7 ways women can find role models in honor of International Womens Day

7 ways women can find role models in honor of International Womens Day7 ways women can find role models in honor of International Womens DayWomen need role models who have already been there and done that because you cant be what you cant see. Here are my7 mainstream ways for women to find role models1. Read books written by female leadersThebest way to understand a concept or a person is to get totheroot. Read books and articlesontopics that interest you. If you find an individual you admire, read what they have written. Create a deeper understanding from where their ideas stem. binnenseek to understand their voice and their personal story. Someones background can shine lightonhow they managed their circumstances and ended up where they are today.2. Do some researchonthose women who inspire youThecyber world has more of a wealth of information than many can grasp. If you see someone that you admire, parse through their internet profiles. Seethematerial they present tothepublic and r esearch their life. You can learn a lot about a person through a simple Google search. Fortunately, today, many people publish their own contentonblogs and social media platforms that invitetheusers into their personal worldview.3. Attend networking events for powerful womenQuality role models are hard to come by, but with some investigating you can find leads. One ofthebest ways to find role models is to put yourself in situations where those around you are successful. Leadership conferences and conventions for your industry of choice are perfect hubs to hear various powerful voices inthefield and gauge your interest. Dont just pick a role model forthesake of picking one, but rather, find someone with whom you can relate and learn from their journey.4. Emulate qualities you like, but make them your ownWhen you find someone or a few people that you look up to, either physically or inthedigital realm, understand which qualities you admire about them. Is it their genuine and honest ap proach? Is it their ability to overcometheadversities of life? Whateverthecase, emulatethepositive qualities. Work to achieve these goals in your own life. By no means reject your true self, but incorporate your favorite qualities of your role model intothebest version of yourself. Be sure to put your own personal signatureonit as well.5. Watch YouTube videos and take notesThebest way to learn a task or quality is to watch others do it well. Take your education into your own handsthemodern way. Usetheweb, namely YouTube videos, to garner visual knowledgeona topic. If your role models have their own channel, even better. If not, just research and investigate topics of interest. For example, your role model may be into public speaking. Study uponvideos ofthebest public speakers and their tips for improvement.Themore you learnthebetter you will get, and seeking your own educational path is justthestart.6. Revamp your social mediaSocial media is a large component of your representation of self - albeit digitally. If you want to find role models online, you have to follow content that helps you desire better for yourself. Completely refine who you followonvarious platforms. Only follow content that feeds to your mission to be a better person. These digital profiles of individuals are no less role models than those you know in real life. Due totheamount of time spentonsocial media platforms, this content influences your beliefs and habits tremendously. Curate inspirational content for yourself that can improve your life while learning from those you admire.7. Contact them directly for assistanceIf you discovered a role modelontheInternet or in real life, it is never a bad idea to reach out to them. Dont expect a response - especially if they are pretty well-known. However, you never know what kind of relationship can manifest from your effort to connect. If you contact them digitally, you may foster a relationship that starts casual and ends up amounting to an in- person friendship. It is worththerisk, and if nothing else, just to express your gratitude for their impactonyour life.Melinda Garvey is the founder ofOn The Dot Woman, which each day shares the story of an incredible woman who has stepped off the cliff and is making it happen.

4 Key Social Media Insights on How CFOs Use Twitter

4 Key Social Media Insights on How CFOs Use Twitter4 Key Social Media Insights on How CFOs Use TwitterThese days everyone is on social media everyone that is but CFOs and other finance types, right? Not true at all. Finance professionals read blogs like this one, have LinkedIn accounts, share photos on Facebook, and even tweet out from time to time.The truth is social media is here to stay and it doesnt matter whether youre the CFO or a freshly minted junior accountant. And just because you dont have a blog or spend your time on Snapchat, youre still (increasingly) turning to social media to decide what to read, whom to connect with, and which vendors to consider.For CFOs in particular, getting comfortable with social media also offers the opportunity to tap into a much broader peer network, communicate with and gauge the sentiment of investors, better relate to your staff, and get a more hands-on perspective of why social technologies are disrupting industries.So how do senior fina nce executives engage on social media?My social insights firm Leadtail just released a report to shed some light on this very question by looking at the Twitter activity of 502 senior finance executives (CFOs and VPs of Finance) during the fourth quarter of 2013. Specifically, we analyzed 48,671 tweets and 3,395 shared links to better understand how CFOs describe themselves, what content they share, and who influences them on social media. Not surprisingly, many of the CFOs looked at came from major metros (New York and San Francisco Bay Area), which are typically ahead of the curve when it comes to technology adoption.Why Twitter activity? Because social media data has a leg up on other data sources such as surveys, polls and focus groups since it shows what people really do versus what they say they do.With that said, here are four key insights that came from the report that you should consider when using (or getting started with) social media1. Its okay to be who you areSure, se nior finance professionals use terms like CFO, VP, CPA, Finance, and Accounting in their Twitter bios. But they also include personal words like Family, Father, and Enthusiast. Plus its not all work and no play when it comes to what CFOs engage with on social media. Besides business, leadership, innovation, and healthcare, they also like to read and share about sports, holidays, and local events.So use social media to connect professionally and personally. Remember youre engaging with people so its okay to be human, too.2. Dont limit yourself to only one social networkThis may come as a surprise but CFOs arent just on LinkedIn. Many also share YouTube videos, and photos and status updates from Instagram and Facebook. Said another way, finance executives are like most people in that they use social media to share content from multiple social networks, especially during the holidaysWhether its the major social networks like LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter or up and comers like Instagra m, Vine, and SlideShare, discover which social networks make sense for you while experimenting with others, too.3. Build credibility by sharing both mainstream and industry contentContent is the lifeblood of social media. Its what we talk about and share. And for many business leaders, it comes from both mainstream and industry media sources. With the CFOs we looked at, their favorite content sources are The New York Times, Washington Post, Huffington Post, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, and Business Insider. In particular, they showed the most interest in politics, current events, technology, leadership, and business.What content sources are fueling your social media efforts? Consider broadening your approach to include some of these top media sources if you want to be seen as in the know about the issues and trends facing CFOs today.4. Become influential with your target audienceOne of the many benefits of social media is its ability to help you build an audience of friends, col leagues, and contacts who have the same interests as you. In the context of business, this can mean prospective customers (or employers) and others influential to the success of your business or personal brand. On Twitter, we gain insights into influence based on how often someone is retweeted or mentioned. For the CFOs we looked at, they liked to retweet and mention articles from the WSJ, Forbes, Mashable, and HarvardBiz.Who do you want to connect and become influential with? This is an important question to answer as you build your own social audience. With that in mind, start sharing and engaging those publications, brands and people that influence your target audience. This will put you on the path to becoming influential with them, tooThe full social insights report on CFOs also includes the list of the top 25 business and technology content sources and the 50 publications, brands, and people most retweeted by CFOs.If youd like a full copy of the report you can download it here (free registration required).This post welches authored by Carter Hostelley, CEO of Leadtail.Want more insights on how to succeed in your finance career, and build and manage a winning team? 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Resume Checklist Where Are You Going Wrong

Resume Checklist Where Are You Going WrongResume Checklist Where Are You Going Wrong200Imagine you spentcountless hours pouring all of your hard-earned recognition and accomplishments into a one- to two-page document. Youtailored that document specific to theposition youapplied to, waiting weeks to hear back. And then you receiveda letter of denial or cameto terms with the fact that you werentgoing to be hearing back from your dream job/company. Where did you go wrong on your resume checklist?Weve all been in this position as professionals, and its not a fun distributionspolitik to be in.You might be wondering what, specifically, you included or didnt include on your resume that might have turned your potential employer off, and what you could have done better to land that dream job.This list of 16 resume dos is designed to help you sort through those questions and design a resume that will not leave you wondering what you could have done better in the future.Check out thisresume che cklist___ Think quality over quantity. Take the time to consider whether or not you are a good match for the job/company and if its worth your time to apply.___ Personalize each and every resume and cover letter to be specific to the company/job you are applying for.___ Clearly outline your professional strengths and what you specifically can add to the company. ___ Add a link to your professional social media sites, such as LinkedIn and Twitter. ___ For professionals who work in web-related or design industries, consider adding a link to your online portfolio. ___ Use action verbs to spruce up your resume. Powerful action verbs, such as designated, managed, and allotted, will help captivate your audience.___ Include both recent and relevant work experience. The general guideline is to only include experience as far back as 15 years- your future employer doesnt care about your high school job pumping gas at your local marina.___ When reviewing your resume, make sure your font select ion is consistent throughout, as well as your spacing and punctuation. ___ Include enough whitespace to create a contrast on your resume. There is nothing more daunting to try and read through than a completely filled up resume. ___ Write your resume with the Application Tracking Systems (ATS) in mind. Many companies use an ATS to sort through the thousands of resumes received. Be smart and give your resume the aussicht to beat the system and make it through to the next round. Many ATS systems use the same keywords found in the job description, so be sure to include some of those in your resume. Try using a fun tool like TagCrowd to visualize your keywords.___ Keep your resume clean, simple, and readable. Avoid adding tacky and outdated clip art or colored backgrounds. ___ List a combination of soft and hard skills. Many professionals are quick to list soft skill sets such as communication skills, but be sure to balance it out with more specific, hard skill sets as well. Its all abo ut the balance. ___ Quantify your achievements. Mentioning your ability to effectively increase revenues is great, but if you can list specific deliverables, such as increased annual revenues by over $20,000, then your resume is sure to stand out over others.___ Meticulously proofread your application materials. Use services such as Grammarly, and/or have a friend proofread them too.___ If you dont have a friend/colleague to review your application, consider sending it to a professional to review.___ Last but not least, always tell the truth on your resume. Lying on your resume is never a good idea.Onceyouve put all this hard work into your resume, dont let it get squished. If youre traveling to in-person job interviews store your resume and other paper application materials in a neat folder, as opposed to pulling them out wrinkled from your bag or briefcase.Finally, bring extra copies of your resume in the event that there are multiple interviewers.There you have it This all-encomp assing resume checklist will ideally put you in the position of turning down job offers and out of the role of wondering where you went wrong.Readers, how many of theseresume tips have you used? Are there any others on your own resume checklist? Please share with our members in the comments below