KNOW YOUR VALUE

I recently noticed in just the past couple years especially when filling out forms in the doctors office, under list your profession Homemaker has been added. Interesting, has society actually taken time out of their busy schedules to notice the women who opted to surrender their lucrative careers to become CEO of 75 Hillside Terrace, salary zero dollars indefinitely. It has been decades now that women have stepped down from their careers they spent the better part of their lives working late and climbing the latter of success only to accept the difficult role of staying home to raise their children. Giving up social lunches, conversations with adults and my personal favorite reading my emails in complete silence.

Another life altering event contributed to women leaving the work place, Covid19. Prompting many women in the work place to resign or attempt working remote due to virtual learning AKA the Bain of my existence. Our children had to learn over night adult skills like time management, deadlines, and working without instruction for the most part forcing Mom’s to pick up yet another job, teacher. Speaking from experience virtual learning does not work. It is a nightmare and I hope I never have to experience it along with my child having to go through it again. As we emerge from a two year stint many struggle with the simple yet complex question what now? Exactly what do we do now after so many lifestyle changes have begun to set in.

Enter “stage right” inflation, astronomical gas prices along with cost of living, college tuition and life on one income is no longer a choice but now an inconvenience. For most households two incomes are now a necessity in order to squeeze by each month. Before you begin the lengthy process of job searches and grueling interview process it is the most important step you will take when looking at employment is that women must know their value. Knowing your value before hand will turn the tables for you. It is what will make the difference in finding your career again or landing a job. It is what will set you apart from other potential new hires.

So what important values do you have that will be the model that sets you apart. To begin there is college, certifications, knowledge in a specific industry, your level of expertise and I stress this; update your resume and LinkedIn account. Employers look at LinkedIn as your professional CV a prolific example of what type of employee you will be. Proof read for mistakes, run on sentences and make sure it makes sense. Nothing looks worse to a future employer than a sloppy resume. 

Your personal attributes for example, exceptional organizational skills, the ability to handle multiple tasks while exercising excellent judgement in problem solving. I always read the very detailed outline of the job description before hand making sure I do have those values  the employer is looking for. I also can not emphasis this enough when you do land that interview be prepared be over prepared. I always read about the company before hand so I have knowledge of the company I wish to work for. If you are not prepared it may end up like this.

This is a great example I have for everyone. I was interviewing recently, now bare with me here, I sat down with the owner first time interviewing with this particular company. No sooner did I realize five minutes in he did not have an updated version of my resume. First mistake, I should off had one in my hand and I didn’t. From my iPhone I email what looked to be my updated version from Docs to his secretary only to realize in sheer terror I sent a rough draft of a cover letter to another employer to the secretary. He gladly took it from her and began critiquing my writing skills. He found a comma out of place looked up at me and said, “Shouldn’t every sentence have a verb”? I learned so many valuable lessons in those three hours in his office, one not being every sentence needs a verb which I do know. Also not if it is a command after the sentence before it, which I did do and in this case. The second mistake I made was that I was significantly unprepared but more importantly I did not know my value.

Here are a few sobering facts. For every dollar men make women make 82 cents, African American women 63 cents and Hispanic women 57 cents. A recent GO Banking Rate survey showed 40% of women in America have less than 100 dollars in their bank account and 14% of American women according to Fidelity Investments think they know a lot about saving money. Cents of self is a blog I designed to educate, promote healthy financial habits, share my experiences, all things business with a splash of humor to wash it all down with. Welcome all to my blog hopefully with time making sense of our lives won’t cost a cent.  For women by a woman and for anyone else feel free to read. 

I would like to add I did get a call back for a second interview for the  above position I recently interviewed with. I did respectfully decline and showed my appreciation however I felt I was going in a different direction with my career. Always be polite employers remember that. Always know your value as an employee, leader, teacher, writer, CEO, manager and so on make sure you know what your knowledge is worth.