Here’s what could be holding you back at work

WOMEN are increasingly more educated and qualified for management roles in the workplace, so what’s holding them back?

AS WOMEN, we often enter the workforce full of optimism, ambition and passion. Whether we’ve just graduated from university or are moving on from another role, we know that we’ve got the education and experience necessary for success. We’re ready to use our talents and show the world, and our employers, just how much we can contribute.

There’s a fire that burns in our bellies, telling us to push the limits until we achieve success.

And yet why is it that with all the ambition, skills, education and experience in the world, the majority of us struggle to make our own businesses thrive or don’t end up making it past middle management?

We even live in a world where women are more educated than men. There’s research to prove it. And since 1998 more women than men have graduated with a bachelor’s degree or higher.

So if over the past twenty years, women have steadily increased their earning power — why aren’t we earning more?,

Enter the mid-career speed bump

Although we enter the workforce starry-eyed and full of dreams, by the time 10 years have passed, we often feel disenchanted, disillusioned and disappointed. The goalposts for a promotion or raise seem to keep moving and no matter how hard you try, you’re never quite able to reach them. At this point, you start asking yourself: Where is my career going? Should I be happy just to have a job? What’s the point in trying?

If you’ve ever felt this way, you’re not alone! In fact, you’re probably experiencing what I call the ‘mid-career speed bump’ and, like a typical speed bump, it will stop you in your tracks if you’re not careful.

There are ways to get past the mid-career speed bump. Source: Getty

How to survive and thrive through the slump —

You might be wondering what happens to these women who start their career with a burning ambition that then flickers down to a smoulder. What are the biggest challenges they (and possibly you) will face and how can you beat it?

1. Remove the self-doubt. Did you know that 70% of people experience impostor syndrome and feel like a fraud in the workplace? This level of doubt can be mentally and emotionally draining with many feeling the need to gain approval from others before ourselves. Although we can be our own harshest critics, it is also important to be our strongest cheerleaders as well.

2. Find a mentor. Having a valued mentor to help navigate the intricacies of the business world is crucial. Not only do mentors improve your sense of accountability, but research shows that mentees are promoted FIVE times more often than people who didn’t have mentors, and were approximately 20% more likely to get a raise than people who did not participate in a mentoring program. I know this is certainly true for those that have been mentored through our programs. Mentoring can be the lynchpin to your success and high achievers like Oprah and Richard Branson swear by it.

3. Fuel your funding. If you’re wanting to start your own business it can be tricky for any start-up to attract potential investors but Entrepreneur found that even though female entrepreneurs run 30% of all small businesses, we receive only 7% of venture capital investment money. In order to break this unconscious bias, we need be even more prepared than our male counterparts when it comes to pitching and proposals — and that’s where your mentor can help you out.

4. The right time is now. Hesitancy is often a large career killer, with many women thinking that there needs to be a perfect time to ask for that raise, apply for that promotion, or move positions. Well, I’m here to tell you that there will never be a perfect moment and that waiting for one can often be a method of self-sabotage — you just need to believe in yourself and take the leap!

5. Be silly. Our fear of looking silly, appearing ignorant, and drawing attention to ourselves can often stop us from putting out hands up. Again, this comes from our fear of how others perceive us and reluctance to seem imperfect. However, it’s often these crazy ideas or questions that take you from good to great. Just remember: Oprah was fired from her first job for being too emotionally invested, Anna Wintour was asked to leave Harper’s Bazaar after nine months because her shoots were too edgy, and JK Rowling was rejected by 12 different publishers because Harry Potter wasn’t “commercially viable”.

So while there are things that hold us back, there’s plenty you can do about it.

Shivani Gopal is founder of The Remarkable Woman, an organisation that empowers women personally, professionally and financially by giving them on demand access to mentors, courses and exclusive discounts to large retailers.

This article was originally published on Whimn and is republished with permission.

Originally published as Here’s what could be holding you back at work