Highly motivated, hard-working, structured and committed: the perfect candidate for the upcoming promotion. But who gets it? The colleague of course! And who is to blame? The boss? Or maybe these thought and behavior patterns …
Equality in the job – will we ever achieve it? Still, women are often left behind in their jobs and careers, are paid less and are underrepresented, especially in prestigious professions. But is it always the other's fault? Or are we in our own way? Therefore we should get out of these four thought traps as quickly as possible.
1. "Unfortunately, I do not meet all of the criteria for the position."
We go through the job advertisement and internally tick every skill we bring with us. But if one comes up that we don't fulfill, we become insecure. If there is another one, we prefer to put the job advertisement aside quickly, justification: "Not qualified enough". However, I was fortunate to have a friend who talked to me Tacheless: For an employer, a job advertisement is like participating in "Make a wish". Just write down everything that would be great. It is also clear that very few applicants fulfill everything. That's why we don't have to tick every desired skill, but simply reflect on what we can and start from the things that we cannot learn that we can learn. Just start looking for a job with confidence. Otherwise, we women will be paid less and work below our qualification level.
2. "Don't step on anyone's feet"
Let's be honest, of course we all want to be liked and welcome and recognized by the staff. Making an effort to be friendly and nice to others is therefore an extremely important prerequisite for relaxed cooperation in everyday working life. What is not possible, however, is the desire to please everyone. Because that won't work. It is better to communicate clearly than to be confused.
3. "Self-praise stinks?"
When men rock something at work, close a new deal, or just hit the target, they give each other a big pat on the back. Most of them anyway, and rightly so! Many women, on the other hand, then modestly decline or praise the performance of others instead of emphasizing their own contribution. After all, self-praise stinks too. This is certainly not the case everywhere, but it is definitely an often observable phenomenon. Only this modesty is indeed a virtuous character trait, but it does not bring us a step forward. In order to get ahead in the job, it doesn't help to hope that someone will take note of our performance and then reward it with promotion and the like. We have to take responsibility for this ourselves – and pat each other on the back more often.
4. "Teasing you"
Of course there are many power women who do their job straight and self-confidently and who stand up for themselves. But many others find it very difficult and they prefer to hold back instead of expressing their opinion in meetings. Perhaps out of fear of doing wrong, of getting noticed or of being criticized. Only that way you don't become visible, you stay in the shadow of others. Therefore: if you have good arguments, always give them out!
Courage ladies!
Understatement is certainly a good thing in some areas of life, but you won't get any further in your job if you hide and let the others take the praise. Regardless of whether it is salary negotiations or a successful project, courage is usually rewarded. And why not? After all, we can and should be proud of our successes and they should pay off! However, only those who are actually seen and perceived have a basis for negotiations.