admin, Author at ProspHER

The Journey Begins! Foundational Steps for Women Kickstarting their Careers

by admin | Apr 15, 2024 | Career

Embarking on a career journey is both exciting and overwhelming, especially for women seeking to make their mark in the professional world.

The path ahead may seem unclear, but fear not, for this blog post is here to guide you through the foundational steps that will set you on the road to success.

Whether you have a clear vision of your dream job or are still exploring your passions, these essential tips will help you kickstart your career with confidence and purpose.

So, fasten your seatbelts, and get ready to take the first step towards a fulfilling and rewarding professional life.

1. Define your passions and interests

Understanding your strengths and values is key, but reflecting on what you are actually interested in – what makes you tick? – is conducive to establishing which vocation you could potentially be spending the rest of your life in.

Your career is your livelihood, if you have the option to do something you enjoy, do it!

2. Itemize your experience

I like to fully revamp my CV at least once a year, with updates that suit my experience and evolving flair; change the design, play around with the formatting, review your skill set, look for gaps and add in any added experiences…and if you’re anything like me, check your spelling! Employers really appreciate a clear, concise, and coherent CV.

Pinterest is a really great tool to get design ideas, and ChatGPT can help with evaluating content. In some cases, it’s also worth tailoring your CV to match certain job criteria, just as you would a cover letter.

When was the last time you updated your CV?

3. Compare your interests and experience with different careers

Research, research, research! Check out LinkedIn, YouTube, Indeed, and write-down\save any jobs that you find interesting.

Match up that list with your skill set and whittle the number of vocations down to 2 or 3, and again, research, research, research! You may not even know your dream job exists yet – I found mine on a TedTalk!

4. Seek mentorship

Whatever your age or profession, it is always okay ask for help or guidance when you feel you need it.

Reach out and network with other successful women, you can find people online (LinkedIn is great!) and track the journeys of those you find inspiring – for me, this is Grace Beverly, a young female entrepreneur. You can also find people through blogs just like this one!

5. Gain practical experience

Are there any gaps in your CV with regards to your now-established career prospects?

If so, perhaps look at shadowing a friend or family member if their line of work is relevant, and/or look into doing some volunteering in local or national organisations, it’s great for society, and shows you have a selfless and vested interest in the field.

6. Always keep learning

There are thousands of online course (see LinkedIn, Coursera, Skillshare), and there’s a YouTube tutorial for everything if you’re looking for a free alternative. In our rapidly evolving society and job markets, making the effort to continually advance your skill set is more important than ever!

You can also implement daily brainteasers; there’s Crosswords, Sudoku, Wordle, Digits, Chess, and Riddles. And as a book worm myself, I always recommend making time to read for 10-minutes every day. Boost your IQ, memory, and conversation starters!

You did it!

Congratulations! You’ve now laid the groundwork for a successful and fulfilling career journey and have equipped yourself with the tools needed to thrive in the professional world. Remember that every journey is unique, and it’s okay to encounter bumps along the way.

Stay open to growth, embrace challenges, and never stop believing in your abilities. Your journey has just begun, and the possibilities are endless.

Self-Care, Growth, and Well-Being – A Guide for Professional Women

by admin | Mar 23, 2024 | Wellbeing

If you go on any streaming platform or social media site, it’s likely you’ll have across these three buzz words: self-care, growth, and well-being. But what do these terms actually mean?

They’re each valuable in their own right, but they are in many ways synonymous.

It’s easy to be overwhelmed with information and expectations of what it means to better ourselves, and that can make it quite hard to know if we are actually achieving it.

Let’s break it down.

Self Care

According to the NHS, ‘self-care is recommended when you have a minor condition which doesn’t normally need medical care’. I do not believe this to be true. We don’t (or at least shouldn’t!) wait until our cars are broken to get them serviced – vehicles need biannual check-ups.

Self-care is essentially exactly as it sounds: caring for yourself, just as you would a loved one.

It means to stay in tune with your emotions and needs, and to carve out time to ensure they are met and preserved.

Below are the 7 pillars of self-care:

Mental – are you stimulating your intellect?
Emotional – are you expressing your feelings and seeking support when needed?
Physical – are you exercising and fuelling your body?
Environmental – is your environment safe and harmonious?
Spiritual – this can look like: meditation, prayer, spending time in nature.
Professional – do you have a healthy work-life balance?
Social – do you feel connected to those around you? Are you indulging in fun and recreation?

Remember, this list is just a guide; self-care is individual and it important to tailor your self-care practices to your preferences and circumstances.

In my experience, investing at least an hour of self-care once a week is best effective and most sustainable.

Growth

Like self-care, growth is categorically individual – and it’s a harder to measure.

When I searched ‘How do we measure growth’, lots of unhelpful answers came up. Shout out specifically to those sites who advised me to take out a tape measure. Yes, sure, we can quantify growth by height, but I realised the only way we can truly measure growth is by comparison.

So, we created our comprehensive growth model, as follows:

Gratitude and Goals
Reflect
Observe
Wonder
Time
Herald

Gratitude and Goals

Start off by jotting down what you are grateful for in your life right now. This is nice to look back on, but also helps to ground you in the here and now.

Now that you’ve set the foundations of gratitude, note down your goals and give yourself something tangible to work towards – this is how you measure where you are and where you’d like to be.

Reflect

As I mentioned, growth is not possible without hindsight. Think back to where you were this time last week, last month, last year, and write it down. We change every day, and it’s important to monitor regularly and document so we can stay guided on the right path.

Observe

We live in such a beautiful world: Take a moment to notice all the pockets of growth happening around you – this could be the trees, your house plants, or your kiddos. Learn to appreciate and admire natural cycles and progression.

Wonder

Question everything! Well, not everything, that would be exhausting. But don’t be afraid to let your mind wonder – it’s important to have ‘stupid’ conversations (both with ourselves and others) as they are often a gateway to creativity, innovation, and new discoveries.

Time

Growth takes time; Rome wasn’t built in a day. Be patient and grateful for every new day.

Herald

Celebrate your growth and achievements! Alternatively, if you find yourself stuck in a rut, now is the time to seek advice and support from colleagues, friends, or loved ones; it is a valuable step in our shared journey of growth.

Wellbeing

Well-being is essentially the umbrella term for the aforementioned. It refers to your overall health and state of mind.

The most important aspects of well-being are balance and purpose. Are you managing stress? Do you have direction and passion?

This is where you need to rely on what your gut is telling you. Perhaps you really are happy, or perhaps something could change…

What’s the takeaway?

Self-care, growth, and well-being are integral components to our human experience – it’s not separate from us, and it’s certainly not separate from our career.

Be the best version of you by taking care of yourself, and your needs.

ProspHER can support you in evolving your story and progressing professionally with passion, purpose and power – find out how here.

This article was researched and written by Bronte Littlewood, Freelance writer at ProspHER.

Networking Strategies for Professional Women: How to Leverage Your Network for Career Advancement

by admin | Mar 2, 2024 | Career

Does the word ‘networking’ conjure to mind awkward icebreakers, a sense of intimidation, and a feeling of imminent dread?

There’s a lot of natural apprehension and even sometimes an aversion to networking. It can almost feel a little bit icky when you view networking as self-serving or simply something we do ‘for the sake of it’.

For professional women in particular, networking can be a struggle because, although many of us know it can be beneficial, we’re not really sure where we should be ‘fitting in’.

But networking could be the leverage you need to advance your career, particularly at times when you’re struggling or looking to grow (or as can usually be the case, both!).

Here are our top networking strategies for professional women.

Aim for quality, not quantity

It might go without saying, but it’s more about the quality of the network you have than the number of people in it.

You want a network that’s diverse and varied, because you don’t want to be surrounded by people who are on the same exact journey as yourself – you’re looking for opportunities to learn and grow!

The key here is to look for authentic relationships and connections.

Which people do you think you can best learn from, be inspired by, collaborate with, and have a meaningful connection with?

Put yourself out there

It sounds worse than it is!

Participating in networking is best done when you’re active in the process, and the best way to do that is to find networking events that suit you and your objectives.

Do you want to be surrounded by other professional women, entrepreneurs and business owners looking to advance professionally?

If so, our ProspHER community membership could be the ideal option for you, as you can network alongside gaining exclusive access to training and programmes.

Are you interested in industry-specific networking? A quick Google search could show you a list of nearby events, seminars and conferences you can attend relating to your profession.

Be reciprocal and be visible

The more people hear you, the wider and more valuable your network will become, because people will be listening.

When you’re attending events and networking, don’t be afraid to give your opinions and ideas and generate discussions – business opportunities can be waiting anywhere, and visibility can open a lot of doors for you professionally.

As Harvard Business Review explain, networks are best forged by connecting through common interests with others rather than casual interactions.

What goes hand-in-hand with this is remembering that you have something valuable to offer to all of those that are adding value to your network – mentoring, resources, advice, access to opportunities – and that networking is a two-way street.

The Importance of Allyship: How Can Men Support Women’s Careers?

by admin | Feb 24, 2024 | Career, Support

Gender equality in the workplace is still an ongoing issue in many workplaces across the UK.

Take these statistics from Business in the Community as an example:

Women earn 85p for every £1 a man earns
Women carry out, on average, 60% more unpaid work than men per week (e.g., domestic work and unpaid care)
Over two million women in the UK are paid less than the real living wage
Women only make up around 30% of senior management roles, and only 6% of CEOs of FTSE 100 companies

Though many businesses are taking action towards greater diversity and inclusion in their organisations, there’s still a long way to go, and progress can be slow.

Much of this progress is moved along by allyship – but how exactly can men support women’s careers and positively contribute to gender equality in the workplace?

1. Actively listen and amplify

A key issue in workplace gender equality is that women can feel as though they’re being talked over, belittled, or undermined.

This can often lead to hesitation around allyship, due to not wanting to be seen as ‘overtaking’ or taking ownership of the discussions.

Women are the experts in their experiences in the workplace and wider world, which makes active listening absolutely critical in allyship.

Active listening means that you’re valuing women for their contributions and experiences and can advocate for them and amplify their voices.

If there’s an opportunity to let a female colleague weigh in on a discussion, interject on their behalf to let them into the discussion!

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2. Give credit where credit is due

Fairness means valuing everyone’s contributions to the workplace, and a big part of this is giving credit to women for the work they do.

Though a misattribution of credit might not seem like anything major in the grand scheme of things, for women in the workplace that already feel unheard and unseen, it’s just another issue contributing to gender inequality.

Advocate for their ideas in meetings and ensure you’re always attributing their name to their achievements and successes – a little acknowledgement can go a long way.

3. Call out inequality

The odds are that you’re very familiar with the issues many women face in the workplace, and you may have already participated in discussions and/or initiatives relating to gender equality in the workplace.

But what about in practice, in the moments when inequality is in action?

If you see a female colleague experiencing a microaggression, speak up and challenge the perpetrator’s stereotyping directly.

If your workplace is currently running initiatives, activities, or media relating to gender inequality, show your support by engaging or sharing their efforts.

Small changes over time can be cumulative and encourage others to do the same!

4. Take your support outside of the workplace

Advocating for women professionally is important, but as we said in the statistics earlier, a lot of gender inequality comes from women taking on the additional burden of housework and childcare alongside their career.

Rather than allowing these disproportionate responsibilities to continue to stack up, participate in the ‘behind the scenes’ work that often goes unnoticed to help share the load with the women in your life.

This also includes advocating for better work-life balance in the workplace, such as paid leave for all caregivers and flexible working hours!

Our Top Tips for Success for Women Entrepreneurs

by admin | Feb 24, 2024 | Career, Entrepreneurs

Whilst no two women entrepreneurs will have the same exact background, experiences, and aspirations, they certainly all have the same drive for success and reaching their aspirations!

Running a business is no small feat, and there’s a lot of trial and error involved as we grow and develop along the way.

As Arianna Huffington, co-founder of Huffington Post says:

‘Don’t just climb the ladder of success – a ladder that leads, after all, to higher and higher levels of stress and burnout – but chart a new path to success, remaking it in a way that includes not just the conventional metrics of money and power, but a third metric that includes wellbeing, wisdom, wonder, and giving, so that the goal is not just to succeed but to thrive.’

Here are our top tips for success for women entrepreneurs to not just succeed, but to thrive!

1. Go beyond your comfort zone

It’s natural to have a fear of the unknown or of failure, but you wanted to start your business for a reason.

Now isn’t the time to let your fear hold you back, it’s time to let your fear propel you forwards!

Remember that calculated risk comes with reward, and in the beginning, you may find that you’re putting in a lot of effort for results that don’t yet seem tangible.

But when you learn to find enjoyment in the process and let your passion fuel you, you’ll have more satisfaction in the long term (rather than focusing entirely on results).

2. Find your tribe

It’s easier to persevere, learn, and grow when you’re around people who are also on a similar journey to yours.

Our ProspHER Quest members have spoken about how the supportiveness of the community has truly helped them to feel as though they aren’t alone in what they’re going through, and that they’ll have support when needed.

And it’s true – being able to find a community of like-minded people to grow your network and learn from, be inspired by, and collaborate with, is one of the best ways to catalyse your success as a woman entrepreneur.

Being around people that are facing the same challenges and those that have the experience to help you navigate them and provide expertise is a fast-track way to feel more confident and assured in running your business.

3. Upgrade your skills along the way

Seeking out support and learning don’t have to be two separate tasks for a woman entrepreneur looking to be successful.

Building your skills and knowledge are a critical factor in running a business, yet a lot of us can get bogged down with feeling like we need to ‘know it all’ before we even get started.

Instead, focus on building a solid support network and learning and upskilling as you go – memberships focusing on training modules and programmes, coaching, in-person networking and in-depth support can cover all of your bases without making you feel as though you’re compromising on your growth to focus on your learning.

Remember that if you feel like you’re the smartest person in the room, it might be time to find a different room.

Keep on challenging yourself and adapting, and there are no limits as to what you can achieve!

The ProspHER Quest is the home of female education and empowerment and is designed to support your needs and ensure you reach your personal and professional goals.

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