Episode Transcript

In the previous episode of Her Engineering Career Podcast, Episode 174, you gained some pretty awesome career advice. 

If you missed it, go back and give it a listen. 

It’s a gift to you from the experienced women engineers I interviewed for my upcoming book. 

From the women who’ve been there.

That episode focuses on the most frequent guidance I heard from my interviewees. 

In other words I found the most common pieces of advice to share with you. 

And there were many. 

I hope you find something useful that you can use where you are in your engineering career.

Beyond-the-Ordinary Career Advice that Enables You to Excel

But here’s the thing. You get to a point in your career where advice starts to sound familiar. 

It gets to be the usual stuff. The ordinary. 

And what you need as you reach higher levels is not the ordinary, but the extraordinary.

I wanted to know, not just what all the pieces of advice are, but those pieces that truly make the most difference for these women as they become influential leaders. 

As their careers become exceptional and open up brilliant opportunities for them. 

So in this episode I’m going a step further.

I’ve honed in on the most compelling messages. 

Those golden nuggets of insight that really enable these women to excel. 

And I’m sharing them with you as a sneak preview, because these will be key messages in my book.

Common Insights in Every Engineering Career Success Story

What I find most interesting as I do the research for my book is that each story is individual.

Yet the messages that come out of those stories harmonize.  

While the meaning that you can dig out of each story is specific and distinct, the power comes when you put them all together. 

If any of these is true for you – and I know at least one of them is because you’ve tuned into this podcast – then pay attention, because these are the key insights. 

These are the magic ones.

The 5 Most Valuable Career Insights for Women Engineers

Here they are, the 5 most valuable career insights for women engineers:

  1. Know yourself and what you have to give.

Have clarity on your talent and passion.

Find your superpower, the magic you bring.

Align your work with who you are and where your energy is.

The extent to which the women I interviewed can do this determines how motivated they are. Their level of confidence. And how much they love their jobs.

Know yourself and what you have to give so you can be your best self and do your best work.

  1. Build key relationships. 

Connect with people at all levels: peers, leaders, the influencers and decision makers.

Connect with people not only in your group and your organization, but in the field, the community and the industry. 

Find people who want you to succeed, people to help grow you, people you trust.

You can’t do it alone. You need people. 

I know you’ve heard this before. 

But story after story re-emphasizes: if you’re not well connected, you’re missing out. 

You can’t know everything, you must rely on others for help, for more connection and for opportunities.

  1. Be willing to take things on.

Take risks. Take more risk. Learn from your experiences and failures.

Be open to new, different, even scary opportunities. And say yes.

Step up, lean in and do your best.

You will realize, as all these successful engineers have, that if you’re comfortable you’re not growing. You’re not moving forward. 

Their message is that your talent and creativity are needed to take on the hard problems. And taking them on is rewarding and fulfilling.

  1. Connect personally. 

Beyond just networking, connect on a personal level.

Beyond just the mission, have an impact on people.

Leverage the human element to achieve through others. 

In my experience women have the edge here. And this is confirmed by the vast majority of interviewees I spoke to. 

In fact many list connection and communication as their superpowers. 

I loved hearing the stories about how they solved the hardest problems by maximizing people. By enabling their teams. 

Leverage this strength. 

Because it builds your credibility and makes every connection more powerful.

  1. Show what you have that can solve the organization’s problem.

Okay, there’s a lot packed into this one.

It’s a combination of 

So you need to be aware of the bigger picture. 

To know about important trends and issues.

And be able to persuade others that your skills and strengths will make a difference.

In this one career insight, we’re literally using half of the No-Nonsense Career Advice from Ep 174. Namely:

But applying them all together in this key insight #5 has big positive consequences. 

Check out these anecdotes from my interviewees (with some paraphrasing from me):

  1. One woman told me it was obvious her boss was juggling too many projects. I told him so, she said, and suggested he let me handle some of the load. It was scary putting myself out there like that, but I knew I had the skills. He did end up assigning her one of his projects. And it ended up getting her on the right path.
  1. Another woman told me about a job opportunity she had that was in a completely different industry. I knew my skills were transferrable, she said, and I was able to show how I could contribute. It turned out to be a perfect job for her.
  1. A third woman with manufacturing experience and strong people skills said to me: I spoke up and suggested they hire me in R&D. And they did. Later I told them I wanted to be a senior director. And they made me one.

Reaffirming Success as Fulfillment in Your Engineering Career

These are the key insights. Straightforward but mighty.

They’re the most powerful ones to bring about your dream career.

Now you simply need to apply them. And I’d love to help you with that. Together we can plant the seeds for a more fruitful career for you. 

Find out more here. Or sign up for a strategy session with me.

Your career is successful when you feel a strong sense of fulfillment. 

It comes from leveraging your values, skills, strengths and passion that enable you to make your unique contribution.

Here’s how my interviewees would finish this sentence: You know you’re successful when… 

What’s next on Her Engineering Career Podcast is…to be announced. I’m taking a pause in my podcasting to devote more time to my book.

In the meantime, I hope you will: 

  1. Watch for upcoming newsletters to get the latest information about my book. 
  2. Subscribe to the newsletter, if you haven’t already.
    1. And at the same time get a free copy of my guide: “4 Steps to Start Commanding Greater Influence and Impact as a Woman Engineer.”
  3. Connect with me on LinkedIn or on my website. 
  4. Check out all Her Engineering Career Podcast episodes here, or your favorite podcast app.

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