By Kathleen Winsor-Games NABBW’s Associate for Women and Work What are some meaningful accomplishments that you would like to check off your career bucket list before you retire? If you don’t have a career bucket list yet, now is the perfect time to set about creating one. Think back to when you started your career. What seemed important then? Are there areas you haven’t explored yet that have always been on your career wish list? Why not engage in some wish fulfillment, and transition into an area of passion and untapped strength in your next chapter? You could begin with a modest... Read More

By Kathleen Winsor-Games NABBW’s Associate for Women and Work The changing nature of work and the new American workplace have been reported on frequently over the past decade. As women and Baby Boomers, we have moved from the expectation of having one or two jobs during the course of our lifetime to an uncertain landscape that our parents would scarcely recognize. The economic and workplace shifts occurring during the decade have been cataclysmic, and many workers are still numbed by recent shockwaves as they attempt to adapt. For many Baby Boomers, retirement has been postponed and age discrimination... Read More

By Kathleen Winsor-Games NABBW’s Associate for Women and Work Are you in a hurry to find your next job or consulting gig? Perhaps you were recently laid off, or the company you worked for these past 10 years closed its doors. After a lengthy and successful tenure, you find yourself in the position of having to tell friends and strangers about your value to future employers. As a woman who entered the job market at a time when we all expected to stay with the same company until retirement, you may be looking outside of your former employer’s doors at a startling new employment landscape... Read More

By Kathleen Winsor-Games NABBW’s Associate for Women and Work Is your career moving forward on a path of your choosing and in a fulfilling direction? Have you begun to feel that your career is something that is happening to you, without your guidance or input? If it feels as though your career has gone into a sideways skid and you aren’t sure how to regain control, read on for sure signs of career drift and what you can do about it. For us Baby Boomer Women, career drift can happen for a number of reasons: We took time off to be full-time mothers, or worked only part-time until our children... Read More

By Dumont Gerken-Owen, PhD, Certified Career Management Coach  NABBW’s Women and Work Expert Would you rather eat a worm than create a personal career brand? In reality, developing a personal career brand  doesn’t have to be torture because you are already living it. The fact is, you don’t create a personal brand:  You discover it. Simply said, think of your personal brand as the essence of whom you are and the unique attributes only you can bring to the table.  The key to a powerful brand is understanding your authentic self- the values, passions, personality preferences, knowledge... Read More

Powerful Tools to Reach Your Career Goals! By Dumont Gerken Owen, Ph.D. NABBW’s Women & Work Expert Many of you are working extremely hard to reach your career goals with little success. Maybe this is the time to try another approach. Try some of these powerful ways to manifest success in your career goals. 1. Define your ideal career. Visualize each detail: What are you doing? In what setting? Who would you work with? Is it consistent with your passions? Often professionals such as athletes improve their performance by the use of visualization. 2. Attract the results you most desire.... Read More

Women Boomers: Promote Your Unique Soft Skills & Ace the Interview – Part 1 By Dumont Gerken Owen, Ph.D. NABBW’s Women & Work Expert What are Soft Skills? They are the nontechnical skills that consistently rate high with employers…and Guess What? They\’re the skills in which Boomers excel! Sometimes, however, you have to make those skills clear to the interviewer by knowing how to promote the knowledge and wisdom you\’ve gained from your experience. I recently read an article by Katharine Hansen, Ph.D., Creative Director and Associate Publisher of Quintessential... Read More

Even in the Worst of Times, Best Prepared Candidates Still Get Jobs By Dumont Gerkin Owen Ph.D. NABBW’s Women & Work Expert How is it that even when the times get really tough in the job market, there are always individuals who find jobs.  Are they smarter than you?  Too young, too old? Better qualified, cheaper or are they the best-prepared candidate out of the applicant pool? So how do you, as an applicant, become the employer’s best of the best? Work harder and smarter than your competitors The average advice is to spend twenty hours per week for a part-time job and... Read More

Discouraged in Your Job Search?  Kick Your Inner Gremlin to the Curb. By Dumont Gerkin Owen Ph.D. NABBW’s Women & Work Expert What is a Gremlin?  He or she is the one that whispers negative messages in your ear:  “You’re too old, your skills are out of date, why would anyone hire you, you’ll never find a job?  Old dogs can’t learn new tricks.  Employers only want direct experience in the position or industry and don’t recognize the value of transferable skills. When does it appear?  Usually at the worst time possible.  You’ve just been laid off, fired or resigned. ... Read More

The Gender Gap in Employment:  A New Twist? By Dumont Gerken Owen, Ph.D. NABBW’s Women & Work Expert The recession has had a devastating effect on salaries and hiring rates for both men and women.  Evidence, however, indicates that the gender gap has extended from a disparity of salaries and advancement to the job search. According Tony Pugh of McClatchy Newspapers, for every twenty jobs that are filled, only one was by a woman.  This is particularly disturbing as in recent years women have risen to 52% of the job force.  According to Pugh this is not necessarily due only to systemic... Read More