Capture Real-World Career Insight & Advice That Will Prep You for The Big Time

Advice for Mature Women Who Work

Seek additional educational opportunities - Opportunities are everywhere. For example, the AARP Foundation established the Women's Scholarship Program in 2007 to help women 40 and older overcome financial and employment barriers by allowing them to participate in education and training opportunities they could not otherwise afford. The Women's Scholarship Program helps women who are raising the children of another family member, those in dead-end jobs and those who have been out of the paid workforce for five or more years.

Align yourself with your work - Whether you need to work, or want to work, and whether your work for a fee (or for free), work can give your life new meaning when you align who you are and why you are here with the work you choose to do. If the changing marketplace does not support your current career, maturity is an excellent time to explore long-held dreams. Do you want to start your own business? More and more women (proportionately more than men) are doing just this. Do the work. A meaningful work life matters.

Pay strict attention to changing marketplace needs - Once you know what is "out there" and when you know what is "in you" - align your interests and new learning opportunities with marketplace needs. How simple is this? Need help? That's why we have coaches.

If you seek traditional employment - Continually reposition yourself as a passive candidate on LinkedIn, Facebook, Zoom, Ziggs and Naymz. Up your social networking efforts. Execunet's recent market intelligence report states that networking, including social networking, accounts for 70% of senior professional and executive opportunities. Remember! It's who knows you, not simply who you know, that matters.

Learn the serious skills of negotiations - Apply this in the workplace whether you are negotiating for compensation or a project assignment. Take a class and practice until your own self-confidence soars. There is ample evidence that women stand back when it comes to speaking up effectively for their own interests.

Begin to specialize - Maturity is the "age of the Guru." It is often ONLY through specialization that you can continue to increase your income throughout your working lifetime and find success in the art of doing exceptional work.

Come out of the "aging closet" - Learn the facts about aging minds, bodies and spirits and how working contributes positively to outcomes in each of these areas of life. Work maintains a good self image, sustains social relationships and improves financial health. Work (whether full-time or part-time) is a prescription against loneliness and boredom, especially the gut-wrenching isolation that financial ill-health can bring to your life.

Leave a gift to the future - The best gift you can give your children is to live your life well and to remain as financially independent as possible. Good work is one path toward achieving this goal.

For more on the latest trends impacting mature workers, visit my website: www.AgelessinAmerica.com.