Professional Women
We generally know ourselves pretty well. We don’t define ourselves by age. We might be 40, 50 or 60 but we know we have much more to accomplish. On a good day we feel smart and confident (I’m not going to talk too much about the bad days here.) We have achieved some success over our career(s) but believe our work should speak for itself. We don’t like to brag. After all, we were brought up to think that nice girls didn’t brag. We care about other people and usually have deep relationships with our families that may include a husband (or not), kids and in-laws or more unconventional relationships and of course a wonderful rich network of friends. Many of my friends are also heavily involved with some degree of caring for aging parents. And now we’re told that we need to manage our personal brand and do this whole social media thing!
Professional women work because they have to and because it’s part of who they are. The Baby Boomer professional woman intends to keep on working either through necessity (darn that downturn that wiped out savings or the cost of helping kids through school or the cost of assisted living that aging parents require) and/or through passion for their work. My husband once overheard me describing my ideal retirement in the future as doing exactly what I was doing now and he was horrified. Perhaps he thinks “retired” means doing nothing but I love what I do and as long as there are people to coach and new types of social media to investigate, I’m hooked!
LinkedIn allows us to show our leadership and generosity
As mature professionals, we can afford to be generous to others in the workplace. We like to mentor young talent and are frequently excellent managers. LinkedIn is the perfect place to show our skills as a manager and mentor. It’s easy to compliment others (endorsements, recommendations, “likes” and “shares”)
LinkedIn keeps us young
LinkedIn keeps us young. It allows us an appropriate way to engage in social media, showing that we’re current, comfortable with modern technology and methods.
LinkedIn is the best place to find new jobs (at any age)
Mature professionals still need to look for jobs, promotions and other opportunities as we are just as vulnerable as others as targets for layoffs and we can never stop building our careers. We can scream “age discrimination” or we can show why we’re valuable employees to seek out and hire. LinkedIn is a great place to do that.
LinkedIn is a great place to build your own business
Women often dream of starting their own business and perhaps you’re ready to decide that it’s now or never to launch that business. You probably don’t have a large budget to start your new business and LinkedIn is your best friend for an abundance of opportunities for free promotion.
Women are social and involved
Even the most introverted of us value our friends and families. Most mature women like to serve their community. Even if we’re shy, we like to be a part of larger communities and have deep ties. LinkedIn can be an extension of the connections we’ve developed.
The Bragging Problem
There are many professionals who have no difficulty in saying on LinkedIn or elsewhere bold statements of how wonderful they are. Their statements tend to be all about them.
LinkedIn offers a wonderful opportunity to showcase your skills in a less of a braggart way. It might be that you talk about what you love to do and that shows your skills as well. You may find it easier to talk about what you care about and how you help your clients or your employers rather than promoting yourself. LinkedIn is just the place for that.
Some examples of self-promotion that women are more comfortable with
- I am passionate about inspiring others to see and feel the best in themselves.
- I’ve worked hard to create a company with whom I would want to do business.
- My clients enjoy knowing they have a customized plan designed to integrate and enhance every aspect of their lives.
- I have a passion for bringing to market products that create customer delight.
- I have built my business based on referrals, and repeat client transactions.
- I am known for my innovative approach.
- I believe that building and maintaining strong internal and external customer relationships is key to successful contract negotiations
Many of the women I’ve worked with had to be coaxed and coached to even find it possible to make these modest statements. Once they are comfortable enough to use these types of claims, they generally start to become more confident to find a style of self-promotion that works for them.
I would love to talk with you about how LinkedIn could help you with your professional goals. Please call me for a free 30-minute consultation to see how I might be able to help you. Please schedule a free 30-minute strategy consultation to see how I might be able to assist you.