Do Women Fail to Take Advantage of Their Advantages?

A friend of ours was going through a career change. We had an interesting conversation with her in the midst of it.

She had applied for a job. She had a connection who knew the CEO at the company, personally and professionally.

Her connection was a former supervisor, who thought highly of her. He had already written her a glowing letter of recommendation. But he said that he was willing to personally call the CEO on her behalf.

 Our friend declined. She said she felt like she would be taking advantage of her relationship with her supervisor. She also said that she wanted to get the job on her own, without playing to her advantages.

We said playing to your advantages helps you get ahead in your career and your life. What good is an advantage if you don’t use it?

This story has a happy ending. She did get the job so maybe she was right. It’s a great example of life on your own terms.

But we think she took a BIGG risk that could have been avoided. What do you think? Is this a male/female thing? Would a man have responded differently to the supervisor? Do women fail to capitalize on their advantages?

Image in this post from katagaci