November 25, 2014

7 books every career girl should read

Reading has been very instrumental in the direction my career and life has taken over the years. Books have provided me with inspirational stories, lessons learned by successful people, tips, advice and life principles. Here, I share with you 7 books that I think every girl who is serious about taking her career to the next level should read. (And they would make great christmas gifts too!)

1. Fabulosity: What it is & how to get it by Kimora Lee Simmons

Kimora is a runway model,  the former CEO and Creative Director of one of the most popular urban brands in the US, Baby Phat. She was also married to Hip Hop Mogul Russell Simmons. Kimora tells us how we can live our lives with confidence and make big bold business decisions with no apology! She also shares some great advice on how we can develop our style, balance being a working mum and wife and run a massive brand in a cut throat environment.

2. Nice girls don’t get the Corner Office written by Lois P. Frankel,PhD

This book is not about being a Queen B which is what the title may suggest! It is actually a fantastic guide book for any girl who works in a corporate environment. The book is divided into short chapters with each covering one of Frankel’s rules and touches on subjects that include how to be assertive, not being emotional in the workplace, how to conduct yourself in a meeting with Senior colleagues and most importantly how to play the corporate game so that you can succeed-as unfortunately it is not all about 100% hardwork-your image and how you conduct yourself plays a huge role.

3. Secrets of Six Figure Women written by Barbara Stanny

Barbara interviews hundreds of women in the US who earn at least $100,000 per year or more to find out how they have managed to achieve this and in particular those who work for a corporate company. The range of women that she interviews include young women, single mothers,married,divorced and retired. The women who share their stories are really honest and sometimes quite humorous when telling us how they have managed to reach their position in life.

4. GirlBoss written by Sophia Amoruso

Sophia went from being a homeless thief to becoming the founder and CEO of Nasty Girl which is estimated to be worth in excess of $100 million. Sophia is someone who knows what she wants, broke the rules, made new ones and had a spirit willing to at least try. Sophia’s story provides us with some kick ass inspiration that if someone with all the odds stacked against them can create a successful company, then many of us have no excuse for not following and achieving our dreams.

5.Lean in written by Sheryl Sandberg

Sheryl is the COO of Facebook and previously was Vice-President of Google’s Online  Sales and Operations. In this book Sheryl encourages women to not be afraid and have their voices heard within the workplace and really get stuck in to taking on challenges. My only reservation is that for women like Sheryl who have an Ivy League degree and who come from a well to do family- it is pretty easy to ‘Lean’ into a career in government and then onto 2 of the world’s biggest companies. For some of us without such a firm grounding we may need to do a bit extra,which she hasn’t covered- however, this book gives us some sound guiding principles.

6. The 7 habits of Highly Effective People written by Stephen Covey

This is a classic that I think everyone should read-men and women-it covers the basic ground about how you should think, act and form positive habits! If you ask any successful person what book may have kick started their career or business to the next level, I bet you they would name this one!

7. Do you: 12 laws to access the power in you to achieve happiness and success written by Russell Simmons

Russell Simmons is the Founder of the iconic hip hop label Def Jam, Phat Farm and Baby Phat Fashions. He sold both companies for a combined total of $240 million! Russell started from the ground up and shares how he managed to create his own business, grow a team, break barriers and start a movement which has influenced many other entrepreneurs such as Sean ‘P Diddy’ Combs, Jay Z, Beyonce, Nicki Minaj and 50 Cent.

Written by Vanessa Sanyauke. Follow her on Twitter here @vanessasanyauke

Think a mentor may help your career? Find out our 5 top tips to finding one here: https://www.girlstalklondon.com/5-tips-to-finding-a-mentor/