ALT-2 Powerful Career Strategies for Women
Women have come a long way in the workforce and not without a hint of controversy along the way. Women have long fought for respect and equality in the workplace. Throughout the years, career minded women have had to fight a large number of stereotypes including that they are heartless and cold. Heaven forbid a woman has a career on her mind instead of a husband and children. We all know that this is not a true representation of women in the workforce, and these stereotypes are thankfully dwindling, however there are still problems that women face in the workforce that are unique to their gender.
These problems include, but are not limited to, wage disparity, discrimination and the ever present glass ceiling. No, not all women face these problems, and there are many women in successful careers. These women often have a number of strategies up their sleeves however, when it comes to their careers. These strategies can be summarized as:
EducationEducation is the most powerful weapon that a woman can have, and statistics show that women are undertaking higher education at a rapidly increasing rate compared to men. More education and training is the most important strategy in launching a successful career and keeping it strong. A career woman should keep abreast of all new technology and knowledge in her chosen field or else she risks becoming obsolete.
CommunicationCommunication is another important strategy. Good communication skills are essential in advancing in any career. Improvement in communication skills is something that everyone should be undertaking anyway, but is particularly important for anyone who wants to advance to supervisory positions or client focused positions. A person who is not a good communicator is neither a good employee nor a good employer.
Planning and FlexibilityCareer planning is important for everyone. Women in particular are advised to have career plans, as their way is often fraught with bumps and twists that are unexpected: partners, pregnancy, family matters etc. This being said, due to these bumps and twists, plans need to be flexible, and able to be changed according to your new needs. Plans should be created with two things in mind: short term and long term. The long term plans should not be changed, but the short terms plans should be flexible. Without flexibility in the short term plans, the long term plan will never come to fruition if something unexpected happens to derail it.
ConfidenceFor any person to be successful in business, they need to have confidence in their abilities. Without confidence in their own abilities, nobody else will have confidence in them either. A woman would not be able to advance in her career if nobody has the faith in her to promote her. This is not to be confused with arrogance: a person who has confidence in herself is able to listen to the opinions of others without feeling the need to push her own opinions on them.
Using these four strategies, a woman is able to advance in her career should she want to. Unfortunately we live in a world where women are still behind men when it comes to working in high powered careers, but we are catching up. These strategies that I have outlined are relevant for both men and women who want to advance in their careers, but they are particularly powerful career strategies for women.
