How to get ahead in your career as a woman in tech

There’s been lots of talk in recent years about how it’s harder to get ahead in your career if you’re a woman in tech.

Is that your experience?

I’ve spent more than 25 years as a woman in technology.

I’ve been through just about every experience you can imagine – passed over for promotion, redundancy, brain injury, self-harm, burnout …

But I’ve also had amazing career successes – promoted twice while on maternity leave; headhunted for exciting new roles; seconded to Chicago for 2 months; regular invites to comment on Sky News and much more.

When I ‘left’ technology in 2012 to launch my independent coaching practice, I realised I’d been working in a bubble.

I thought at first I’d been lucky. Lucky to get success. Lucky to get promoted. Lucky to get invited to Chicago.

As I coached more and more women, I realised that throughout my career, I’d always instinctively understood the 9 key elements that you need to focus on to get ahead in your career. It wasn’t luck, it was confidence and purpose.

And as I said yesterday, a few women are brilliant at focusing on all 9 elements. But for most of us, we’re good or moderately good, at 2 or 3 of these elements.

I want women to feel successful and powerful at work.

I want YOU to feel successful and powerful at work.

That’s what prompted me to bring together my learnings and insights on the 9 elements to create a career accelerator programme to give you Complete Career Confidence.

The 9 key elements to get ahead in your career as a woman in tech

1. Ambition
2. Contribution
3. Purpose
4. Success mindset
5. Balance
6. Impact
7. Leverage
8. DIScomfort zone
9. Strategy

Yesterday I talked about Ambition (and whether it’s a dirty word). Today I want to focus on the second element, Contribution.

Contribution

When you know what your career goals are, next you need to get absolute clarity on your skills, strengths and experiences.

In order to get promoted or pass the job interview with flying colours, you’ve got to have that inner confidence and self-belief that comes with having a clear understanding of your contribution to the world.

What you do and say in only the way you can do it.

We are all unique. Put yourself in a room of 100 Scrum Masters or 100 Product Owners or 100 Programme Managers, yes you will have some skills and qualities in common.

But you will also have unique skills, qualities, experiences and preferences that give you a unique perspective. A unique style. A unique contribution.

Yet very often we just don’t know what our special skills and talents are.

We brush away compliments.

We shy away from taking credit.

We don’t see what others see in us.

When you get clear on your contribution and what is unique about you, you’ll have so much more inner confidence. It makes it SO much easier for you to focus on the right career opportunities for you.

Your task for today to start to get ahead in your career

Three things I want you to do today to get ahead in your career:

• Get clear on your skills and strengths. Brainstorm a list of all your skills and strength. Write them down.
• Ask others who know you at work for their feedback and insight.
• Check out my Complete Career Confidence accelerator programme which will help you get clarity on your Contribution so that you can get ahead in your career more quickly and more efficiently.

Pop a note in the comments. I’d love to hear how you get on. And in the next article I’ll talk to you about Purpose.

p.s. Complete Career Confidence starts again Monday 18 May and when you sign up before 14 May you get 50% discount as well as £346 of Early Bird bonuses.