Career Tips from Senior Women

ByElizabeth Harrin Last updated: Jobs

At an annual women in construction event for one of the UK’s largest construction companies, senior women were asked for their top career tips. You can see what I said (and what I should have said) in my article on how being able to walk away from your job gives you confidence.

I didn’t catch the names of all the other women who gave their top tips to the assembled, mainly female, audience at the careers development event, but I did write down what they said. Here are 5 tips for owning your career from people who know what they are talking about.

Say yes

Identify your successor and train them

Don\'t be afraid to voice your opinion

If you are an expert, say so. People respect you because you occupy that space

Turn down projects if you know they are going to end badly

I was at the event to talk about Imposter Syndrome. It can really hold back your career because it kills your confidence. Find out more about why you shouldn’t feel like a fraud at work and what to do about it if you do in my ebook, Overcoming Imposter Syndrome.

For more tips on how to build your career, I recommend Donald Asher’s book, Who Gets Promoted, Who Doesn’t and Why.

Elizabeth Harrin wearing a pink scarf

Project manager, author, mentor

Elizabeth Harrin is a Fellow of the Association for Project Management in the UK. She holds degrees from the University of York and Roehampton University, and several project management certifications including APM PMQ. She first took her PRINCE2 Practitioner exam in 2004 and has worked extensively in project delivery for over 20 years.
Elizabeth is also the founder of the Project Management Rebels community, a mentoring group for professionals. She's written several books for project managers including Managing Multiple Projects.