Yesterday I received a call from a community college out east. They may want to hire me to provide a motivational presentation to their undecided female students sharing the benefits of nontraditional careers, i.e., male-dominated. What a great idea! Many female students enter college undecided about what major to pursue, and ultimately, what career path to choose. These students range from 18-year olds to those in their 40...

According to Catalyst, the leading nonprofit organization expanding opportunities for women and business, “Women currently hold 3.8 percent of Fortune 500 CEO positions and 4.0 percent of Fortune 1000 CEO positions.” What accounts for the low number of women in high-ranking positions and what steps can be done to help increase the number of women in leadership positions? Gender Stereotypes Stereotypes still exist as far a...

Only 12 percent of the professionals in engineering are women. In other male-dominated fields, such as science and information technology, women comprise less than 25 percent of the workforce in those fields. When women are the minority in a field, what steps can they take to succeed? In an article published in the Huffington Post, ”Women in Technology: Let’s Close the Gap,” author Peggy Johnson shares lessons she has...

Casey started out with a career as a biologist. After 10 years spent conducting environmental field research, he married and started a family. With seasonal work the norm for this line of work, Casey needed to explore other career options which would allow him to help support his family and that wouldn’t require a huge time or financial investment. He found a nursing program that would pay for his schooling providing he com...

1. Network, Network, Network!!! Up to 80% of jobs are found through networking. In addition to face-to-face networking (the most powerful) be sure to add social media networking to your list. 2. Treat your job search like a job. Be willing to spend 35 hours a week in your search if you're unemployed and up to 15 if you're employed. Any less than that will most likely lengthen the amount of time you spend looking for your ne...

If you’re a counselor at the middle school or secondary level, the following case study is for you.How can you increase parents’ awareness of non-traditional careers? What activities would you use to help parents learn more about non-traditional careers. i.e., male or female-dominated? Parents may a major role in their child’s career choice. That’s why it’s important that parents encourage their children to consider all o...

I have talked about it before- socialization plays a big role in gender stereotyping and ultimately career decision-making. From an early age, girls are dressed in pink, boys in blue. Girls are given dolls to play with and boys trucks. Around the home, girls are typically given the tasks of washing the dishes and cleaning the house, while boys mow the lawn and change oil in the car. Traditional gender roles often carry over...

It’s important to manage your own PR within your organization. Consider conducting a quarterly review of the real players that influence your career. If you don’t have a list of those players, take a few minutes to generate one. Then every three months review this list which will most likely include your bosses, peers, subordinates and clients. “Bosses” are those people at a higher level who can influence your career, i.e.,...

Research is an important aspect of your job search. You'll want to start by developing a list of companies. Below are tips to help you get going:1) Brainstorm all of your job targets. A job target consists of three components: a position or function; industry or company size; and geographic area. Here's a sample job target: Marketing Director for the medical device company in the Western suburbs of Minneapolis.2) Conduct pr...

How long is the job search? 27 weeks, says the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)! Is there a shortcut? One jobseeker found it ... in the form of Twitter.Stephen Moyer, one of the 13 jobseekers featured in The Twitter Job Search Guide (JIST, 2010) authored by Chandlee Bryan (@chandlee), Deb Dib (@CEOCoach), and myself (@SusanWhitcomb), is a stellar case study on how Twitter can work wonders in a job search.As Chandlee likes t...