Watch Her Back

"Women have to make their own luck."

2009-03-13T08:34:00.003-04:00

Check out this article on women in Hollywood...although women make up only 16% of "behind the scenes" jobs in the movie industry, Charlize Theron says, "I try not to kind of b**** and complain about what [women] don't have...it's a tricky thing because, I think, if you want to find that linchpin, you can, in anything."

Here's to Friday! Have a good one!

Work is work, no matter where you live!

2009-02-20T08:05:00.002-05:00

Let's take a moment to thank our international readers...I've gotten such great feedback from the ladies in Asia, Europe and even Australia. Thank you! This blog is doing something only a blog could do...creating "virtual mentorship" between women who live thousands of miles apart. Thank you all for your participation!

Focus on your goals

2009-02-15T11:25:00.002-05:00

Kelly R. is a Leadership Development Specialist at a major corporation. Ever since we met, she's been the definition of driven and goal-oriented...a powerhouse wherever she works. She's always known how to get things done while still being charming and fun to work with.

1) What do you wish you had known when you started working?

Never talk about other people you work with negatively. You never know when that person will become your boss.

2) List one "do" and one "don't" for young women at work

Don't get caught up in office gossip, though it might be interesting to find out the "scoop," it will never get you anywhere. Do build networks with other women; find out how they got to the place they are today. Mentors are key to getting promoted, that will take you further in business than anything else.

Women like Kelly have been known to ask a potential mentor to lunch and say, "I want to be in your shoes one day...how do I get there?" That's a definite Do!

Comm superwoman gives her two cents

2009-01-27T07:59:00.002-05:00

Holly McFall is a public relations professional on hiatus to be a stay at home mom. She is also the founder of the fabulous football blog for women, Girls on Football. She has some advice for any ladies out there in the field of Communication:

1) The main thing I wish I had known before starting my first job was: Nobody knows the difference between Public Relations and Marketing. Most companies figure they go hand in hand and consider both jobs a function of the "Marketing Department". I studied PR. In my college curriculum, Marketing was a completely different major. Different classes, projects, and requirements. I feel that either businesses should start understanding that these two functions are separate or colleges should recognize that the business world is grouping them together and start a major that incorporates both so the graduate is prepared to step into a role as both PR and Marketing Expert. Because in the situations I have witnessed, Marketing Departments are not very big and one person is required to do Marketing, PR, MultiMedia, etc.

2) One "Do" for young professional women: Do attack your job with a positive attitude. Even if you are overqualified or in a temporary job, a positive attitude is noticed and admired.

One "Don't": Don't get discouraged at managements lack of inspiration or resistance to brilliant ideas. Your creativity will be appreciated someday.

Another "Don't": Be friendly with all your co-workers but don't get locked into any one clique as management will sart to judge you based on aquaintances and not your performance.

Can we second that one about being judged based on your office clique? Amen!

Know thyself

2009-01-15T08:11:00.001-05:00

Annie, whose field is healthcare, understands a thing or two about the importance of knowing yourself as it relates to the workplace. She had this great advice to share with women starting out in their careers:

1) What do you wish you had known when you started working?

I wish I would have known what I truly wanted to do with my life! Beginning a career is exciting stuff, but 5 years down the road, if it's not exactly what your heart is in, you will regret that you never determined what your calling was.

2) List one "do" and one "don't" for young women at work

DO play the part. Act as if....in other words, have confidence in yourself and your work. If you have confidence in yourself, others respect you more. If you went to college and earned a degree, flaunt it! you earned it! Personally, I have a doctorate, but don't have ANYONE call me doctor...but I should!

DON'T allow yourself to be taken advantage of, as many women do. Stand your ground and know your role and be sure that your superiors know that you are a force to be reckoned with!!

Our New Year's Wish

2009-01-07T08:42:00.003-05:00

We polled a group of friends to see what they were hoping for, work-wise, in the New Year. Here's what they said:

"To finally prove to my boss that I get more done when I telecommute than when I'm in the office!" - Susan R.

"This year I'm finally going to use the task function on my Blackberry instead of writing myself a bunch of notes that get lost." - Pat M.

"I want to find a way to work with another manager on our team who constantly bends the rules, or ignores them totally, to get his way. I'm sick of being mad about it and am going to learn how to deal." - Pamela K.

"I'm going to go back to working full time after being a stay at home mom for four years. I want to do something in my kid's school but am not sure what." - Nikki N.

Hearing these made us wonder what we should be resolving to do ourselves...check out this great article on business resolutions for the New Year for a jump start.

Oh Marcus I Love You

2008-12-20T09:26:00.003-05:00

He's like a therapist for your career, with a cute accent and lots of supportive phrases like, "oh love, you've got a wee problem." If you've read any of Marcus Buckingham's books, you know that he has an interesting way of looking at personalities and how they affect performance at work. Now you can take an online course through Saint Oprah's website, available here. It's great for anyone looking for a career makeover, or just an attitude re-adjustment.

Thank You

2008-12-20T09:23:00.002-05:00

The year has flown by, and before it gets to the end, a thank you is in order. Thank you for reading this blog, linking to it, tagging it...you rock! For 2009, we've got some great professional women lined up to give YOU their advice, stories, and get-ahead (or just get-along!) tips. You can expect coverage of events that affect us all in our professional lives - and for us the professional is the personal. Your feedback, comments and ideas are much appreciated. Thank you for reading!

Here we go again...

2008-12-17T18:30:00.003-05:00

Living in or around Washington, D.C., you feel a particular sense of deja vu every four years. Same as it ever was, to quote that annoying song. Now this is not to say that just the fact that Obama is headed to the White House isn't a big shakeup. No, it's just that Washingtonians tend to take a slightly longer view of the changes that come with each election. Your party's out? Wait awhile. You're in? Live it up now before things change. Frankly, with senators living up the street (and stealing your bananas at the grocery store, re-told humorously as a family story...yes that really happened) and the Beltway being just another parking lot, we're not going to see a lot that ain't been seen. However, as inauguration day nears (and no, we're not renting out our houses and yes, we're avoiding the city that day) there is an interesting game of "who's in and who's out" being played this year.

Of course, first and foremost we're watching Obama to try and guess the significance of his Cabinet picks. Oh, the majority play basketball? Fodder for actual (if lame) conversations. How many came from the Clinton White House? How many are Black? Latino? And of course, we can't escape the gender discussion, which leads me to ask about Caroline Kennedy.

This could either be the media stirring up the Camelot pot or a reflection of how people really feel. It is intriguing that Caroline Kennedy is interested in Hillary's old seat. Think there'd be any mentoring there? Maybe Hillary could show Caroline a few things before she moves up into the stratosphere of the Sec job. To our surprise, Kennedy isn't interested in leading the Peace Corps, as some have suggested. She's going for the meat. Not only is her interest in the position pitting her against a Cuomo; he's also her ex-brother in law. Talk about complicated office politics.

Increasing your visibility

2008-12-01T16:28:00.003-05:00

Kimberly H., a production assistant, is in her twenties. She assists two project managers in her office and she works on marketing/PR, recruiting and accounting efforts. Kimberly has advice for young women striving to carve out their own niche at the office. She says:

Do: Take on opportunities and roles in the office, especially ones that make you the go-to person for that specialty. Work outside of the confines of your job description to take on new duties that take the stress off of your superiors.

However, don't take on the thankless, time-consuming roles in the office. You won't necessarily get anywhere in your company if the "big job" you've taken upon yourself is to be the person that brings in the bagels every Friday morning. No one cares who brings in their sugar fix every Friday, they just want to make sure someone's doing it.

I've figured out to take on the "important" stuff in my office, like managing my office's bank account/check writing, taking on a large marketing role in the office, setting up and helping do interviews for new recruits, etc. People know to come to me for that stuff. I get to be one of the few females (and only admin) who gets to sit in all of the staff meetings with the higher-ups because of these roles. When offers come up that one of the admins in my office needs to become the person to refill the fridge every week with dozens of sodas or the one to order paper all the time, I politely decline. When it comes time for promotion or (higher) bonus opportunities, no one will consider "putting sodas in the fridge" as a big deal.

We couldn't agree more...ladies, do you ever see your male colleagues bringing in brownies that they baked over the weekend? Are they volunteering to buy paper towels at Costco? Don't think so. Your job is not to be the office mom or errand girl. There are plenty of thankless chores to be done at home. Certainly, do the jobs that your role requires. However, when you're looking for increased viability, think smart and determine what unique role you can play.

Y the Hype?

2008-11-19T20:44:00.001-05:00

Mainstream media has covered the fact that Generation Y is currently descending on the workplace ad nauseum. Seriously, we're not all plugged into our iPods, wasting the day on facebook while the over 30's work their tails off. It's been a little disheartening to read the sweeping generalizations that seem to make up the bulk of these articles. Pink magazine did a great piece that more accurately describes how Millennials can add to an organization by forcing decision makers to build their brand beyond the typical modes of communication.

The side of the story that hasn't been adequately covered is that Millennials may actually be more uniquely qualified than any other generation in recent history. After all, isn't this the generation that was practically required to volunteer in order to get into college? Aren't these the same people who faced an uncertain economy (and this is before the recent bust) with optimism and intense networking to even get their first jobs? Yes, you can rag on us for our supposed lack of work ethic; however, here a just a few traits for which we're also being lauded:

goal orientation
positive attitude
desire to be engaged in our career (want "more than just a job")
technical ability
ability to effectively collaborate

Working well with Millennials, and especially managing them, requires a desire to know more about them as well as willingness to alter work patterns to fit their unique traits. Check out this great article for more ideas. Tomorrow, more on how inter-generational relationships affect our day to day work lives.

Must reads for professional women

2008-11-19T20:11:00.001-05:00

A poll of successful, self-made professional women in the DC area revealed several books that are "must-reads." Once more than one woman mentioned a title, we knew it had to be included on this list for you! Among them are:

The Big Sister's Guide to the World of Work
The Art of War
Basic Black
Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office

Do you have some titles that have made a difference to you at work? Share them in the comments section!

2008-11-13T23:52:00.000-05:00

Catherine T. is one of the coolest women we know. She went from being a 60+ hour per week corporate attorney to a successful entrepreneur. She now runs a government consulting company and is working on her first novel.

What do you wish someone had told you when you were entering the workforce?
I wish someone had told me how important it was to make your boss happy. I operated under the naive impression that if I did good work, and tried hard, I would automatically get promoted. What I didn't take into account was the fact that each boss has a unique style of communication, specific likes and dislikes, and - surprise - they are human like me. Now, the employees I value most take the time to learn whether I like to communicate via phone or e-mail; they anticipate the questions I'm going to ask and they take the time to tailor their work style to mine. I know I can trust them to take over, which leaves me time to work on other projects. It also lets them grow their own skill set and build their resume.

Give some "do's and dont's" for young women to follow at work
Do: take feedback / constructive criticism for what it is - an opportunity to learn
Don't: think that you can build a career without putting in the hours - weekends, evenings, they're part of the dues-paying process early in your career.

A Ready Made Network

2008-11-13T23:40:00.000-05:00

At Watch Her Back, we've got a great network of girlfriends, ex- and current co-workers, old bosses, gym buddies, and acquaintances...all professional women who act as our personal brain trust. When we need advice on handling a work situation, these are the ladies we go to. Now, their wisdom is at your disposal. Ask questions, provide feedback. Read us first, before you check your e-mail. You won't be disappointed.

Welcome to Everything You Didn't Know!

2008-11-13T23:27:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Watch Her Back! At work, we're much more likely to hear "watch your back" than to be encouraged to reach a hand out to another woman. However, young women today are entering the workforce without fear of the glass ceiling. Whether your passion is winning your latest client, becoming a VP or just getting through the day, we've got something here for you. As a resource for young professional women, this blog represents a knowledge bank. Come here to find wisdom from professional women who have been there, conquered that.