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Show Topics:

• 6 mistakes that women make at work

• Interview with Mona Abdel-Halim: Resume writing and advice

• Reader Question: Studying/Working abroad

6 Common Mistakes Women Make At Work Transcript:

Hi, this is Anna Runyan from classycareergirl.com, and welcome to podcast #6! Today in the podcast I am going to go over the six mistakes women make at work that hold them back, then we are going to listen to the interview about resume writing and advice from the Founder of Resunate, Mona Abdel-Halim. Then I am going to answer a question from a reader in the get unstuck course about working abroad.

So let’s get started with the six common mistakes women make at work. These mistakes I recently heard at a seminar at my work by Mary Davis Holt, the Author of Break Your Own Rules. She is a partner at Flynn Heath Holt Leadership (FHHL) whose goal is to move women and organizations forward, faster. She is an executive coach and keynote speaker on business, women, and leadership.  My company occasionally offers webinars which I think are really important and I know a lot of companies offer them but it is really hard to find the time to actually attend them because we are all so busy.  So next time a free training comes up, take it and listen.  So the mistakes that women make at work.

1) Many women seek approval before moving forward. The leaders of my company suggested that we don’t seek approval., instead drive change and make things happen,

2) Being overly modest about their accomplishments. Project personal power exude executive stature, come prepared with your game face and radiate confidence

3) Playing it safe or opting out. Get feedback before you quit or make a rash decision (Sheryl Sandberg is famous for her videos which I have played on my blog here.), don’t think it is all or nothing, you never know where you might wind up in 5 years so think long term and not just short term when you are making important decisions.

4) Worrying too much about what others thing and not taking center stage. Women are often worried about what others think, but the leaders of my company advise us to take center stage – say what you want others can be responsible for themselves, don’t worry about others, say what you want, others can be responsible for themselves. I know I am often worried about others career development at my company so this tip hit home because everyone really needs to be responsible for themselves and I must worry about myself as much as possible.

5) Avoiding office politics. Many women work really hard but they don’t develop the right relationships within the company. Mingle and observe, develop relationships with the influential players at your company because it isn’t about how hard you can work, instead, it is who you know.

6) Playing it safe. Instead, play to win – take chances don’t play to be safe, fear is good –it makes you grow.  Recognize the fear, be courageous and don’t be afraid to try it and give it a shot.

Moral of the story: You are responsible for your own career and you have to take charge to be successful.

I hope you found these tips helpful and maybe you noticed some mistakes that you might be making at work.  If you would like to read more about this, I highly recommend the book Nice Girls Don’t Get The Corner Office by Lois Frankel.

Now we are going to listen to my interview with Mona Abdel-Halim – Interview #4 about resume writing advice.  If you are frustrated applying to jobs over and over again online and are looking for a way to make your resume more unique and stand out, you definitely want to listen to this interview.

Click here to watch the video and read the transcript with Mona Abdel-Halim.

Thoughts From the Mona Interview

Alright, I hope you enjoyed the interview with Mona. My favorite parts of the interview are when she said that even if you pick one career path, you don’t have to stick with it and you can choose other areas as well. I think many people go to school and get a job and then feel like they have to stick it out because that is what they went to college or got their masters in .  I agree with Mona that you can have many jobs and careers and it is all about what fits you best and what you are passionate about.  I know my career path has changed a lot in the 7 years since I graduated college and I think that is just a part of growing up and learning about yourself more.

So here is a question from a reader, Amanda

I know I want to do something with art galleries/museums or baking and I want to move to Europe (specifically Paris or Italy). However, I have NO IDEA how to make that happen.

I was wondering if you have any advice? I don’t know where to start and its scary. But I know its what would make me truly happy! Help!”  

I think all of us have been in a similar situation. We have all these opportunities and don’t know what direction to go in. I was in a similar situation after college, I wanted to live abroad and travel.  But, I was fortunate enough to study abroad in college, so I kind of knew what it would be like to live abroad after college.

So, here are some of the questions I would ask yourself and my proposed solution of how you should go forward and maybe you are in a similar situation and this is perfect for you as well.

First you have to focus on making a choice. Amanda has a lot of choices; she could move to Paris, Italy,  she could work in an art gallery, museum job, or a baking/cooking job. All of these five choices are clogging her mind and making it very overwhelming. I have been there.

And I know you need to narrow it down in order to focus on getting one of these done. Because they are all so different it will be hard to get all of these done.  She needs to narrow it down and focus.  Because moving to Paris is very different from getting a baking job in the US. Brainstorm for 15 minutes or talk to a good friend just to narrow it down.

So first narrow down all the possibilities and find the top thing you would love to do by listing all the positives and negatives. Here are the questions I would ask yourself and think about.  One of my questions would be if you want to teach English abroad or volunteer abroad? These are two possible options. Have you ever been to Paris, Italy, or France?  This might help you figure out if you have been there before and enjoyed it, then you already know you would like it.

If you have never been there you might want to do more research. You know Paris is pretty and nice and has great coffee, but is it a place you just want to travel to or to actually live in because those are two very different things and you can travel and get great experiences and sometimes it is even more fun to travel than to work abroad.

Another question would be: do you just want to travel there first to figure out if it is somewhere where you would want to live in the future? Have you worked in or volunteered in an art gallery or museum before? Do you just think it would be cool or are you sure you would enjoy it, and have you researched it?  Have you researched career options for baking or will this just be a hobby?  Baking is a great thing and I am sure there are some career options.

You could start your own cookie shop or something, but you may not enjoy cooking anymore if you are actually doing it for a business. Also, have you talked to anyone who has or is currently working abroad? Because this would give you a lot of insight on what it is like. Hopefully, you could find someone on Linkedin or at your school

So my next advice is to focus and finalize and narrow down the one option.  Then list out all the things that you need to do to make that one choice happen. List out everything. like looking at finances, and research work options, do informational interviews, and make sure you are as knowledgeable as you can be.

If you are going to work for a program abroad, she might need to get a passport or a visa or apply to a program. You can’t just say in two months I want to be in Italy, you have to make a timeline and checklist. And make a time to complete each thing on the list and figure out what you need to get done sooner. Get the small things done soon and you will be surprised and you will move down that list if you just focus on one thing at a time. So that is how you can make it happen

Alright, thank you so much for listening to the Classy Career Girl Podcast! Remember that I love hearing from you! Let me know what you are thinking of the podcast and please send in your questions because I love answering them as well.

Have a fabulous week everyone! Talk to you next week!