Top 5 Career Advice for Women

Do you feel stuck in a rut, or confused about what you really want from your career? Perhaps you’ve plateaued, and just wish you could take that next step up the ladder to the position you really want.

Whatever the reason, thousands of women are faced with difficult, frustrating or even life-changing career choices (or lack of) every day, which is why we’ve put together our top career advice for women who want to take their career to the next level.

Career Advice for Women

The best part? The following career tips come directly from successful women themselves:

1. Be Flexible

Essentially, be open to trying new things when it comes to your career. You may see yourself on a set path, but having goals that are too rigid could be disappointing in the long-run, and even prevent you from finding new opportunities that you may actually really enjoy.

Cosmopolitan’s deputy beauty editor, Jessica Matlin, said: “My best career advice for women would be to not be so linear about your career path. Being very linear may seem like you’re focused — and that’s a good thing! — but it keeps you narrow and can set you up for disappointment if things don’t go according to plan.

If you’re flexible — and you’re willing to zig and zag — you’ll spot new opportunities and grow strengths and interests you didn’t even know you had. Plus, it’s just plain exciting.”

2. Be Positive

Whatever problems get in your way (and trust us, there will be plenty of those), always try to keep a positive attitude – it could help you earn that promotion faster.

Co-founder of Baby2Baby, Kelly Patricof Sawyer, says: “When you’re just starting out, a smile, a positive attitude, and enthusiasm go a long way.

Even if you screw up 10 times, having a gung-ho spirit shows your co-workers that you’re trying and that you care. In a workplace, happiness is infectious.”

3. Don’t Be Afraid of Failure

You may like to think that failure is never an option, but this could actually do you more harm than good. In the long-run, learning from your experiences (and failures) is a far better game plan than simply trying to avoid failure at all costs.

As CEO and founder of Girls Who Code, Reshma Saujani claims she constantly finds inspiration in failure: “I always say fail hard, fail fast, fail often. I think if you have an idea, you just have to put it out there in the world. If you haven’t failed yet, you haven’t tried anything!”

4. No Task Is Too Small

Many people (of both sexes), and especially millennials, suffer from what’s known in the work place as ‘entitlement’ – and this is something that can really hurt your career, unless you practice the following career advice for women.

Online beauty editor Carly Cardellino said: “My best career advice for women is no job / task you’re asked to do is too small. Whether you’re grabbing coffee for your boss or opening his or her mail, you’re helping that person, so that he or she can get something else done — which, in turn, is contributing to the bigger picture.

So don’t complain if someone asks you to do something you might not want to. Plus, like Santa, your boss is always taking notes on your behaviour, so always act appropriately and professional (a.k.a. don’t complain).”

5. Never Lose Sight Of Your Goals

If you have something you truly want to achieve, hold on to it and never forget it, especially at times when your job is far less than ideal, and those goals have never seemed further away.

The best career advice for women by Co-founder of TheSkimm, Carly Zakin is “In the day-to-day grind, it’s sometimes easy to lose sight of the bigger picture or get distracted by shiny opportunities. Staying tethered to a goal has been key to our success so far.”

If you have something you truly want to achieve, hold on to it and never forget itClick To Tweet