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Published: 01 Mar 2019
The best career advice for women, by women.
Google 'career advice' and you'll find a surplus of hard-learned lessons in business by those who've already made it. But with so many pointers promising to help map our way to success, deciphering the useful from the useless (read: waste of time) can become a tedious, and slightly demotivating experience.
FACT: regardless of the industry you work in, navigating the workforce can be challenging, particularly for women. While the gender pay gap is narrowing, Australian women still earn $25,000 less on average, than their male counterparts. Sigh. But despite the stats, women around the world are continuing to kick career goals, using their business and finance savvy to become powerful leaders in their fields. And who better to take advice from?
Here, you'll find inspiring career and finance advice from successful women that you'll actually use.
Believe in your goals
"Success begins at that magical moment when you declare to yourself, your friends, and the universe that you believe you can do something different."—Natalie Massenet, Net-a-Porter co-founder
Think about your future
"This may sound simple, but check that your employer is paying your superannuation as required by law. Your payslip may not be a true reflection of what has actually been paid. Also make sure you've looked into consolidating your superannuation accounts into one. Doing this could add thousands of dollars to your nest egg by the time you retire."—Gemma Pinnell, Director of Strategic Engagement, Industry Super Australia
Establish a network
"Try to realise that if you reach out to 10 people in the industry, three might write you back and two of them will probably just drop off the radar because they get too busy or something happens. But all you need is one person to give you a chance."—Eva Chen, Director of Fashion Partnerships at Instagram
Be open to opportunities
"The chances are when you begin your life, you don't know what you want to do. I certainly didn't know. Then you have doors to meet people and they are doors that come in front of you. I want to remind people that it is not always the most glamorous door that will be your door. I certainly had no idea that working for a man in a factory in Italy was going to be my door. Yet I owe that man everything."—Diane von Furstenberg, designer
Ask for what you want
"Don't be scared to ask for more than what you think you're entitled to. I always tell young women that they have a right to own their opinion, to speak up, and to make the first move. Ask yourself if a man were to do this would it be OK."—Whitney Wolfe Herd, Bumble Founder
Value your savings
"Treat your savings account like just another bill. It has to be paid every month or there are consequences. Have a portion of your pay check automatically diverted into a savings account. Once it's in there, forget about it. You never saw it anyway"—Sophia Amoruso, Founder of Nasty Gal and GirlBoss Media
Don't splurge on your credit card
"Don't get into credit card debt! I always zero out my balance each month. I got all my money lessons from my dad and they all boiled down to two things: don't spend more than you have and keep cash available."—Ann Shoket, former Editor-in-Chief of Seventeen magazine and co-launcher of CosmoGIRL
Be passionate about your career
"I only do things that are fun. I don't ever want to do things that are boring. If you do things that are boring, you don't put your heart and soul into it and it's a waste of time. Life is so short and precious—you should actually have a good time through your life if you can. Obviously there are tough things, but generally I like to do things that are intriguing and interesting and a little bit different."—Grace Coddington, former Creative Director at Vogue
Take leadership roles seriously
"When I was at school, one of my teachers had two statements hanging from the board all year: 'Be observant' and 'Be empathetic.' Having the ability to relate to people is such an important part of management and leadership."—Marne Levine, Chief Operating Officer of Instagram
Have confidence
"Confidence is crucial. It just has to come from knowledge and experience rather than just attitude."—Lucy Yeomans, Editor-In-Chief at Porter magazine
Stand up for yourself
"You have to stand up for yourself and let people know you mean business. I feel like girls are taught to be deprecating and not to be tough. I'm all about having a balance of being nice but tough when you need to be."—Jen Atkin, celebrity hairstylist
Be brave
"A lot of people—myself included—are afraid to even attempt to be in the classroom because they don't see others like them. Self-selecting out is limiting your potential before you even start. I'd say my biggest advice would just be to take a chance. Put yourself in your panic zone."—Karlie Kloss, model and entrepreneur
This article was first published by Bauer on 1 March 2019. The information referred to may change from the date of publication and care should be taken when relying on such information.
*The above material, whilst correct at the time of publication may include references or statements which are no longer current.
