Career Training Options for Older Women

Older women often face unique challenges when it comes to finding career training. They may need to stay in a particular location due to family or personal obligations, or they may be seeking formal training for the first time in their adult lives. Financial considerations and learning styles are also important, as traditional educational options are expensive and many older women prefer to learn at a more relaxed, careful pace. Yet their experiences can be a strong base for developing their leadership and increased contribution.
Today there are more options that ever for older women who want career training. Technology plays a large part in this phenomenon, as does our changing society that no longer views older women as unemployable or difficult to train. The world is a very different place now, and you are in a great position to take advantage of all it has to offer.

Teleclass Seminars

There is a wide range of training courses available as teleclass seminars. These courses typically involve students and an instructor linking up via web link or video link. They are interactive in nature, allowing the instructor and students to engage in discussions, question and answer sessions, and general back and forth conversation. Class size is usually limited.
I use this teleclass format for my Empowering Passionate Leadership Seminar. It works great for everyone involved  easy, convenient, and very low cost compared to traditional classroom settings. You can find this type of training on the Internet as well as at many community colleges, universities, and vocational centers.

Workshops and Short Courses

For face-to-face training, many older women turn to workshops and short courses offered by various local organizations. Traditional sources of these training courses include community colleges, community centers, and other workforce training facilities. You can also look for workshops and short courses from other organizations, such as the Small Business Administration, your local Chamber of Commerce, or even Rotary, Kiwanis or other service organizations.

Online Classes

Once thought to be suitable only for younger students, online classes have rapidly become the training of choice for many women aged 40 to 60. These classes are generally easy to access, easy to follow, and cost effective. They usually follow a set structure of lessons, exercises, quizzes and tests at a pace that may be set by an instructor or self-paced by the student.
A huge benefit of online classes is that you can take classes literally from anywhere in the world. This allows you to access training from leading institutions and providers, all from the comfort of your home. Textbooks may or may not be required for online classes; it just depends on the nature of the class and the structure of the course.

Internships and Job Shadowing

You may think internships are for young college students, but that is no longer always the case. Many employers offer internships and job shadowing opportunities to older women and men as an alternative way to receive career training.
Older people often learn better through hands on activity and repetition, so working directly with someone in the desired career field can make learning easier and faster. It also affords the opportunity to meet others in that career field and establish a network of contacts for future reference.
If you find a career field that interests you, make contact with a local company and ask if you can spend some time with someone who works in your area of interest. Even if the company does not have a formal internship program, they may be willing to let you spend some time there on an informal basis.

Why Organizing and Planning are Important

In the business world there are many reasons why organizing and planning are important to success. Experts agree that it is critical to master these skills if you are to advance your career and develop your leadership. Why, then, is it so hard to actually organize and plan your work responsibilities?

The very dynamics of daily business are probably the biggest deterrent to organization and planning. It s hard to stay up to date on your calendar and “to do” list when your attention is constantly being diverted to urgent, daily problems and activities. These distractions, however, are precisely why organization and planning are so important.

When The Unexpected Occurs

It is a fact of business life that the unexpected occurs on a regular basis. Perhaps an employee misses a deadline, or you need to stay home with an ill child. Sometimes the task is simply larger than you expected and you have not allowed enough time to complete it appropriately.

These are the situations where organization and planning will help you survive. When you organize your time and plan workload according to a reasonable schedule, then you can better handle the unexpected. You are monitoring that employee so you know the deadline is in jeopardy before it is missed, or you can care for your child without the stress of wondering what you were supposed to be doing that day.

Easier Delegation

Delegation is an integral part of management. The best managers are usually the best at delegating appropriately, and that means they organize and plan in advance. When you are well organized, you can quickly determine which projects are in the hands of which employees, and gauge their status toward completion. This allows you to delegate new work accordingly so that it is balanced among your team. Advance planning also makes it easier to delegate and match work to the specific talents of employees.

Balance of Work and Life

The demands of business in the modern world mean that inevitably there will be times when you need to work long hours or take work home with you at night. When long hours and taking work home become regular occurrences, though, it s time to look at your organization and planning habits more closely. Evaluate the way you allocate your time, as well as how you delegate to others. Are there ways you can work more effectively and efficiently by adjusting how your schedule activities? Ask yourself these types of questions and it is very likely you will find ways to better balance your work and your life simply by improving organization and planning.

Establish The Habit

Some people are natural organizers. They make lists, they create schedules, and they keep their files up to date and their desks neat and tidy. Others, however, are perpetually disorganized and running behind schedule. The differences between these two types of people lie partly in personality and partly in habit.

Organization and planning do not just occur on their own. They require conscious thought and action to accomplish. That s why there are so many businesses and companies that are anxious to sell you day planners, PDAs, and other accessories that are purported to make organization and planning easier.

While these supporting items may indeed make getting organized a bit easier, they still require you to establish the necessary habits to stay up to date even when business dynamics make it difficult to do so. In the end, it is worth the time and effort, though, to enjoy the many benefits of becoming better organized.

Organization and planning are key skills necessary for business success. This article discusses why they are important to your leadership development and provides concrete examples of situations where they benefit you.

Leading a Team

In business, there will be many occasions when employees will have to work in teams in order to complete projects. Every person in a team brings a specialized skill or expertise to help see the project through to completion. When people work together, they will either have a good experience or a bad experience. Good experiences will usually lead to a successful project, while bad experiences that lead to a successful project may also complicate future teamwork.

Being able to work in a team is an essential job function of any employee. When in a team, leaders must learn to be assertive; but not be rude, they must be able to debate issues concerning the project; but not get upset if the team has other opinions, and most of all, everyone in the team must respect how different people work and how they view a project.

Leading a team requires patience and the ability to delegate responsibility. It is important to realize the skills of each person in the group and assign parts of the project to those who have knowledge in a particular area. Leading a team also means moderating debate and acknowledging different opinions. Without proper leadership skills, the team will probably not function to the best of its abilities and the project may suffer.

Tips On How To Build a Permanent Team

In many circumstances, teams may work on a few projects each year. The people in the team may move to other teams, but for the most part, the team will not change. Building a permanent team requires several skills in addition to having knowledge about all areas of the project that will be assigned to team members. Leading a team is not easy, but with practice, leaders can get a lot of work from individual team members.

It is important that team leaders be excellent listeners. Team leaders should meet with teams together and individually to figure out who will be best suited for different areas of the project. It is important to make these decisions based on what a team member has produced in the past, other projects they have worked on, and the kind of worker they are. Giving a piece of a project that needs to be done quickly to a team member who is meticulous and who works slowly is not the best choice. Match assignments up with employees who can meet deadlines and achieve accuracy in their work.

After beginning a project, the team leader should monitor the progress of each team member and how they interact with other team members. It is important to make sure that all team members are happy and are being productive. If a team member is constantly dominating the conversation, the team leader should ask for other opinions. If a team member does not say much, the team leader should ask for their opinion. This way, everyone in the team can feel included.

Eventually, in permanent teams, everyone will adapt to each others way of doing things. But in the beginning, establishing ground rules is a good way to make sure everyone gets a chance to speak during meetings.

Tips On How To Build a Temporary Team

The same tips apply to temporary teams as they do for permanent ones. The difference is usually that temporary teams are established to solve a problem or issue that is immediate. These teams are usually under time or other constraints that are forcing them to find answers to the problem as quickly as possible. Leading on of these teams can be stressful, but by laying out a plan and assigning specific job duties, the project should yield positive results.

Leading a team is a rewarding experience. Being observant and respecting that team members have other job duties will help create an environment that is positive and productive.