Session Notes: Conference for Women | Compendium

This is part of a series of Session Notes from grantees who have received Professional Development grants from the Office of Commonwealth Libraries. Each grantee will share their professional development experience and include tips and other resources from the workshop or class. Grantees had their choice of an article for the Compendium, a webinar or a podcast. This project was made possible by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Typhani Russo

Typhani Russo

 

Typhani Russo
Assistant to the Children’s Services Supervisor
Altoona Area Public Library

In a world still struggling to accept the fact that feminism is important and necessary, it is nice to have conferences available that focus on women in the workplace.  From learning how to communicate like a pro to learning how to say no, the Conference for Women (Skillpath) is a must for any female.

What I enjoyed most about this conference was that the information provided can be used either within the workplace or in one’s personal life.  I plan on applying several of the ideas I learned in both aspects of my life.

From middle school until adulthood, I was bullied very badly.  It ultimately caused me to transfer schools my senior year of high school and my parents then had to pay tuition for a peaceful year and somewhat less fearful environment.  Little did I know that the bullying would continue into my professional life as an adult.  This conference discussed ways to deal with difficult people as well as how to control your emotions in order to not worsen the situation.  One such concept is the acronym, QTIP.  This stands for Quit Taking It Personally.  A bully is most often someone who is unhappy with certain aspects of their own life who feels better when they tear someone else down.  You can’t hold yourself accountable for someone else’s unhappiness and abrasive personality.  As someone who has been the target of bullying for so many years, I automatically feel as if people are always after me.  I now have the resources to assist me when I feel as though I am being targeted at work as well as in my personal life.

The problem with being a friendly female is that others will think you are readily available for spontaneous chit chat while on the job.  While I enjoy talking to people and saying hello, I can’t always be their listening ear due to the countless job duties that need to be accomplished every day at work.  When I try to tell them that I am unable to talk, I feel that I am being unintentionally rude, which isn’t the case at all.  The Conference for Women also gave me readily available tips on how to deal with these social butterflies and these situations.

Along the lines of social butterflies, coworkers often like to vent.  Being able to talk to someone without judgment is necessary and even I sometimes need to release some steam as well.  However, having coworkers vent to you about problems within the workplace can put you in an awkward position.  You want to be a good listener and help them in any way possible, but you also don’t want to be stuck with that information and carry it around like a burden.  The conference sessions taught me that you should be doing two tasks at work, informing and requesting.  Anything other than those two verbs is irrelevant and not necessary.  Focus on doing your own job to the best of your ability and don’t fall into the traps of gossip and unnecessary drama.

Not only is attending the live conference worthwhile, but there are also excellent resources that one can pick up if they cannot attend.  Two of those that I recommend are Finding Your Moxie, by Debra Fox and Lifescripts by Stephen M. Pollan and Mark LeVine.  I highly recommend this conference to any woman who wants to be empowered and grow as a professional.