Women's Groups: A key to starting a mentoring relationship!

The best thing young women can do long before they get out of school is to get involved with women's groups (yes, those old ladies.)

Attend a meeting, or better yet, call up a member and ask if she can meet with one or two of their members to talk about their career path- what worked, what didn't.

This could be a great mentoring start, and a great boost for the egos of the women involved who will then take a special interest in this young women.

Jan Bassett

Author's note: I met Jan at the Athena International's Leadership conference in April. Jan, Thanks so much for sharing what you've learned with the next generation! Chris

Words of Encouragement from Victoria

Victoria Bown Copley offers this as words of encouragement to young women starting out there careers:Victoria Bown, published children's book author and 2007 recipient of the Athena International Award - UK, says:

This is my favorite quote, I feel it says so very much and the words have been and still are a great inspiration to me.

Author's note: Victoria Bown lives with her husband Andrew and their blended family of five children. Her children's books about "Sammy The Pony" have character building lessons and provide encouragement to children of all ages.

Transitioning from School to Career - Some Help

I just got back from an awesome conference in Chicago by Athena International. It was dedicated to advancing women's leadership roles. One thing I learned is "giving back" and "paying it forward" can make a big difference in someone's life.

I know first hand what a difference it makes when you've got a helping hand. If you're trying to transition to grow to the next level --from high school to college ,from college to career or from a first job to a bigger role -- having someone point out the steps, give suggestions and encouragement make a BIG DIFFERENCE.

So, to try to help young women with their transitions, I've asked some of the women I met at the conference to share their wisdom, their insights, hints and tips for helping other women along the way.

In the next few weeks I'll be posting suggestions, photos, encouragement and words of wisdom. This could be a great place to find those job hunting tips and even network to find your next job! Keep watching.

I remember how it was when I was trying to figure out what I wanted to be when I grew up.
Chris Brown

Work with a Mentor -- Fast Track Your Career

When asked what was the one thing that really helped make the difference in her career, many successful business women reply, "Having a mentor."

Here's some tips on how to get the most from a mentoring relationship. And remember, you can be a mentor at any age and at any level of achievement. Paying it forward is the right thing to do.



Thanks to www.catalystwomen.org for these tips.

Here's a few tips for those who want to work with a mentor:

Find a mentor:

• Look for role models (who would you like to be in 5 -10 -15 years?)
• Women leaders are not always easy to find. Ask around.
• Consider women you know, your parents know, your teachers/professors. Maybe ask the chamber of commerce, HR department of companies, look into professional organizations.

Figure out what to work on:

• Identify your goals
• Brainstorm stepping stones to get to your goal.
• Don't be afraid to ask questions. Make a list.
  

Pay it Forward:

• Plan to become a mentor yourself.
• Look for someone like you (15 - 10 -5 years younger)
• Share what you learned so far.
• Don't be afraid to learn from them too!

Marketing Tips for Recent College Grads

I posted this the other day at my Branding & Marketing blog, but I think it has a lot of potential benefit to all the college graduates who are job hunting right now:

I was reading Lyn Chamberlain's the Brand Dame today about college graduates and trying to market their skills to a new employer.It reminded me of two really great sites that would be of interest to any college student or graduate who was trying to brand themselves.

One is from Mike Sansone at ConverStations called Brand You with a Blog. Great idea Mike. When I read so much in the press about students being irresponsible with blogs, its great to read something where it shows the power of blogging.

The second is a really neat idea of Drew McClelland at The Marketing Minute where he asked many, many professionals to share job hunting stories, sage advice and professional encouragement with soon to be college grads. It's called Help me give college grads a fighting chance.