Navigating the sticky world of business is hard for anyone, but for women it can be especially difficult. With double-standards, our own sensibilities, and everything else telling us to do a million different things at once, it can be difficult to discern just what you need to do to succeed.
Many tips and articles geared towards career success for women often focus on things like degrees, field overhauls, and other tools that, while beneficial, take tons of time and money to complete. Time and money that most moms don’t have.
These career success tips can be utilized by a simple change of thinking or slight actions that you can take in the office to change things up. While it definitely isn’t easy to change set-in habits and years of behaviors, the success you will find after following these tips is well worth the try.
1. Stop Apologizing So Much
I can definitely admit to finding myself saying “sorry” way too much, in both my personal and professional life. This seems to be an issue with a lot of women. We use needless apologies in attempt to do things like lessen our own accomplishments, prepare ourselves for rejection, and slightly back off when we feel we are being too direct or demanding. While there is certainly nothing wrong with apologizing when you’ve actually done something wrong, constantly saying sorry can do serious damage to your career.
Try to stop being so afraid of your colleagues finding you pushy and abrasive and focus on success. Acknowledge that double standards for women, unfortunately, still exist in the business community and work to actively fight them by rebelling against the expected. You can easily pair your lack of apologies with smiles and genuine warmth.
Just remember that you don’t have to go full Devil Wears Prada in order to be a confident, successful business woman.
2. Promote Your Abilities
As a woman who is self-employed, I know first hand just how important self-promotion is. But even if you work for a large, corporate company, it can also be a crucial part of your success.
Maintaining a sense of humility is always important but you should never be afraid to show off your abilities. Especially not when your abilities can boost your career. Whether it’s through old school networking, social media work, or personal ads, you should put yourself out there. Take center stage, be bold, and let the world know that you’re amazing at what you do.
3. Avoid Comparing Yourself To Others
This is a tip that can be utilized in every part of your life, really, but it is especially important in business. Don’t measure your own abilities and success by that of others. Instead of feeling jealousy or self-pity, you should use the success of others to propel you to work harder.
Remember that your failures are not indicative of your worth or your abilities. Everyone succeeded in their own time because of their own circumstances. Wasting time comparing yourself to other people will do nothing but make you sad and angry and hold you back.
4. Take Risks
When it comes to your career, taking risks can be especially tricky. Your career is the livelihood of you and your family and often times, failure can take the form of something drastic.
Still, the threat of bad things shouldn’t stop you from taking risks that may only yield great results. You absolutely have to play to win, when it comes to succeeding in any field in the business world. Move out of your comfort zone, take opportunities that you may not have looked at typically. Put yourself out there with your thoughts, opinions, and suggestion.
Boldness is rewarded and taking risks with your career is one of the major stepping stones on the way to success.
5. Don’t Be Afraid To Take Up Space
This tip falls in line with watching how much you apologize. In addition to apologizing way too much, career women also sometimes have a tendency to try to bleed into the background. But hiding in the shadows, sitting in the back, and staying quiet won’t lead to success.
Don’t be afraid to take up space or demand to be heard. Acknowledge the fact that you’ve worked just as hard as everyone else to get to where you are and hone your desire to succeed even further.
6. Get accredited
Every single career that offers you unique opportunities will always require you to show your intellectual dedication to that particular type of role. So if you would like to go further in a niche role, then get accredited. For example, if you’re looking to become a nurse, take these kinds of accelerated nursing programs. At the end of the course, you will have earned a CCNE accreditation, which has been awarded by one of the top nursing education bodies in the country. With this kind of qualification, which is widely respected and heartless by employers, now you can apply for any further role or work anywhere in the country. Before, some doors were shut, but now you have the key to open every one of them!