Contributed by Caroline Ceniza-Levine of SixFigureStart
I recently have graduated with my BS in Business Administration, Finance. I’ve been accepted into University of Richmond to study the Masters of HR Management. I find HR very interesting and want to learn about the subject, but what if later on I decide to focus on a career outside of HR? Will this masters degree hinder me?
Since my undergrad is in business, I have absolutely no desire to go for my MBA. They seem like a dime a dozen these days. How would the MHRM be viewed to recruiters in terms of managing other areas of a business? Other departments?
If you ask 10 recruiters the same question, you will get a range of answers. Careers are not an exact science and vary based on an individual’s goals, skill set, personality, drive, etc. In this case, the only thing I am sure about is that you will find some recruiters who highly value the MHRM, some who dismiss it and some who will be in-between.
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Movers and Shakers: Telecommunications
Movers and ShakersIt’s nearly a cliché to say that women are the communicators in this world; however, given the lack of women at the top of many of the top ten Telecom companies on the Fortune 500, one wonders if this news has somehow escaped the powers that be.
Yet we don’t need to look too deep into the list—just to Verizon, #2 in Telecom and #17 overall— to find not one but FIVE women at the executive level, all of whom have been with the company in its various prior incarnations, through mergers and splits.
Marianne Drost, senior vice president, deputy general counsel and corporate secretary for Verizon is responsible for strategic transactions, securities and finance, SEC reporting and disclosure and corporate governance in addition to her role as corporate secretary. She began her career at GTE in 1977 and continued there—save a brief hiatus at Cheesebrough-Pond’s Inc. legal department in 1984—until GTE became part of Verizon. She is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Connecticut College in New London and received her J.D. with honors from the University of Connecticut School of Law.
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The State of Massachusetts
NewsThe rest of the country may paint Massachusetts as an ultra-liberal state, but for many women living in the Commonwealth the reality is actually much more conservative and a little old-fashioned.
According to a report published last month by The Boston Club, which provides networking and professional support for women in business, the number of female executives and directors in the state’s 100 largest public companies fell in 2008. In fact, the number and percentage of women executive officers, and the percentage of companies with a woman among their most highly compensated officers, fell to the lowest point since The Boston Club began tracking the data in 2003. When this information is coupled with the fact that women comprise just 26 percent of the Commonwealth’s legislature, the state of women in Massachusetts looks grim.
“The Old Boy’s Network is alive and well,” says Vicki Donlan, author of “Her Turn: Why It’s time for Women to Lead in America.” Donlan is also the founder of Women’s Business, a Massachusetts-based newspaper. “Boston is a conservative part of the country,” she says. “It takes a long time to move forward.” Read more
Falling Off The Ladder: Do Women “Shoot Themselves In The Foot”?
Expert AnswersWomen are employed at higher levels today than ever before, but some are still struggling to stay up at the top of the ladder of success. While experts agree that gender bias remains a force to be reckoned with, some say that women may have another enemy in the workplace: themselves.
Jo Miller, CEO of Women’s Leadership Coaching Inc. in California believes that the most rampant behaviors preventing women from breaking into positions of leadership include refusing to acknowledge or “play the game” of office politics, relinquishing power and influence, working when they should be schmoozing, accepting low-visibility assignments, and downplaying accomplishments.
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Ask-A-Recruiter: The Versatility of Specific Graduate Degrees
Ask A RecruiterI recently have graduated with my BS in Business Administration, Finance. I’ve been accepted into University of Richmond to study the Masters of HR Management. I find HR very interesting and want to learn about the subject, but what if later on I decide to focus on a career outside of HR? Will this masters degree hinder me?
Since my undergrad is in business, I have absolutely no desire to go for my MBA. They seem like a dime a dozen these days. How would the MHRM be viewed to recruiters in terms of managing other areas of a business? Other departments?
If you ask 10 recruiters the same question, you will get a range of answers. Careers are not an exact science and vary based on an individual’s goals, skill set, personality, drive, etc. In this case, the only thing I am sure about is that you will find some recruiters who highly value the MHRM, some who dismiss it and some who will be in-between.
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Raising the Bar: Balancing Professional and Personal Choices
Work-LifeAs a mother of four and partner of a leading matrimonial law firm on Long Island, I have some inspirational anecdotes and advice related to the challenges of balancing professional and personal choices.
I married my husband during college and by graduation day, we were expecting our first child. I always knew I wanted to continue to graduate school, and with my husband’s encouragement I started law school when my son was 9 months old. I had always loved to read and write, which made analyzing cases for hours each day slightly less impossible. After class, I immediately went home to my “real job”. I studied with my son on my lap and after he went to sleep. I soon became adept at multitasking and juggling family and school.
During law school, I excelled in my studies, but I was fraught with anxieties and concerns about what I was doing: Would I ever practice law in the future? Would I be able to handle combining family and career?
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Once More with Feeling: Emotions at Work
Office PoliticsTwo senior managers, both direct reports to the CEO, are faced off in a heated discussion. Their eyes flash. Their voices rise. Neither will give an inch. Then one shouts, “Come back when you’re not so emotional” and walks out. End of confrontation. It happened to Betty-Ann Heggie. At the time, she was the highest-ranking woman at PotashCorp and one of the few women in the mining industry. Her equally angry peer was a man. In business, to let your emotions get the best of you was to be weak, and in the dirty, sweaty, tough-guy world of mining in which they both dealt, a display of emotion could be career suicide.
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Toot Your Own Horn
NewsCome for an exciting evening of networking and information. The first 20 participants to register will have up to 3 minutes to speak about any topic they wish. (Their business or a cause they support.) This is a great opportunity to “Toot your own horn” and let other NAFE members get to know you.
For more information contact karenflam@yahoo.com
Autumn Ambition: Fourth Annual PINK Fall Conference Series
NewsWhere America’s Most Influential Women inBusiness Meet and Share Tools, Tactics and Strategies for Success
PINK just wrapped its 4th annual conference series, featuring seven high-impact events across the nation. Attendees brought friends, clients, mentors or employees to enjoy an inspiring two-hour lunch with America’s most influential women and:
DISCOVER Life/Balance Solutions
BUILD Career Success Strategies
LEARN Valuable Business Lessons
REGISTRATION FOR 2009 CONFERENCES COMING SOON.
Visit PINK TV and click on “PINK Conferences”for footage of last year’s events.
2009 Conference Schedule Coming Soon
Women in the City Winner: Diana Good, Linklaters
Movers and ShakersAfter 30 years of legal experience at Linklaters you’d expect Diana Good to know a thing or two about the industry. She has seen a great deal of change since she joined the firm as a trainee in 1979. She became a litigation partner in 1988 and specializes in running complex high profile cases with an international angle.
Diana has international experience herself. She ran the Linklaters’ Brussels office which gave her the opportunity to work in a diverse city. “I learned that it is a pleasure to live in a city where three languages [French, Flemish and English] are spoken with equal fluency,” she says, “and where so many different cultures and nationalities rub shoulders with one another. It’s a great city to live and work in. Three of my daughters were born there and we have very happy memories of our time there.”
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Women in the City Winner: Lisanne Schloss, Vice President, Property Services, Morgan Stanley
Movers and ShakersWhen Lisanne Schloss picked up the phone and heard founder of Women in the City, Gwen Rhys, on the other end, it must have been a tense wait until Gwen broke the news. Lisanne had sat through a panel interview a few days before, and this was the call with the results. She’d done it: Lisanne Schloss, Vice President, Property Services, at Morgan Stanley, had won the Facilities Management category of the Women in the City awards 2008.
“I was delighted to hear the news,” she said, “as this is not only a great honour for me personally, but it’s also a ringing endorsement of my colleagues at Morgan Stanley and the great work they do in inspiring women to fulfil their potential.”
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