“We must find time to stop and thank the people who make
a difference in our lives.” ~ John F. Kennedy
As a follow up to last week’s entry about the important role assistants fill across all industries, here’s an alert for the new employee to the significance of observing -- or not observing -- Administrative Professionals Day.
Which One Is It?
If you chose the executive assistant on the left, you’re right! And, experts writing for the Wall Street Journal and Huffington Post agree. This is an important bit of information everyone should take into account when planning her or his career strategy.
Your Brand Name Is Only As Good As Your Reputation
~ Richard Branson, Founder, Virgin Group Ltd
Companies devote precious time and resources to marketing their brands to clients, prospects, consumers, shareholders, investors, underwriters and other important audiences. They target colleges and universities and other audiences for talent acquisition. Yet employers consistently overlook another very formidable audience: job applicants and candidates. How employers treat this audience during the recruitment process is crucial to their success not only in attracting talent but in enhancing their reputations across all audiences in the present as well as in the future.
Negotiating Non-Salary Items
“Don’t bargain yourself down before you get to the table.”
~ Carol Frohlinger
My last two blog entries focused on salary negotiation (Step Up To The Salary Negotiation and Women and Salary Negotiation). This week's entry concentrates on non-salary items that typically are included in an Offer Package (AKA Benefits Package). It's important to review all items carefully to determine if they are adequate for your needs and competitive with other similar companies.
Women and Salary Negotiation
The Feminine Negotiation Mystique
There’s a lot of buzz lately about the need for women to enter into salary negotiations when they receive job offers. This is due in part to Sheryl Sandberg’s modern bestselling manifesto, Lean In: Women, Work, And the Will To Lead, in which she describes nearly accepting Mark Zuckerberg’s first offer to join Facebook without negotiating salary and other terms. Ironically, it was at the urging of her husband and brother-in-law that she went on to “negotiate hard,” and the result was she received an “improved” offer, which she accepted.
What Women Should Wear
“Good clothes open all doors.” ~ Thomas Fuller (1608-1661)
"Dress shabbily and they remember the dress;
dress impeccably and they remember the woman."
~ Coco Chanel (1883-1971)
Thomas Fuller and the great Coco Chanel were right. There's no question of the importance of clothes to one’s image, no matter your age or the circumstances. It's no different in the workplace, where your brand will help you to gain respect, admiration and career advancement. There are few more important occasions when the way you dress will help determine your future than the job interview. Consequently, an investment of thought, time and a little money will be essential to your success.
;)
Taking the Lead
Nearly a decade ago, Catalyst, a U.S. organization that tracks women in business, and the Canadian firm, BMO Financial Group, one of the largest financial services providers in North America, released their landmark study of the Fortune 500 that revealed that from 1996-2000 companies with the highest number of women in senior positions reaped a 35% higher return on equity and a 34% higher return to shareholders compared to companies with the fewest women near the top.
But Do We Like Her?
From Diana Christensen (Network, 1976) and Katharine Parker (Working Girl, 1988) to Miranda Priestly (The Devil Wears Prada, 2006) and M (James Bond, 1995-2012), the female boss has been portrayed in the movies as immoral, back-stabbing, fire-breathing and unfeeling, to the point of being unflinchingly prepared to send even her most prized employee to his death without a backward glance. (Although in the case of M, we might be prepared to forgive her.)
How Far Have Women Really Progressed?
We’re taking a detour from my dining etiquette series to dedicate the next three entries to the observance of Women’s History Month.
As a group, women are increasingly in the news. The female vote in the U.S. has been a key factor in determining the outcome of recent elections, there are new books out to help and encourage women on how to achieve career success and U.S. companies are beginning to develop serious programs to promote women. But, how far have U.S. women really progressed since 1776? Women of a certain age can look back to the beginnings of the modern Women’s Movement in the 1960s with a certain amount of dismay that women have not achieved more.
Striking a Blow for Ethics and Women’s Heath
Brava, Anna Wintour! The most powerful woman in the fashion industry, the editor of Vogue, has struck a blow for women’s physical and mental health, which will likely save the lives of millions of young girls and women. Beginning with the June issue, all Vogue editions will feature healthier-looking models; gone will be the underaged and emaciated waifs that have been setting the pace for the female body image. This unrealistic body type has seduced untold numbers of teenage – and even pre-teen – girls to develop eating disorders that has cost some of them their lives and robbed the rest of their health and mental focus.
Jeanne Nelson 