Women in communication and the bottom line August 25, 2009

Last week’s Alphabet Bash was a raving success! Thanks to Susannah Prochazka, MWMC vice president of marketing, for taking on this important work on behalf of our organization.

Looking at our robust local communications groups, one question taht comes up from time to time is why do we need/have a women’s group in the communications profession. My personal take on this question is that while many are in portions of the marketing/communications field that have statistically more women than men, the balance of power and pay don’t reflect that we are in a female-dominant field. So, it was with interest that I read the blog post from Dr. Bey-Ling Sha, Ph.D., APR is an associate professor, School of Journalism & Media Studies at San Diego State University on PRSA’s Comprehension blog:

And speaking of the whole picture, our study found that women STILL make less than men, even taking into account such factors as time off from work (for whatever reason) and years of professional experience. This gendered salary discrepancy remains in public relations, even after decades of research data, going back to before I was born. Gives a whole new meaning to “my cheap baby”! Clearly, we women have NOT come a long way.

A quick scan of Department of Labor data doesn’t easily yield salary information by gender for our profession–it takes some digging. And, this has been the story since I’ve been in the profession. So, women can research and find data that may (or may not) be helpful in negotiating their salary or compensation package. But, it takes going into the bosses office and asking–or demanding–a raise. That’s often the harder part and one that the network of women in MWMC can help one another to practice, get the facts straight and take action. 

In a previous job, I finally worked up the nerve to ask for a real raise and walked out with a 12% increase in pay. And, that pay increase meant I had more money for retirement and a better foundation to negotiate an equitable salary at the my next position.

The Power of Involvement May 14, 2009

One benefit of being on the board of MWMC was being contacted by a headhunter who saw my name, where I worked.

 

It happened during my first year on the board and they were looking for someone in communications with a financial services background. Being very happy with my job, I brainstormed on some other individuals I knew or organizations that the recruiter could try, but it was nice to be considered. If you’re intersted in raising your visibility by volunteering or joining the board, please contact me at 952-346-6164 or nhayes@webershandwick.com.

Job search tip May 7, 2009

When I was job searching, one of my biggest challenges was focusing and determining which opportunities were a good fit for me so I could be effective in my search. Looking at opportunities on communications websites and local sites, I would become overwhelmed and find it difficult to take action.

 

I hit upon a system of taking each opportunity and ranking it on three criteria: how closely my skills matched the skill set the employer was looking for, how much I wanted the position and the location. I gave a numeric value to each criteria and then added it up. It quickly gave me a way to see the priority of each opportunity so I didn’t waste time on something that wasn’t a good fit or was just too far away to realistically consider.

Job transition: get involved, stay involved May 7, 2009

At this morning’s new member breakfast, it was shocking to realize how many of our members are in a job transition. Some attendees at the event were laid off less than a week ago! It’s difficult to go through a layoff let alone doing so when the economy seems weak.

 

It was a layoff from job that I didn’t really like that led me to join the board of MWMC. This was my second layoff in less than a year, so I was struggling with my career path and wondered how I could have made such a bad choice before. The fear, loneliness and uncertainty of that time were also mixed with an exhilarating sense of openness to whatever possibility could present itself. My family and friends gave me a lot of encouragement and I took the opportunity to take control of my career.

 

During the four months that I was job seeking, I dove into MWMC and networked a lot. My network helped me to get an interview with Weber Shandwick, but I wasn’t offered the position initially. However, being persistent paid off and an opportunity arose nine months later in a different group and I knew I really wanted to work at the firm because I really saw what the culture was like and had time to reflect on what kind of environment I wanted to be in for the next phase of my career.

 

Two years later, I’m still involved in MWMC because I vowed that I would continue to invest in myself and my career future by networking. After every MWMC event, I go through the business cards I receive and invite people to join me on LinkedIn and send personal notes and emails to some people that I really wanted to connect with. And, I offer whatever information or help I can to others who are networking because it’s all about networking karma and being a resource.

 

While I was job searching, I reached out to others in the same situation and within my profession for support, took the time to see which skills I needed to develop more, found resources at the Minnesota Workforce Center and got through it. It was tough and unnerving, but I’m at a job that I am much happier with right now.

 

Shannon Novotne, our incoming VP, was one of our members who was job searching a few months ago but has a new position she’ll start in the next few weeks, so take heart, there are jobs out there! Shannon networked a lot on FaceBook to find out what positions were available.

Women and Leadership April 21, 2009

When I was younger there were a few magazines out there specifically focused on women and our professional lives–”Working Woman” and “Working Mother” being the biggest names. There were even some small, regional publications looking at how women trained and worked in what had been a man’s world.

It makes me a little sad that those publications aren’t on my newstand anymore, but articles on work and career are embedded in nearly every women’s magazine I pick up. Looking through “More” this last week, I read a great one-on-one with Fortune editor-at-large Patricia Sellers who chairs a summit for the top women leaders in corporate America.

I particularly loved her quote about women’s approach to power:

Women think differently about power. They’re reinventing it; they want to spread it around and be collaborative.

It’s so true to me and it reminded me of insights from Martha Carlson from a Learning Lunch this past year. In my 20 years in the working world, the role models for professional women have become much more human, creative and have evolved a style of leadership that many of us can relate to and aspire to.

Authenticity April 14, 2009

This past week I’ve been thinking a lot about one of Amy Gage’s remarks at the Women Launching Women networking event a few weeks ago (March 21). As the director of marketing and communications at the College of St. Catherine’s, she noted that her institution works hard to convey its identity with authenticity. High school students (prospects), current students and alumnae have become sophisticated consumers of visual and other information. Images on the website must reflect the student experience and be authentic.

How can Minnesota Women in Communications speak with an authentic voice over the next year? That will be an interesting challenge.