Jobs and Moms

Job Search Tip: Clean up Your "Digital Dirt"

According to a recent survey by Execunet, 83.2 percent of recruiters admitted to using online search engines in 2007 to uncover information about candidates. Of these recruiters, 43 percent admitted to eliminating candidates based on the negative information they found.

To avoid any potential conflicts in your job search, here are some preemptive measures you can take to help clean up your digital footprint:

1) Google Yourself Routinely: Analyze your results to ensure that nothing unsavory is floating on the web. If you discover something that you want to have removed, send an e-mail to the host website asking that your information be deleted.

2) Hire Professional Assistance: If you don't have the time or know-how to effectively clean-up your online profile, hire a professional service such as reputationdefender.com to help with the task.

3) Develop a Powerful Personal PR Profile: Just as bad press can seriously damage your job search, an abundance of positive web entries will help to impress potential employers. Write a blog, comment on a blog or build a personal website that highlights your professional accomplishments and expertise.

Advice for our Children

I was moved by an article Lisa Belkin wrote for this past Sunday's NY Times titled, Sharing Practical Truths, in Child-Size Measures in which she asserts that when it comes to work-life choices, we are telling our children only half the truth.

Belkin writes, "When we talk to our children about sex, about alcohol and drugs, or about the dangers of the Internet, we give them limitations and warnings. But when it comes to the subject of work, we tell them that they can be whatever they aspire to be; that they should aim high, work hard and dream big. What we rarely do is tell them how hard some days are. Or that along the road, they might have to compromise, or detour, or backtrack. To warn them would be to discourage them. Or so our thinking goes."

What do you think? I'd love to hear your words of advice for the next generation about work-life balance. If you had to do it over again, what would you have done differently about your work-life choices? Let's get a discussion going on this topic!

Create Your Own Board of Directors

In the business world, savvy companies depend upon guidance from their Board of Directors. As the CEO of your career, you too can benefit from the input of a few trusted advisors. Whether you are looking to make a job change, thinking about returning to work or need help growing your home-based business, here are some ideas of people to tap to serve on your personal "Success Team."

* Colleagues, vendors and clients from your current or previous employment.
* People you’ve met as a result of your volunteer duties
* If you’re taking some continuing education classes, teachers and fellow students are a great source of information and support
* Business advisors such as your attorney, accountant and financial planner may have valuable suggestions if you are pursuing employment in areas related to their expertise.
* Contacts you make by attending industry association meetings or conferences.
* People you’ve met through “former life” networks. These might include college, graduate school or sorority networks.
* Other moms! If you make a real effort to sit down and meet with other moms strictly for the purpose of discussing business – no making play dates for the kids allowed – you will be amazed at their connections and expertise.
* Your spouse and other well-meaning family members. (Just remember that as helpful as your spouse may try to be they are not always the most objective team players!)

Think about specific areas where you need assistance – and then ask for help. While you may feel like you’re imposing on others, most people, particularly those who’ve been unemployed themselves, are all too willing to help. Too often, as women, we limit the ways we allow others to contribute to us. Don’t demand help, but be open as to how a person might assist you. Remember to always express your thanks for their time and guidance.

Salary Negotiation Tips

Women now receive most of the diplomas in fields men used to dominate, including biology, business, law and medicine. According to a 379-page report, "The Condition of Education," a yearly compilation of statistics that give a picture of academic trends (released this past Thursday) women now account for about half the enrollment in professional programs such as law, medicine and optometry, up from 22 percent a generation ago. And, as anyone knows who has recently visitied a college campus, the number of women enrolled in undergraduate classes has grown more than twice as fast as it has for men.
That, as they say, is the good news.

Unfortunately, in spite of this progress on the education front, salaries for women continue to lag behind men. Women still earn approximately 75 cents for every dollar earned by a man.

There are lots of explanations for this salary gap, but one of the contributing factors to this problem is that women often fail to ask for more money. Instead of negotiating their salary, they simply accept what is offered.

Fortunately, negotiation is a skill that can be learned. To help you begin this process, I asked Carol Frohlinger of negotiatingwomen.com to share some of her favorite negotiating tips for women (specifically tailored to moms going back to work):

1. Get out of your own way. We have learned from our research that sometimes women are their own worst enemy in negotiation. For example, many women have a tendency to focus on their weakness— “I’ve been out of the workforce for a long time; I’ll have to take at least a few steps back.” Watch out for self-defeating behaviors that will undermine your ability to negotiate the best possible situation.

2. Know what you want. You can’t be an effective negotiator if you are not clear about your interests. Think big; you may not get everything you want but at least you are starting your preparation in the right frame of mind.

3. Do your homework. Figure out ways to translate the skills you have honed during your time out of the workplace into marketable business skills. If you have any gaps, for example, if you’ve not kept up with technology, start to close them. Then you can present a solid case, confident that you are marketable and that you have the ammunition to convince interviewers.

4. Expect challenges. Everyone wants an edge in a negotiation. Challenges are intended to put you on the defensive—and keep you there. They are also predictable. Anticipate how the other person is liable to react and think of specific ways to respond. Practice out loud.

5. Engage the other person. The best negotiations are exercises in two-way communication. Needs exist on both sides of the table. Perspectives, feelings, and ideas differ. By showing appreciation for these differences, you put the other person more at ease in talking about them. As shared understanding increases, you stop pulling against each other and start working together toward a mutual solution.