#ChoosetoChallenge - 15 Pro Tips for Women in Business

Why are role models so important? What career advice would you give to younger colleagues? And how do you build a network? That's what we discussed at the #ChooseToChallenge panel for International Women's Day. Here are the best tips and thoughts from our conversation.

Speakers:
Melanie Abt, Senior Sales Director Financial Services ServiceNow
Deepa Gautam-Nigge, Senior Director Global Lead SAP Next-Gen Ecosystem SAP
Uwe Vieth, Senior Sales Director ServiceNow
Natascha Zeljko, Founder and Chief Editor FemaleOneZero

Moderation:
Cindy Sharlock

1.
Support your peers. Always.

2.
Role models are crucial in all areas of life. They show you what’s possible.

3.
Don’t negotiate badly in your first years as a professional. If you set up low salary expectations at the beginning, you won’t be able to make up for it further down the road.

4.
Believe in yourself and your abilities. Don't let anybody tell you you're not good enough.

5.
Be brave and don't hesitate: when a new door opens, always choose the challenge.

6.
Apply for positions even when you don’t meet all the criteria yet. When faced with new challenges, women tend to get comfortable or try to test the waters instead of jumping right in.

7.
You’re not the loudest person in the room? That’s fine. Don’t oversell yourself, just be authentic.

8.
Embrace change and make sure that you don’t become your own biggest obstacle.

9.
Concentrate on your strengths instead of pursuing fields you’re not good at.

10.
When it comes to online professional relationships, prioritize balance and happiness. Take care of each other. Ask the other person how they really feel.

11.
Build a diverse network. Networks help connect dots beyond the obvious. Different perspectives will help you gather new ideas, and thus to make your business and your career more innovative.

12.
In your career, always think two steps ahead of what you want to achieve. Have a vision.

13.
As a leader, don’t limit yourself to supporting people’s strengths: it's more important to accept their weaknesses.

14.
Be self-confident without being arrogant.

15.
Never betray your values, although it might come at the cost of some temporary career setbacks.

This article is part of a content collaboration between FemaleOneZero and ServiceNow. The ServiceNow platform delivers digital workflows to unlock productivity. It helps your business work smarter and faster, digitalize workflows and run them at scale.