As a woman, whether you are a wife and mother or not, you learn early on that nurturing, multi-tasking, and taking charge of a situation come instinctively. It may take a while before you realize that those are natural leadership abilities. Finding out what may be holding you back from seeking out management positions can help you reach forward to your true potential. Don’t let what you think you look like on paper, your perceived value, or your age limit your future. Take the initiative and find a job that utilizes all of the talents you didn’t realize you had so you can become all you were designed for.
Your resume
Your resume is more than just a chronological listing of where you have worked. It’s the first reflection of you that your prospective employer gets a glimpse of. Remember, it’s just a glimpse so make it count. Don’t worry about where you have been, how long you were in each place, or how menial you think your tasks were, look deeper. Today’s resumes are built around targeting the exact vocation you want. Using a functional resume that focuses on your skills takes the dates and locations out and highlights your strengths. This is incredibly empowering when it comes to showing you as well as future employers just what your capabilities truly are.
Once you have perfected your resume, get it out there! Give yourself a real chance and check employment sites dedicated to women. You want to work where you will feel appreciated and have a chance to advance even further. Seek companies that are forward-thinking and offer advantages to working women like comparable wages and benefits that you and your lifestyle require.
Your experience
As you focus on your strengths to build your resume, start listing all the tasks you have done in your employment history and really see how important they were. Did you pick up the mail and answer phones? So you were in charge of communication within the company. Did you file paperwork? So you created a record keeping system to maintain and organize all correspondence. Did you take pictures and post events that happened in your office? So you are skilled in social media and contributed to marketing. The trick is to take your small tasks and visualize how they could be used on a larger scale. Everything you have completed successfully is a building block for becoming a strong manager. Don’t undervalue or underestimate what you have accomplished or what you are capable of. Management focuses on all the basics you learned throughout your employment history:
- People skills and customer relations
- Organization and scheduling
- Prioritizing and taking initiative
Your age
The starting age for managers is typically between 30 and 33. Some managers even start as young as 22. So when you are seeking a new career, don’t limit yourself by what you can do, where you think you belong, or your age. Look outside of the box and stretch yourself to your capability limits. You might be pleasantly surprised at just how incredibly capable you are! There isn’t any rule that says you have to be close to retirement age to become a manager. Having said that, for all of you more mature women, if you aren’t in management yet, it’s time to push yourself out of your comfort zone and apply for those positions! The world needs strong women managers to lead companies as well as mentor and encourage other women.
Hone your resume and highlight your hidden talents. Really look at your skills and realize your value and potential. Don’t let small tasks or your age stand in the way of what’s waiting for you. Take the initiative and step into your new role with confidence and courage. Be an example; be the future; be a manager!
