The Working Woman's Dilemma
This page is for the working woman who aspires to 21st century career success but occasionally loses sight of the big picture. The first important back-to-basics question to ask yourself: What do I really want?It amazes me now, but I was a career woman for 11 years and never asked myself this question until the final few months. The answer that came to me was the catalyst for my new career, which I talk about elsewhere. The Working Woman's Trap Social recognition. Peer acceptance. Professional pride. A good income. Nice holidays with the husband every year. Nice suits. A certain satisfaction in being able to write "lawyer" in the occupation column on forms. This is the story of my life when I belonged to the Women-Working-Outside-The-Home club. To a certain extent, these outward symbols were the reason for my striving. I was working to maintain a certain lifestyle and status which I enjoyed. But in order to continue living that way, I had to do a job which I didn't love and that didn't love me. What Drives YOU As A Working Woman? If changing careers is something you've been thinking about, a good place to start is with your Why. Let's break down that very important question into four parts.
List down your intuitive responses just as they are, without filtering them through your value judgment. For instance, if a salary increase is important to you, don't add in a qualifier like - "What if I have to work ten times harder than I do now? I won't have time for my family," or "Won't a higher salary mean more taxes? Maybe I shouldn't work so hard." This act of self-censoring is one reason why people fail to achieve what they set out to do. They allow fear, history or the negativity of others to so dominate the decision making process that their original vision of success is obscured. If you are to get past this hump, you must be driven by something more compelling than desire. Find out what the Ultimate Secret Of Success really says. The Successful Woman A good marriage, a satisfying career, happy and healthy kids. Can a woman have it all? One of the best books I have read on the subject of women and careers is The Successful Woman by Dr. Joyce Brothers. In it, she says that wanting it all is a myth. But... You can have most of what you want if you establish your priorities and don't insist that everything be perfect. The key is to decide what matters most to you, then go out and do it well. Being a successful woman is about being able to bring a balance (some would say a 'blend') to the different areas of your life: your work, your health, your spirituality, your mind, your relationships. You can't give equal attention to all of the areas all of the time. But you can make sure none is neglected by reminding yourself that each area is important and necessary for your wellbeing, just like how each of your organs needs to work well with its fellows to keep you alive and healthy. Career Options For Today's Working Woman Let's say you have worked out your career change motivation (the "why"). Let's talk about how you can make your career change happen. How would you like to work if there was no one to tell you you couldn't do it? Would you be happy to continue being an employee, or would you like to try working for yourself? I know there is a lot of emphasis being given to how wonderful it is be a free agent. With the wisdom of personal experience, I think it's only responsible to point out that not everyone has a personality suited to self-employment. Being your own boss may sound wonderfully promising, but you must have certain traits to succeed. If you are not (at least!) self-disciplined, confident about taking risks and trying new things, resourceful, adaptive to change and a good problem solver, you might be better off working for someone else for the time being. For a more detailed analysis, see my article Telecommuting: Myths and Facts. On the other hand, if you are ready to have a go at being self-employed, there are a number of tested and proven ways to put your transferable work skills to good use. Here is a sampling of work from home careers to research. The Working Woman's List Of Work From Home Careers
Article: 5 Ways To Leave The Rat Race Behind You Working Woman: Returning To Work If you have taken time off and are now looking forward to life as a working woman again, here are a few useful reminders.
Why is this important, you ask? If you are coming into a new industry, your new employer needs to be convinced that you have the job skills appropriate to the position. Example: sales and negotiation skills for a real estate agent, project manager skills for an IT project manager, organizational skills for an office administrator. One way to bridge a skills gap is to tap on the work skills you have gained from previous jobs, volunteer work and hobbies. This article explains how to turn experience into an asset on your resume. Read about transferable skills here. Some More Resources For The Working Woman Don't miss our Career Builders page. It's where we've listed books, career search engines, software and resources that we feel you would find most helpful when doing your own career research.
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