Breaking the Bamboo Ceiling: Career Strategies for Asians

Breaking the Bamboo Ceiling is a great guide on advancing and succeeding in the corporate workplace today. It sheds much needed light on topics relevant to all Asian Americans but virtually unaddressed, in my opinion, by mainstream career advancement books. What makes the book particularly helpful is how it provides not only big-picture strategy guidance, such as the importance of building career networks, but also provides practical tips, at the tactical level, needed to make these a reality: how to perfect the 30 second marketing pitch and how to build and nurture mentoring relationships. Occasionally, however, I found the examples a bit repetitive, especially with regard to the descriptions of examples stereotypically attributed to Asians. However, the short vignettes and anecdotes used to illustrate many of these examples were very insightful and kept the pace of the reading lively. Overall, Jane Hyun's message throughout Breaking the Bamboo Ceiling is an inherently empowering one - that building the skills to succeed in today's workplace does not have to conflict with our cultural values and that these skillsets are no different from the other interpersonal / managerial skills needed as we climb the corporate ladder. Breaking the Bamboo Ceiling has definitely earned a permanent spot on my reference bookshelf and I highly recommend it to all those working to build more successful careers.

I started a new job a few months ago and have found this book to be very helpful. In past positions, I've been able to distinguish myself based on the quality of my work product, but I've always felt that improvement of my soft skills would take me a level up from just being viewed as intelligent and hardworking. I knew I could probably do things to better my standing, but I didn't know how to do so since I figured doing good work and being social was pretty much the whole equation. Hyun's book has been a solid resource for me in identifying concrete areas to improve on and providing guidance for such improvement. The book made me conscious of some habits I have that might be perceived negatively (though some habits I might not consider asian-specific) and ways to improve how I present myself. The self assessment section and the networking and mentorship guidance were very insightful and I've found them easy to turn into actionable items. I will say that I wish the book could have gone a little more in depth into certain areas (maybe more with on-the-job strategies) and covered others a little less (e.g. on choosing a career since I'm pretty much wed to mine). Still, I would be surprised if any career-oriented person read this book and didn't find it to be a very valuable read. Highly recommended.

As the first book of this kind, this book has done an excellent job in provoking thinking and providing valuable career advice for business professionals with Asian ethnic background. I highly recommend it to any Asian who works in North America or whose bosses happen to be white. In contrast to other general career books, the book has done a great job to emphasize how important the soft skills like presentation and interpersonal skills are. Traditionally, Asians especially Chinese focus more on the hard skills like math, PC skills, probably under the influence of Confusian. (Confusian said: "A person of virtue should be quick in action but reluctant in words) Jane also covers the major weaknesses Asian people exhibit in North American business. I think her summary is insightful, comprehensive and worth to be kept for frequent reference. Jane also presents valuable anecdotal feedbacks on how westerners characterise Asian. However, the book is far from being perfect. Several arguments are obviously out-of-date or only true in very few small and remote cities. For example, white people tend to think Asian-like people were not born in America. And Jane didn't do a good job in distinguishing the personality differences and the cultural differences. For example, the author cited that one Chinese girl just came to U.S but appreared to be more American than an Asian man born in America. I don't think it correct that if a person stands for herself, the action should be categorized as "American". it might be more due to the personality. If Jane had more experience working in Hongkong, New Dehli, Singapore, and etc., she would have noticed that many many Asians have what she calls "American" attributes like aggressiveness, out-spoken, not afraid to confrontation. Jane also tried to write a career encyclepedia, which was a bit over-ambitious goal. Readers will be better off to turn to other books for help on tactics like interview skills. The evaluation provided in the book is far from being sophisticate and also out-of-date. I will suggest you rely other general personality evaluation to get better understanding of yourself. Obviously, Jane doesn't have much exposure to the rich traditional Asian literature(like one of the most famous, The Art of War). Some weaknesses she cites in the book can easily, in my humble opinion, overcome by drawing from the traditional values. This limited exposure also prevents her from providing much better career strategies. Nevertheless, the book has inspired deep reflection and thinking, some of which is already reflected in this review. As a Chinese immigrant studying and working in Canada, I found this book very helpful for my career. Besides providing ample foods for thinking, this book helps me better align my study and self-development plan. My friends also like it and we even had several good discussions. Highly recommended!

If you look at upper management at the large companies in the United States you will find a heavy preponderance of white native-born males. There are all kinds of 'ceilings' imposed on minorities, be they women, native Americans African-Americans, or as described in this book Asian. This book, obviously about Asians looks at the situation and examines not only the situation as it exists, but then attempts to find out why this situation exists. This includes an analysis of the mental attitude of the Asian worker who is coming from a different culture that teaches a different standard of behavior. This book is written by an Asian woman who is a career coach or human resources consultant to Fortune 500 companies. Her book offers some advice aimed at the Asian worker that might help to point out ways that an individual might use to change certain cultural behavior patterns. This includes such points as speaking out, participating in a conversation may be more important than the study hard skills learned when the goal was to make good grades.

However, having grown up in a traditional Asian immigrant family, I was told over and over again by my parents that "empty can makes louder noise". I learned the virtue of being thoughtful (think twice before saying anything needless), which apprently has not helped me much in the ways of advancing my career as a manager. This book is a MUST read for anyone working in a multi-cultural corporation, especially for those who come from Asian heritage. It will help you better understand yourself, and provide you with the corrective lense (if you will) to get a better sense of how others really see you (or don't see you) when you keep your thoughts to yourself. Very well written, and it is easy reading.