Women in Business: How to get ahead in your career

Corinne Mills, MD of Personal Career Management has given her top tips to professional women on how to get ahead in your career:

Why are women putting their careers ahead of their relationships with men?

I think most women would want to achieve a balance between a successful working life and a healthy romantic one. However, there are times in most women’s lives when they have to make choices. If they are ambitious in their career, they may have to work long hours, travel and pour lots of energy into their working life. This may leave relatively little time and energy for relationships. I think that modern women are also very realistic and know that there are no guarantees in life and therefore their ability to earn a good living gives them more choices and independence. I think that also work can sometimes be a distraction if things aren’t going to well on the relationship front.

Does this approach make sense?

If a situation arises where it becomes clear that there are conflicts between the career and the relationship, then every woman needs to make her own decision about what is right for her. There is no fun in being a workaholic with no personal life – and let’s face it, you are as likely to be made redundant as divorced – so a balance about work and personal life is really important.

What are the benefits to this?

Like anything else in life, the more you put in, the more you get out. If you put energy into your career, then you are more likely to be successful and have a rewarding working life. And most people spend more time at work than anything else apart from sleeping – so it’s sensible to make sure that time is spent somewhere you want to be.

What are the downsides?

No one ever said on their deathbed that they wished they had spent more time at the office. Work is important – but having a life is important too.

Are you aware of any increase in this mentality recently? Do you have any anecdotes?

At Personal Career Management, we coach lots of ambitious women for promotions. But we equally work with lots of women who feel that their work and personal life is out of kilter and this is causing them real unhappiness. We help them work out how to make the changes needed for a more rewarding working life.

For more information on how Personal Career Management might be able to help please contact us on 01753 888995 or fill in our online contact form.

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