it, and oftentimes in job interviews, they’ll ask for scenarios, right, “Tell us about a time when XYZ,” and so I really dug deep into my experience and my history to come up with scenarios and experiences that are applicable to whatever job I’m applying for. In this case, Metro, so I think just really going back and looking at where I wasn’t a success in order to turn it into a success.

Mac Prichard:

Finally, Tracey, what’s your number one job-hunting tip?

Tracey Lam:

My number one job-hunting tip is to ask for help. We talked about this already a little bit in the podcast.

Tell your friends, your mentors, and your former bosses that you’re on the hunt, and be explicit about what you’re looking for, don’t be afraid to ask for help. I know, in the past, I have been really hesitant and sometimes embarrassed to ask for help, but don’t.

Ask the people that you trust, and then ask them to review your resume, proofread your cover letter, and then run through a mock job interview with them.

Mac Prichard:

Thank you, Tracey, for sharing your story. To learn more about Tracey Lam’s job search, visit macslist.org/stories. 

And check out the Mac’s List website for dozens of other success stories.

On the second Friday of every month, we add a new interview with a Mac’s List reader who has found a dream job.  Go to macslist.org/stories.

In the meantime, thank you for listening to today’s bonus episode of Find Your Dream Job.

This show is produced by Mac’s List.

Susan Thornton-Hough schedules our guests and writes our newsletter. Lisa Kislingbury Anderson manages our social media.

Our sound engineer and editor is Matt Fiorillo. Dawn Mole creates our transcripts. And our music is by Freddy Trujillo.

This is Mac Prichard. See you next week.