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.