Lisa Quast
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2.23.2010 | Thinking About Changing Careers?
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The number of career changes people make during their lifetime ranges anywhere from three to around seven times. Regardless of how many times you change careers, it can be a positive and energizing experience, or a slow and sometimes painful one – it all depends on how you approach it. If you’re looking to make a career change, take your time, do your homework and find out if a change is right for you.
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2.17.2010 | Why Women Still Make Less Than Men
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Despite the progress women have been making, studies report that the wage gap continues to exist between men and women. Looking at the numbers, this pay gap has remained fairly consistent for the last two decades. Why?
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11.30.2009 | How to Succeed When Starting a New Job
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I receive a lot of questions from women on what they should do when starting a new job. I like to keep things simple, so I always try to remember the acronym, “S.T.U.D.Y.” Just follow this easy-to-remember map to settling into your new position.
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11.24.2009 | A Thank You To Someone Special
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Great advice is often timeless. Can you recall some of the best advice you have ever received? It's often simple, common-sense wisdom. Here are my top ten, all from the same sage and loving source. It's my way of saying Thank You!
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11.24.2009 | Why It’s Important NOT To Be Irreplaceable
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“You need to learn to hold back some of your knowledge and not share it with others so that management will see you as irreplaceable. You tend to share too much of your knowledge with other people. You should try and make yourself irreplaceable.” Good advice or bad? Read on.
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LISA QUAST'S COMMENT FEED
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Posted on 3.5.2010 4:12pm
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Betty,
I'm really happy to see you included in your advice for job interviews for women to interview "the employer instead of just selling yourself in an interview."
A lot of the women I've coached told me that until I had reminded them, they'd forgotten that the 'fit' needed to go both ways.
Interviewing the company can sometimes be a hard thing to remember, especially when the interviewee is excited about the job and really wants the position or when they've been laid off and are looking to start a new job quickly.
One of the most important things I would like to encourage all women to do before they walk into an interview is to prepare a list of questions they would like to ask about the company and the hiring manager. This way, they can feel comfortable that if they're offered the position, it's also a good fit for them.
Lisa Quast
Career Woman, Inc.
www.CareerWomanInc.com
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REPLIES 1
Posted on 2.22.2010 11:03am
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Alexandra,
I enjoyed your article about the importance of getting yourself known at work and the studies which have been conducted showing a connection between popularity and success.
I know we'd all rather not think about work as being back in high school and a popularity contest, but I'll use myself as an example of how this is true.
About 4 years into my career a kind and helpful HR Director at the very large company where I worked called me into his office and told me I was a 'diamond in the rough' - he said I had incredible talent, but no one in the company knew I existed.
Then he said he wanted me to think about work and my career a lot like being in high school. He told me the more people and managers who knew me, the more projects and job opportunities I'd receive.
This was a new way of thinking about my career, but I was open to trying it. So he had me come up with a game plan of how I could get myself known throughout the company. One of the first things I did was volunteer to be the chairperson of the company's Activities Committee. This was the group who worked directly with senior management to plan all the employee and company activities throughout the year such as the Summer Picnic, the Holiday Party, etc.
Not only was it a lot of fun, but it gave me the opportunity to meet people throughout the company. It also gave me the opportunity to shine in front of the senior executives.
Without that great advice early in my career, I'm not sure I'd be where I'm at almost 20 years later. As a certified executive coach and mentor to many women, I also help them create a plan of action to get themselves known within their company and industry - and I've seen how well this process works in climbing the career ladder.
Sincerely,
Lisa Quast
www.CareerWomanInc.com
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NO REPLIES YET
Posted on 2.15.2010 11:42am
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Lee,
I appreciate your pointing out in the article that, "Negotiating is a skill, like driving, that has to be learned." So often, I find women seem to think the skill to negotiate is something you're either born with or without. To the contrary, it's something that must be learned and then practiced.
I've found it helps if women think about it like this...almost everything in life is negotiable.
For example: At work you can negotiate a pay raise, promotion, or even the project on which you'll work or it's due date. At home you can negotiate with your spouse as to who will take the kids to soccer practice on Saturday, who will take out the garbage, what time dinner will be, or even what time your children agree to be home after a date.
Almost everything in life is negotiable! If women learn to negotiate and then start using everyday situations to practice, they'll tremendously boost their level of confidence!
Lisa Quast
Certified Executive Coach and Author
www.CareerWomanInc.com
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NO REPLIES YET
Posted on 2.8.2010 11:55am
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I enjoyed your article and the five signs to help validate the urge to change jobs. Another good method I've found in helping someone think through whether they should consider moving on from their current job is to have them think about what they would consider their perfect job and then brainstorm and write down everything that pops into their mind.
This helps them think about what's important to them and will allow the person to compare their list to their current job to see how closely (or not so closely) it matches up.
Lisa Quast
www.CareerWomanInc.com
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NO REPLIES YET
Posted on 2.5.2010 12:40pm
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Mark,
I really appreciate that the first of your three steps for working through a crisis is, "Feel". So often media projects to both women and men that we should, "Never let 'em see you sweat" - which translates into a lot of people holding in their feelings and not working through them during a time of crisis. It's so important to realize we need to allow ourselves time to feel and react to a situation.
Lisa Quast
www.CareerWomanInc.com
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Posted on 1.31.2010 6:49pm
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Carolyn,
I too was incredibly moved by the generosity and help Americans provided during the "Hope for Haiti Now" telethon.
I hope this situation shows people around the world how easy it can be to reach out and help others. And, I'd like to I encourage women around the world who are reading this to reach out to women in their local communities who also need help. Everyone one of us has special talents and if we look around us, our talents can greatly help others who are in need!
Lisa Quast
CareerWomanInc.com
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NO REPLIES YET
