Our career and our finances: for professional working women
these surely rate as our most precious assets - perhaps along with
our reputation and our personal brand.
Annie Lennox sang years ago that "sisters are doing it for
themselves" and it's a wise (and happy) woman who keeps a
measure of financial independence while doing work she finds
engaging and meaningful.
In all the years Professionelle has been running, it's
probably no accident that most of the requests for advice we've
received have been from women wanting to identify and
capitalise on their career opportunities. These questions reflect
all career stages, from Day One, Job One through to
boomers pondering what a satisfying retirement would look like. The
recent global financial turmoil has added redundancy advice to what
you'll find in this theme.
Lastly, we share interviews with successful women, asking their
advice on careers and how they "make it all work".
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20 July 2010
By Sally Mabelle, the "Voice of Leadership" specialist
How do you manage to stay focused on 'the big picture' of your vision and purpose in your organisation? Your primary job as a leader is to be a wayshower and guiding light, helping others to stay focused on the mission and reason they’re doing what they’re doing.
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30 May 2010
By Pam Naughton
If an interview has been sprung on you, don't panic! One of our job-hunting members has compiled a quick reference guide of Do's and Dont's to set you up for interviewing success. The list is a blend of her personal experience and the wisdom of experts.
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26 March 2010
By Hannah Samuel, the Reputation Champion
If you've ever been tempted to gild the lily when it comes to stating your achievements and capabilities - 'cos everyone does it right? - take a minute to read Hannah's wise advice. There's a world of difference between selling yourself short through a lack of confidence, and selling yourself long because of hubris.
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06 March 2010
By Sarah Wilshaw-Sparkes
What are values and what are your values? How can being aware of your values help you at work and beyond? Identifying your own values is one thing, but what about a future employer's or partner's values?
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31 October 2009
By Linda Coles, founder of Blue Banana
Your Linkedin profile is your online CV but with so much more! So many people join up to LinkedIn because they have had an invitation or heard about the site, but don't understand the benefits of using it. Linda Coles provides practical strategies and advice on how to get the most out of this network with millions of professional users worldwide.
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25 October 2009
By Jacquie Sherborne
is a low-key, easy to read and practical resource for those finding themselves facing redundancy or in similar circumstances. It is a book you can dip into based upon your needs or interests; it describes itself as a 'workbook for those surviving redundancy' and contains practical tools, templates and thought-provoking questions to set you on the path to finding a suitable and enjoyable role.
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31 August 2009
By Juliet Moses, Partner, Taylor Grant Tesiram.
What happens if you spend countless unpaid hours of doing the GST returns for your husband's business, only to have your marriage end? How can you protect your financial interests if you are providing professional services, whether they be accounting, legal, marketing or otherwise, to or for your husband's or partner's business but aren't being paid for them?
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14 August 2009
By edited by Sarah Wilshaw-Sparkes
"What range of arrangements are generally made in partnership or directorship agreements for leaves of absence such as maternity leave or sabbaticals whereby you, as a principal are not actively working in the business each day? I'm on maternity leave so will not be working regularly but can be involved as a shareholder ie monthly meetings." We asked our senior contacts in professional service firms for their experiences.
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10 July 2009
By Ron Pol of Team Factors Ltd published in The Business of Law 2009 by Thomson Reuters
The legal profession is perhaps a late-comer to change. The difficulties of nineteenth century women being recognised by the established profession bear startling similarities to the profession's twenty first century leaders carefully shepherding through the so called 'reform' of the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2008. In many respects, both seemed designed to preserve the status quo and to resist change in the face of inevitable progress.
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10 June 2009
By Sarah Wilshaw-Sparkes & Galia BarHava-Monteith
Gill South is a freelance writer in Auckland and also the mother of two young boys. Her first book, which she describes as a "Where To for Working Mothers" seeks to encourage all women who want to continue the careers and work roles they enjoy - after having children. You can choose to listen to our live interview with Gill in either the short or long version!