The happiest people are those that really love their jobs. Those that don’t, dread Sunday nights and the upcoming work week. So how do you get to a place where you look forward to a new week of doing what satisfies you? You’ll have to either learn to love your current role, or make a commitment to pursue your dream job. Use these goal setting tips to help you get to where you want to be.

Some women choose the latter, and to do so you’ll have to set career goals to get where you want to be. So make sure you have a detailed plan on how to land a job that you will tick all the boxes.

The majority of women choose to stay in their own organizations and even then you still need to have goals, not just KPis set by your manager. But even if you do see your career developing within your current business it’s still important to set goals.

Many women struggle with career planning and creating a career strategy which can lead to problems. This makes them vulnerable to and sort of challenge which can moprh into a full blown career crisis. Some simple steps to plan and prepare can help avoid this.

Take a look at these goal setting tips to help boost your career and set you on the right path.

Lewis Carroll  said

“If you don’t know where you are going any road will get you there.”

Research shows that only about 5% of women create career goals and a career strategy. This can have a negative impact on your career progression. It means you are reactive not proactive and career glitches can morph into full blown crises. It puts women at a clear disadvantage to men.

Learn these simple goal setting tips to boost your career and protect and prepare you for all eventualities. If these goal setting tips make you think that you could use some further help,  contact us immediately.

There’s a lot of stuff written on social media about  female rivalry and competition between women. Some of it makes sense and some of it is confusing. Organizations are pyramids with fewer roles at the top than at the bottom. It is inevitable that at some level, as more and more women are in the talent pipeline, at some point they will be in competition with other women.

Many would say that women aren’t competitive. I would suggest re-framing that. I think it’s more accurate to say they are not as competitive in the workplace as men. We have also been made to feel guilty about being competitive. We need to get over that.  Here are the reasons:

1. The male nature of corporate culture makes it a disincentive to compete
2. Women don’t want to compete because  prescribed male goals are not attractive enough for them. “Work 14 hour days, not see my partner or family … get sick.. die..no thanks.. I’ll pass”
3. Women don’t know how to compete in the workplace. They are new arrivals on the corporate competition scene and lack practise.
4. Women experience gender blow back when they do compete, from both men and women
5. Women have been raised to think that competing with other women is not empowering them. As more women enter the talent pipeline that is just nonsense.

Learn some insights from Annabel Kaye, Employment Law Expert about how it’s OK to be competitive and the danger zone when it can turn into sabotage. Understand the benefits of mutual support and how all women can profit from having strong strategic allies, role models and mentors.

Dawn Metcalfe, author of Managing the Matrix and Hard Talk, shares with us  tips to achieve the lasting communication skills needed to tackle the difficult conversations we encounter in the workplace. Hard Talk answers the big questions like:

• How do I manage a boss who insists on micro-managing me?
• How do I let a high performer know that they are not getting the promotion he wants?
• What can I do about a direct report who doesn’t show me respect?
• How do I tell my boss that despite all efforts our deadline on an important deliverable will be missed?

In this podcast, Dawn Metcalfe will give us an overview to handle challenging scenarios to empower you with the skills needed to ensure you have these conversations in the best way and generate the best outcome. Make your workplace and your professional experience more fruitful and less fraught by learning the importance of Hard Talk.

Tanvi Guatam, international Personal Branding expert says there is a misconception out there that a personal brand is something of an outside-in job, i.e. that you decide your destination/goals and start building a brand towards that. The truth is, it is an inside-out job. Firstly, you need to identify who you are and what you stand for. With that at the core, you should start building your personal brand to celebrate and amplify your authenticity. So my first suggestion is to understand what you stand for.

Secondly, consistency is key.  She tells us that many people pick up social media with enthusiasm and then drop it. You need visibility and credibility at the same time to be able to craft a strong personal brand on social media. Using technology to schedule posts, knowing which keywords you want to be associated with, and following the right influencers is easier than you may think.

Finally you need a clear “why” for their presence on social media. Or worse still, they treat social media as a tool to ask for favors, sell relentlessly or promote their products/books. No one likes to be sold to, least of all by someone who shows up only when they need something. Remember –  give before asking.

Understanding and navigating social media to achieve career success can be a challenge or even a mystery for all of us. Tanvi Guatam explains how taking care of your COW is the best way to do this. Find out what this helpful acronym stands for and where and when to apply it.

You will always remember the importance of taking care of your COW!