Network Like A Girl To Land Top Jobs
Networking techniques that work for Joe CEO will not work for women in search of career advancement. Networking is gender specific and women must seek out other women to make the business connections that matter.
Only 25 top Fortune 500 companies had women CEOs in 2018. Yada, yada. Old news, right? Women have been struggling to land top positions since the beginning of time.
However, the way women approach advancement may have to change. Networking, that age-old practice of developing, maintaining and utilizing business relationships to move up the corporate ladder should be a two-pronged approach according to a recent study by the National Academy of Sciences.
According to Wired, the study found that “high-placing women” go beyond normal networking connections to create “a tight-knit inner circle of other well-connected women.”
The study looked at how student job seekers “make connections and how strong they were.” They also factored in “GPA differences, job experience, and other relevant info.” The study showed that for women, success depended on having a “women-only inner circle and a larger, well-connected network.” Men, on the other hand, did not benefit all from same-sex networks. So much for those boys club benefits.
Women who develop an inner circle of go-to professional woman have an easier time cracking the gender code for specific companies. The “secret” insider information gained from inner circle networking includes-
- How a company treats women employees in general
- Whether women leaders exist and if they are treated with respect
- If the company has done anything to increase gender diversity
Getting these insider goods on company culture subsequently allows women to arm themselves for negotiation before the job interview. Growing an inner circle of close female professionals will take time and effort, but the ultimate payoff is power.