Successful women share their best career advice

Successful women share their best career adviceEveryonewomen, men, old, youngcan use some guidance in their careers. Mentorship has long been established as a huge difference-maker, especially for people just starting out or people embarking on a new professional path. This level of support has proven especially beneficial for professional women, who do best when theyre able to get insight and advice from other professional women. googletag.cmd.push(function() googletag.display(div-gpt-ad-1467144145037-0) ) Yet according to a study of professional women by talent scouting firm Egon Zehnder, only 54% of women have access to that kind of mentorship by other women. That doesnt mean that those of us without those resources have to go it alonerather, we can take inspiration from successful women who have been willing to share some of their hard-won knowledge and insights. Lets look at some of the fruchtwein inspiring career advice out there, from women whove made it.Be open to opportunit ies.Be prepared to spot growth opportunities when they present themselvesbecause they are the key learning opportunities. Youll know because they make you uncomfortable, and your initial impulse may be that youre bedrngnis ready. But remember Growth and comfort never co-exist.Ginni Rometty, chairman, president, and CEO of IBMAlways take on new challengeseven if you at leid sure you are completely ready.Sheryl Sandberg, COO of FacebookIf a jobs not scary, its not worth doing.Jasmine Whitbread, Chief Executive at London FirstDont cut off your career branches too early. Dont step away from your career based on what might happen.Mary Barra, chairman and CEO of General MotorsIf you wait around for the exact right opportunity, you might find yourself waiting around while your skills and experience go to waste. If youre a new grad, or looking for a new job, it can be tempting to not go for opportunities that arent exactly like you envisioned your career, or that feel like a stretch for the experience and skills you have. But really, what do you have to lose by stretching a little? The worst possible outcome is the word no, which is rarely fatal. And in the best case, you could be hired for a job that challenges you and makes you grow as a professional.Be resilient.Lifes a marathon, not a sprint. When things go wrong, dust yourself off.Kate Grussing, Founder and Managing Partner at Sapphire PartnershipTake criticism seriously, but not personally. If there is truth or merit in the criticism, try to learn from it. Otherwise, let it roll right off you.Hillary Clinton, former U.S. Senator and Secretary of StateFailures and disappointments are going to happen occasionally, no matter who you are and what industry youre working in. Sometimes these will be your fault, and sometimes they wont. The one thing that all failure scenarios have in common is that you can move on from them. No matter how embarrassing it may feel, or how dire, all you can do is accept that things happe ned the way they did, understand why things happened what they did, and learn what you can do next time to help avoid the same kind of catastrophe.Build your team wisely.You are only ever as good as the team you build, so be a talent magnet and surround yourself with the best and the brightest.Marianne Lake, CFO of J.P. Morgan ChaseNever be afraid to recruit people brighter than you are, and never be afraid to recruit people who are different than you. That is sometimes hard to do, but incredibly powerful if you want to create a team that is really effective.Judith McKenna, COO of WalmartThink of it as career squadgoals. Every successful person has worked as parte of a team at some point in their careersand in fact, teamwork is one of the qualities most prized by employers. The important part is making sure that your team is able to support your goals. That may mean being a more engaged and supportive colleague yourself, or if youre in a management role, it means recruiting the best possible people to help you grow achieve your own goals.Everyone has his or her own career goals in mind, and it can feel like we need to step on others to achieve those, but things will go much more smoothlynot to mention more easilyif you focus on building ways to work together instead of taking everything on yourself.Be yourself.Be who you are. Youre unlikely to be first or lastyour journey is your journey.Desiree Clarke-Noble, Director, Head of Brand and Marketing at Royal Bank of CanadaSit down and ask yourself, What is the most important thing to me? What grosses me out the most? What makes me the most upset is it healthcare? Is it so many people being hungry in our culture? Is it sexual abuse? Mix that with doing something you love, something you could keep doing forever and ever. For me, it was ending violence against women, and I mixed it with music. And Ive had a 25-year career. So thats my advice Find something you really care about and mix that with something you love doing.Kathleen Hanna, musician and activistIf your professional self is more aspirational than authentic, youre likely to find yourself dissatisfied with the career path your persona has chosen for you. Whatever choices you makejob, relationships, skill-buildingshould be ones that fit with who you are, not necessarily who you think you should be.Find your focus.The thing people want most is your focus and attention. You destroy that when you think youre multitasking, because youre not accomplishing either.Wendy Clark, president and CEO of DDB North AmericaMultitasking can be seen as a prized skill, in a world where there are about 40 digital distractions every minute and ever-increasing demands. Instead of focusing on the number of things you can do this minute, try thinking about the quality of what youre doing and learning in the moment. Being able to send an email while half-listening to a colleague and compiling a report will get more things checked off on your to-do list, but h ow many of those things are you actually doing well? If you try to bring mindfulness and thoughtfulness to your to-do list, you are upping the quality factor of your work.Project confidence in all you do.Speak slower be more executive and more authoritative. When you speak quickly its hard to distil big messages and put a good case forward to your customers and your team.Helen Sutton, Vice President of Enterprise in Northern Europe at DocuSignDont be afraid to ask questions thats one thing that differentiates women from men.Claudia Palmer, Chief Business Officer and Chief Financial Officer at ReutersOne of the best things you can do for your career is to take control and ownership of your professional path. That means expressing yourself clearly, and being an advocate for your own interests. Whether its negotiating a salary increase or trying to get ahead, being timid or hesitant is unlikely to get you what you want. The more you can project confidence and competence, the more youll be able to build confidence in your abilities.If you have any of your own favorite pieces of career advice for or from women, wed love to hear about it in the comments.

6 Signs of Ageism in the Workplace and How to Handle It

6 Signs of Ageism in the Workdistributionspolitik and How to Handle It 6 Signs of Ageism in the Workplace and How to Best Handle ItAre you ready to slow down at work and retire? We didnt think so either.You might imagine that the modern-day workplace has left discrimination in the past century because the new wave of employers, HR managers, and employees have all been well-educated about the value of an inclusive work environment. And yet, ageism is still alive and well.What does ageism look like? A 28-year-old female CPA might be told that she is too young to be a controller. A job candidate in his 50s could hear that the company is looking for a recent college graduate with a lot of energy and no bad habits, while an employee in her 60s might be counseled out of attending an industry conference, ostensibly to allow her to take it easy this month. Although ageism can certainly cut both ways, most complaints and studies have focused on the experience of the 50+ crowd.According to A ARP, 64 percent of workers have witnessed or experienced age discrimination. Even though theres been plenty of research that overturns common stereotypes about older workers, the new ways of thinking havent been fully absorbed yet. And so, its important to be alert for signs of ageism and to know yur options if you or someone in your family experiences age-based discrimination in the workplace. What is ageism anyway?The best place to start is with some legal background.The Age Discrimination Employment Act (ADEA) was passed in 1967. From that point on, age has been one of the protected characteristics in the workplace, which means employers cannotlage discriminate against employees based on their age. This includes hiring, firing, work assignments, and promotions. As a side note, its important to know that this legal protection doesnt cover employees of smaller companies because businesses with fewer than 20 employees are exempt from the ADEA.The intent of the legislature may have b een clear-cut, yet real-life applications are anything but. For example, imagine an accounting department at an insurance company. The department is run by a female accounting manager whos 30 years old. One of the staff accountants, Joann, is 62 and has been with the insurance company for over 25 years. Another staff accountant is a brand-new college graduate named Josh who has been with the company for a year and a half.Now, imagine that the wertmiger zuwachs review cycle rolls around. Joann gets average and below-average marks with a standard company-wide cost of living (COL) salary increase. Josh gets high-performance marks, the same COL increase, a performance bonus, and a promotion to accounting lead. Is this age discrimination?Not necessarily.Its possible that the young accounting manager has negative stereotypes about older employees, but its also possible that the outcome had nothing to do with age and that Joshs performance was simply stronger than Joanns. The manager may h ave observed that Joann makes repetitive mistakes, is resistant to changing her account reconciliation format to match the new standard thats been rolled out earlier in the year, and has also missed several important deadlines.On the other hand, Josh may have gone to great lengths to get his work done on time. He may have taken the initiative to meet with professionals outside his department to understand and resolve reconciliation issues that had been lingering since before he joined the company or even volunteered to take on additional work when another accountant was out sick for a week during the year-end close.This example wasnt chosen to imply that there is no such thing as age discrimination, but rather to emphasize that menschlich interactions are inherently messy. In any group of professionals, its virtually impossible to have two individuals with the exact same performance. Peoples contributions to the company vary from person to person (and even for the same person over t he course of several years). And, like it or not, we all automatically notice and recognize other peoples age as we interact with them. Age distinctions and performance differences arent the problem but in reservierung to have an inclusive workplace, its important to separate the two. What does ageism in the workplace look like?Most hiring managers and HR professionals would tell you that there is no ageism in their company, but reality isnt this straightforward. Its possible for age discrimination to go completely unnoticed. Its also possible that benign behaviors might seem like ageism to older employees. In other words, dont assume that you are in the clear because you work at a forward-thinking company, but also, just because something feels like ageism doesnt make it so.Here are a few examples of what age discrimination might look likeLearning opportunities are automatically offered to younger employees not older ones. This can include educational coursework, access to reimbu rsement for continuing education, professional or industry conference attendance, etc.Being overlooked or passed over for challenging assignments. This may also look like an unfair share of unpleasant or tedious assignments given to older employees.Being left out of client meetings or company activities.A spoken or unspoken assumption that you are not entitled to take time off for family commitments because you dont have young kids at home.Disparaging comments and remarks about age. This could be framed as subtle and playful, with others joking about your age, retirement plans, slow typing speed, gasping for breath while coming up the stairs, etc. Or, it could be downright aggressive (e.g. pointed and/or cornering comments that pressure you to retire and free up the position for another professional). Being passed over for raises and promotions. As in our example above, this one can get tricky. Different raises and promotion decisions may indicate age-based discrimination, or they m ight be a reflection of individual performance.Whats the best way to deal with ageism in the workplace?Step one Dont assume that you or your workplace are 100 percent immune to age discrimination. Our brains work by relying on established stereotypes for faster processing and decision making. Learn to recognize your own thinking patterns. Challenge your assumptions. If you see signs of ageism that arent directed at you, dont distance yourself by thinking that this could never happen to you.If you have experienced this, or if you worry about that as a possibility, heres how to deal with ageism in the workplaceInvest in your continued growth and development. Read, stay up to date on trends and best practices, and push yourself to do better every year. Get a mentor, whether within your current company or outside, who is dedicated to supporting your success.Make a commitment to fight the stereotype of an aging professional who is uncomfortable with change and technology, low on energy, and coasting without ambition. Todays older workforce is a wealth of industry and institutional knowledge. However, theres value in not launching into stories about the good old days. Dont be the one to bring up your age as the reason why your boss should take it easy on you. Dont fall into a belief that your workplace owes you something for your past contributions. Dont buy into age stereotypes your own thinking can affect how you act.Project the same level of polish and professionalism as your younger colleagues. Perhaps you are feeling secure in your position as an established contributor, but thats no reason to falter in doing your best to represent your company.RelatedWant to Get Promoted at Work? Heres How to Boost Your Chances of SuccessFinally, if you do experience signs of age discrimination, take detailed notes write down the dates and the names of witnesses to conversations. Reach out to an employment attorney who can assess your situation and advise you on next steps.Ju st like your younger colleagues, keep your network active and your options open. Spend some time each year updating your resume and your online profiles make sure to follow the most current standards so as to not date yourself. At the end of the day, the best way to prevent yourself from falling victim to age discrimination is to stay on top of your career game.Need to update your resume just in case? Let one of our TopResume professional resume writers help you outRecommended ReadingAsk Amanda How Can I Overcome Ageism in the Job Search?6 Ways You Can Overcome Age Discrimination During the Job SearchThe Thrill of the (Job) Hunt How to Get Headhunters to Find YouRelated Articles