Career Reinvention

What’s your definition of ambitious woman? Since I wrote the book, Ambition Redefined, it’s a question I ask women wherever I go. Most recently I posed the question to a group of women during my presentation at Hayvn, a wonderful new co-working space in Darien, CT. Here’s a sampling of what I heard: An ambitious woman is…

As you consider a return to the workforce or a move from your current job to one that offers more flexibility, avoid setting off impetuously toward flexible jobs that may have the right hours and the right location, but not the right fit. As I say in my book, Ambition Redefined, career reinvention, recycling, or…

In my career coaching practice I’ve found that women often need help getting out a small box. That’s the box they feel they’re stuck in—the one that relates to their college degree, work they pursued long ago (before they left to raise a family) or work they’ve consistently pursued for a decade or two. In…

Today is the official launch day for my book, Ambition Redefined: Why the Corner Office Doesn’t Work for Every Woman & What to Do Instead. It’s a day I’ve been anticipating for many “soon-to-be-published” months and a moment I’ve worked toward for four years. This is my first published book, and lots of people have…

Beth Cabrera, author of Women, Work and Well-Being, and an endorser of Ambition Redefined, recently wrote an article that I think you should share with everyone you know: your friends, your kids, your colleagues and most importantly, yourself. The title is “Want to Be Happy At Work? Forget About Passion”, and it’s one of the…

Job sharing—a partnership between two people who share the responsibilities of one full-time position—is one of the least known and most innovative forms of flexwork. With careful planning they work successfully at companies of every shape and size. Melissa Nicholson of Work Muse—the first U.S. business dedicated to job sharing—has helped professional duos reach peak…

Recently I met with a coaching client who is a young, successful professional at a big New York City bank. She has an MBA from a top school, she has progressed rapidly to a senior level, she has been targeted for big promotions and she’s generally living the dream of what many would call an…

Many women who return to work after a long hiatus want a job that can blend with, not overtake their lives. Other women reach a point when they just can’t sustain the responsibility of a demanding senior-level career while they’re caring for children and/or aging parents—and they need to downsize to a more manageable “job”. It’s…

When Lauren Patterson was in law school she wasn’t necessarily thinking she would work for big law firms her entire career. She was attracted to the lawyer’s discipline—analytical and organized thinking and the nuts and bolts of conducting business overall. Like others with a newly minted J.D., she began as a litigator—and spent five years…

Do you still think “work” is defined in one narrow, traditional, more-than-full-time, sell-your-soul way? Time to broaden your horizons! Today many flexwork options exist beyond the obvious “part-time job”. There are actually seven kinds of flexwork that involve compensation from a company other than an entrepreneurial venture of your own: FULL-TIME WORK WITH FLEX HOURS: For many women a “permanent”, full-time…