Many women tell me that they just can't decide whether they want to go back to a career or start a business after maternity leave or a career break.  Only you can make the decision but it helps to understand the pros and cons of a career vs business plus get some ideas on how to start a business. Mentioned on the s

When you delegate effectively and with confidence, it puts you in a better position to make a bigger impact in your career because: • you and your team get better results • you are more productive • you are making the best use of the skills and experience available • you demonstrate your leadership potential In today's show I share the art of delegation: how to get people to do what you ask, without being too controlling or too hesitant.

When I work with clients who are smart ambitious women, I notice that they present as confident and assertive in the workplace, but often their LinkedIn profile tells a different story.  Discover 3 smart ways you can be more assertive on LinkedIn so that you make a bigger impact and attract the right career opportunities. 1. Maximise your LinkedIn profile summary to 'big yourself up' 2. Focus on the more senior roles not the junior ones from the past 3. Add more skills to your profile

Sarah Archer appears as a career expert for Guardian Careers and is the author of ‘Developing your Inner Coach’. Join us to discover the secrets of successful job interviews: How to prepare for a job interview even after a career break How to answer competency based questions effectively How to make the CAR technique work for you How to deal with the questions we all dread How to cope with the inevitable nerves How to make an impact (for the right reasons) How and when to follow up

Very often the women that I talk to about their career strategy, they hadn't even thought about using LinkedIn until they started jobhunting. But actually there are SO many reasons to get active on LinkedIn even if you're not jobhunting because it's such a powerful networking platform. And the best time to start networking is BEFORE you need to network. In this episode I share 5 powerful reasons why ambitious women need to use LinkedIn even when you are not jobhunting.

Many of the women that I often talk to or work with struggle to tame their inner critic. Those "You're not good enough" thoughts in your head. The fear of being 'found out'.  Often these thoughts stop us from doing our best work and making a bigger impact at work so that we can take our career to the next level.  Jess Baker is an independent Business Psychologist and Women's Leadership Coach. She gives us the inside scoop on how to manage our inner critic to feel more confident at work.

Expert CV writer Orla Cahill runs the CV Clinic.  In today's episode, you'll discover: • The secrets to a successful CV • How to target your CV for specific jobs • The things you should never do on your CV • The different types of CV and which works best in different situations  • Specific tips for ambitious women who are returning to work after a period of absence e.g. a career break or redundancy • Top tips if you are currently drafting a new CV.

Research from LinkedIn tells us that men and women present themselves differently on LinkedIn and this affects your promotion prospects. Sad to say, it's not to the advantage of ambitious women.  Discover the three things you can do differently on your LinkedIn profile to improve your promotion prospects when you describe: Your experience  Your skills  Your summary  And then I'll tell you what else you need to do in the workplace to improve your promotion prospects. 

Following last week's episode on beating burnout in the workplace, I realise that Christmas is often a time that pushes our stress levels to the max. Today independent consultant and coach, Val Stevenson, discusses how to survive Christmas without a crisis. We explore: How can we survive Christmas without a crisis? How we can do something different but still keep the spirit of a family Christmas Plus fabulous tips for keeping well at Christmas and enjoying ourselves.

In this episode I explore burnout in the workplace with Sarah Sparks.  Sarah is an award winning Executive Coach, Speaker and Trainer who works with senior leaders in the Corporate World helping busy professionals have career success as well as health and wellbeing, and in particular helping them work differently so they avoid damaging stress and burn-out. Together we discuss the signs of burnout, how to avoid burnout and whose responsibility it is to spot the signs in the workplace.

Last year I let the imposter syndrome get the better of me in the Life Coach of the Year Awards. This year I didn't. What happened next? I was shortlisted in The Coaching Academy International Coaching Awards though I nearly talked myself out of it. But I beat the imposter syndrome and submitted the portfolio. I was gutted then delighted to make Final 3 in the Life Coach of the Year Awards. I share the questions to ask yourself if you are experiencing the imposter syndrome.

Did you know that by the year 2020, it is estimated that one in three British workers will be over the age of 50? Menopause is going to become more and more prevalent in the workplace. Julie Dennis is The Menopause Coach and works with organisations and individual women. Discover: • typical symptoms • how to talk to your boss about the menopause • what employers can do for their female talent • how to reduce your symptoms

At this time of year, many women feel cross and frustrated because their plans to change job, go back to work or get promoted, have fallen by the wayside, and already it's November. Instead of focusing on how little time you have left, focus on how much you can get done in the time available. Join me to discover how you can nail it in November and get the career success that you deserve. I'll share the exact same strategies that I use myself and that I share with my one-to-one clients. 

LinkedIn has more than 467M users, 6.5M active job listings and 94% of recruiters use LinkedIn to vet candidates. Those facts are hard to ignore. LinkedIn IS an essential tool in your toolkit when you want to improve your career prospects. Discover 7 ways to get noticed for the right reasons, whether you are going back to work after a career break or redundancy, looking for your next career more or actively seeking promotion with your current employer.

Following last week's story about career change, Louisa Shepherd shares practical tips on HOW to reinvent your career. Louisa is a shining example of career reinvention having started out as an orchestral clarinet player who moved into marketing. Now she a Career Strategist and Social Innovator. Louisa works with high performing, non-conforming individuals to design meaningful careers, foster creative entrepreneurship, and cultivate impact driven leaders.

I talk to Ali Bickers about the career change that enabled her to find work she loved. Having gone through many difficulties in her life, Ali turned to counselling. To her amazement, it made an incredible difference to all aspects of her life. This inspired her to train to as a counsellor. Despite the challenges, Ali pushed on with grit and determination. She now has a job she'd do even if she won the lottery! Listen to her practical tips for other women considering a career change.

Very often money is an emotive subject for women however you have to stop making it personal. It's not about you. It's not about your worth. If you want a payrise, you've got to ask for it. What gets overlooked so often is that it's not just your salary ... it's your benefits too. The more you get paid, the bigger your pension pot. 

To celebrate #NationalWorkLifeWeek, from 2-6 October 2017,  and in the US #WorkAndFamilyMonth throughout October, Anna Meller and Sherry Bevan explore the seven steps to confidently negotiate a flexible working arrangement that both suits you and your employer.

Louise Ladbrooke’s nursery business was a phenomenal success - winning prizes, accolades and living the dream, she loved her work. However the world would have been stunned to know that try as she might, she only ever felt that she wasn’t enough and spent her time wondering when she was going to be caught out. Discover how to develop personal resilience to cope more effectively with the good times and the more challenging times in your career.

Discover what it means to be "in flow" and how that benefits you, your team and your career Personal leadership coach, Sue Revell is my co-host On The Tipping Point. Getting "in flow" is a specialist area for Sue. Listen to Sue tell us what it means to be 'in flow', how you know when you are in flow, how to get into flow, how it helps and why it matters.

Being trustee for a charity pays dividends for your career because it demonstrates integrity, responsibility and self-motivation. Karen Hall is going one step further and is in the running for NCT President.  Even though putting herself forward feels scary and vulnerable!  Karen reveals how she's going to pull rank over a bag of lego when she's elected NCT President!

Discover the 5 scary signs of career burnout that you might recognise in yourself, your partner or a colleague. Check whether you are displaying one or more of these and other signs of sliding into burnout, based on my own scary experience.

I share 5 simple things you can do today to boost your career and 'big yourself up' without fear of coming across as cocky or arrogant: • Quantify your achievements • Ask for recommendations • Talk it through • Record your achievements • Save the praise

Discover the lessons that ambitious lawyer Caroline Flanagan learned on how to beat overwhelm and conquer guilt to triumph as a working parent. Caroline shares the successful skills and strategies that work for her and for her clients.