To all the readers of my CareerWomanInc.com blog…thank you for being you, for wanting to be the best you can be in your career and your life.2008 was a wonderful year filled with happiness, growth, surprises, difficulties, excitement, hard work, development, laughter, friends and family, love and joy, to name just a few.

As we move into the new year, I wish you all the best and leave you with this poem, written by William Arthur Ward, an American scholar, author, and teacher. Read the rest of this entry »

Continuing with the previous blog’s theme of communication, I decided to research the questions, “Do women and men communicate differently?” and “Does it make a difference in the workplace?”  In conducting the research, I came across two very interesting articles and have summarized the findings below. Read the rest of this entry »

Communication skills are important to personal and business success because so much of what employees do every day is communicate – they communicate internally (with other employees) as well as externally (with customers and suppliers).  How good are your communication skills and what can you do to improve them? Read the rest of this entry »

I love to hear true life stories about how women have overcome hurdles and have been able to successfully balance work and family life.  Success stories provide the rest of us with an opportunity to learn how they accomplished this and possibly use some of those learnings in our own lives.  Katherine Sampson from Australia is a great example.  Here is her story as told in the Sydney Morning Herald… Read the rest of this entry »

In the latest Career Woman Feature story you’ll meet Christine Specht, age 34.  In March of 2008 she assumed the role of president and chief operating officer of Cousins Subs, the company her father, Bill Specht and his cousin, the late Jim Sheppard, founded in 1972.  Think it’s easy taking over the family business?  Click here to read about how Christine got to where she is today, where she intends to go and her advice to women who want to make it to the top of the career ladder.

~ Lisa Quast

I often meet women who tell me they would like to be more assertive and outspoken at work but are afraid to do so because they’ve seen other women get labeled with the infamous “B” word.  If you want to be seen as assertive and outspoken, then the key is to act with confidence, not arrogance.  Read on for more tips… Read the rest of this entry »

Amidst the election activity I was having a conversation with my next door neighbor (who moved here from Sweden).  He was asking me questions to try to understand how our country’s campaign and election process came to be the way it is today.  This got me thinking about when women gained the right to vote in various countries.  Below is when our ancestors and counterparts around the world gained this right- a right which our generation can’t imagine not having. Read the rest of this entry »

Although we all wish things were different, it is no secret that women still must work harder to get to the top in their careers, all while continuing to make far less than their male counterparts.  Hard work and perseverance are traits that every career-minded individual must possess to achieve success in their given field.  However, there are a few things women can do to get themselves in the running for those coveted positions near the top of the career ladder.   What follows is a list of some tips to help you do just that.  Read the rest of this entry »

I’d like to share one of my favorite books on improving work relationships, People Styles at Work: Making Bad Relationships Good and Good Relationships Better, by Robert Bolton and Dorothy Grover Bolton. I love books where I can immediately apply the content to my life when I’m done reading the book – and this was definitely the case with this book. Read the rest of this entry »

I recently read a very interesting article from Think Tank Group on “What is it Like for Working Women in Your Country?”  The group launched a survey to try and explore the different experiences and perceptions women have not only across European countries but also at a global level. Read the rest of this entry »