by Solange Lopes | Sep 9, 2016 | Career
This is our weekly career and lifestyle news update, where we round up exciting news of the last week and we let you have it…ahem, news-wise that is…
Think of it as your career gossiping section on steroids…
And while you’re at it, follow us on Facebook, Twitter,IG, and Pinterest!
Here we go…
- Big Corporate can be pretty tough! This Ellevate Network article gives you 10 insider lessons for surviving the corporate world;
- Got a big presentation coming up? Business Insider tips you off on 15 things you should do in the 15 minutes before;
- Are you bored at work but unwilling to quit? Work It Daily has this suggestion…
- Preparing for a big interview? Here are 21 questions designed to trick you…
- Eyeing that next promotion? Ellevate Network has 4 strategies to help you;
- There’s hope for sitting through all those dreaded meetings! Mashable presents world’s strongest coffee is here, and its caffeine levels will electrify you…
- Want to raise wildly successful kids? Inc. says you should try this;
- Did you know about these hidden fees in your 401k?
- Are you an entrepreneur? Check out this tactical guide to building a million-dollar network;
- In a career rut? Use this mindset tip;
- Wondering where to shop for plus-size workwear? Check out my guide here.
Happy Friday!
To Your Success,
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | Sep 7, 2016 | Career
Wear to Work: Pajama Shirt Dress – Photo credit: shopstyle.com
Our “Wear toWork” feature presents a piece of workwear, along with great alternatives, for stylish corporate sisters.
If you thought the concepts of pajamas and workwear would never co-exist, think again! It’s actually one of the biggest fashion trends for Fall 2016!
This WhoWhatWear pajama shirt dress from Target is here to prove you can mix loungewear and elegant workwear. Loving the lightweight feel of this dress that can be worn in any season! It’s available in blue, brown polka dot, and dark red. My fave is the brow polka dot shown on the picture. It’s $34.99 at Target!
I also like this floral pajama style dress, also from ASOS. If you’re ready to splurge, then this F.R.S. elevated shirt dress may be right down your alley!
Petites
I’ve also found this style of dresses in Petite sizes at ASOS, with this floral print stepped hem pajama shirt dress. Oh and this one too! Both these styles also comes in Tall sizes.
Plus-sizes
I’ve not found much choice for pajama style dresses in plus sizes (hello designers, let’s get to work!). But a nice alternative is a pajama style jacket, like this elegant cream number from River Island which comes in sizes up to 14.
What do you think of the pajama trend? Would you sport it?
To Your Success,
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | Sep 7, 2016 | Career
After working as a news co-anchor on Baltimore WJZ-TV, Oprah was demoted to a lower position on morning TV. Years later, she went on to dominate daytime TV for all of 25 years, and now has her own network. After failing to make the 1968 Olympic Skating figure, Vera Wang became a senior fashion editor at Vogue where she was passed over for the editor-in-chief position after 15 years. Harry Potter’s author J. K. Rowling faced 12 rejections before selling the book for only $4,000.
You may have read these success stories of women who’ve turned failure into success. Yet, the part we don’t often see is that these very women were also, at one point in their career, “stuck”. That like the rest of us who sometimes don’t see the light at the end of the tunnel, as we’re faced with rejection, or simply as we’re coasting through our careers.
One of my mentors once told me that you can approach everything as it’s an opportunity, or as if opportunity is nowhere. It changed my way of thinking, especially about my own life and career.
As uncomfortable and discouraging as it may be, a career rut can synonymous with an opportunity to reposition ourselves. If you consider that it can be the gateway to a transformation in your career, then you can gain the patience, insight and determination to turn it into success.
You may be reading this wondering what kind of woo-woo ideology this is. Especially when it comes to work. Yet, there are many instances in my own career when I was “stuck”, when this simple principle helped me place whatever situation I was in a better, more productive context.
Here are three ways you can literally trick your mind to get out of a career rut:
Own your failures
Sara Blakely, the billionaire inventor of Spanx, says her father used to ask her and her brother to recount their failures at the end of each day. This, she says, has taught her the invaluable asset that failure is.
Instead of seeing failure as an insurmountable obstacle in your career and life, own them instead. Recognize where you’ve fallen short, so you can address your weaknesses and leverage them
Learn from failing
Redefine failure in a new way, by learning from what didn’t go so well. Use these failures to re-define your career by pivoting where needed. Where can you adjust your performance to reach your goals better? How can you improve your results by targeting exactly those areas where you fell short.
As awkward as it may be, keeping a record of your failures or shortcomings at work can help you develop a winning strategy. For instance, I used to collect all the review notes I’d get from my managers to create a list of areas where I needed to pay special attention, and what I exactly needed to do in each area. End result: guaranteed progress!
Take simple steps to transform your career
Do something each day to transform your career, especially when you’re hitting a career rut. It could be as simple as keeping a “Not to do” list to avoid repeating the same mistakes.
Or identifying those very things that make you feel like you’re in a career rut, and pivoting from where you are to get closer to where you want to be.
Do you use this mindset tip to break out of a career rut?
PS: Want to read more about reaching your career? Join our “Recharge Your Career” Month challenge.
To Your Career Success,
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | Sep 6, 2016 | Career
Traci, one of my readers, left a comment on the blog the other day, asking for plus-size suggestions of workwear. So I decided to write a post on where to shop for stylish, elegant clothing in plus sizes (and I’ll also be adding plus-size options to each Corporate Catwalk post as well).
When it comes to plus-size workwear, it can be a challenge to find work-appropriate and well-fitting options. Many of my plus-size colleagues and friends have been complaining about the lack of flattering styles for plus sizes, which is surprising considering that most American women, myself included, are on the curvy side.
As a curvy Petite myself, I can relate to the struggle. The last thing you want is to show up to work with ill-fitting clothes and be uncomfortable all day, all the while not being taken seriously because of the way you dress.
I did some research, and was glad to find out that while the options are not overwhelmingly varied, there are still a number of brands that offer great work styles for plus-size women. These are my favorites so far (I will keep updating the list as I go):
Valentina Plus-size dress – Photo credit: tdnewyork.com
Tiel Doreen: this is a must stop-shop for full-figured career women, carrying sizes 0X to 3X. I particularly love the elegant and extremely flattering wrap dresses like this gorgeous Valentina number.
Lena belted stretch culottes – Photo credit: skimlinks.com
Lane Bryant: The brand is well-known for its designer collections catering exclusively to plus-size women sizes 14 to 28. I particularly love their tailored pants available in a large array of styles, including this Lena tailored stretch belted pair of culottes.
Textured Pencil Skirt – Photo credit: skimlinks.com
Elvi: This elevated brand offers some timeless, contemporary styles in sizes 14 to 26 that would look perfect in any professional wardrobe. It features a specific Workwear collection that I absolutely love. Pieces like this textured pencil skirt, or this crisp white embellished blouse are just to die for!
Stretch overcheck jacket – Photo credit: gb.marinaldi.com
Marina Rinaldi: This modern, refined brand carries sizes 17 through 33, and offers classy looks for the office. I love that the jackets are especially well tailored, as opposed to the awkward plus-size models usually on the market. Take for instance this sharp stretch overcheck jacket.
Ebro shirt – Photo credit: UNIVERSALSTANDARD.NET
Universal Standard: This cool brand offers elevated essentials for sizes 10 through 28. The story of how this brand came to be is actually really interesting. Alexandra Waldman and Polina Veksler quit their Provate Equity jobs to create a clothing line that catered to women other than their straight-size friends. I like the contemporary style of the line, with pieces like this Ebro shirt for instance.
Some regular brands and established designers are also expanding their offerings to include plus-size options as well. My favorites are:
Any plus-size brands you’d like to add to this list? Please comment below, or email me at corporate@thecorporatesister.com!
To Your Success,
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | Sep 6, 2016 | Career
“I feel stuck!”
The last time Felicia met with her mentor, those were the exact words that summarized how she felt about her career. She did like her job, and wanted to get ahead. Yet, underneath her apparent good performance and how well she got along with her team and manager, she felt “stuck”. As in locked in the same position, with limited opportunities to grow and develop the fulfilling career she’s always dreamt of…
Does Felicia’s story feel familiar to you? Have you, or are you, as you’re reading this post and actively nodding, feeling trapped in that thing you’ve stopped calling a career a while ago?
If you come to work with zero inspiration, sub-levels of motivation and a deep desire to understand how you can combine coconut flakes and brownies into a new revolutionary dessert, you may have hit a career wall. Hard.
Many of us hit that career rut wall at some point or another in our careers. On a positive note, it means your career has a pulse and you’re not just some robot mechanically motioning through work. On another positive note, it’s a sign you may need to put the moves on your career, like…now!
Yet, even before you decide to make a change in your career (and figure out what you need to do), you’ve gotta ask yourself some questions. Some pretty tough questions, if you ask me. Yet some essential questions, whose answers will help you understand yourself, and your career, better.
Who Am I?
I know what you’re thinking. This is the quintessential existential question no one wants to really answer. Who wants to spend the afternoon pondering about their identity when you could catch the latest shoe sales? Seriously…
Yet, to live your best life, and have the best career you’ve always wanted, isn’t just a matter of degrees, competence or even personality. How many have excelled at the wrong career, only to wake up one day and realize their career needs a 360.
How you define yourself affects how you define your work, and ultimately your success. Knowing who you are is the first step to accept it, and ultimately be happier.
Are you a business person, or more of an artistic one? What are your strengths? What weaknesses do you need to work on? What are your dreams?
Every time you hit a wall, in your career and life, you may be prompted to take a good hard look around and re-evaluate your current situation. Start with you.
As part of answering this question, define and list those characteristics that make you who you are. What makes you unique? How would you describe yourself?
What Makes Me Happy?
Studies have shown that the happier you are, the more productive and fulfilled you are at work. Instead of piling on the caffeine and Twix bars, why not instead ask yourself what makes you happy, truly happy?
Yes, we all need jobs. And sometimes, even most of the times, necessity doesn’t really reconcile with the stuff that makes us vibrate.
Yet knowing what makes you happy will allow you to at least know what to go after. It may not be a part of your career now, but it could be part of a side project or an aspiration you work towards. Many “corporatepreneurs” report getting so much joy and fulfillment out of their side pursuits that it affects their careers positively.
Even if it only means making more time to do do those things you enjoy, whether it’s gardening, golfing or traveling, it can make a world of difference for your career.
On a piece of paper, make a list of the things that make you the happiest. Keep this list, it will be a part of your career recharging process.
What Do I Want?
There is another one of those tough, existential questions that leave most people wanting to drown in a tub of Haagen Dasz ice cream.
We all want fulfilling careers that put enough money in our pockets and leave us enough free time to live life to the fullest. Yet most of us also have bills to pay, kids to raise, student loans to eliminate, and a whole shabang of things we have to do.
Yet everyone we lose sight of what we really want out of life, we get into this passive rut zone where our motivation dwindles, our focus disappears and our productivity sinks.
Do you want to create processes? Or are you more drawn towards a career in the sciences? Do you want to have a career that allows you to have more free time or a shorter commute?
List the things you want in order of priority, both in your career and life. It will be the starting point to re-energizing your career.
What’s the next (small) step?
It may not be easy to answer the first three questions, let alone determine a plan of action. And the good news is, you don’t have to define an entire career plan right off the bat. What you can do, however, is start with the next (small) step.
What’s one thing you can do today to recharge your career, based on your answers to the first three questions. It could be as simple as taking a class in a field you’re interested in, or purchasing a book, or even reaching out to someone in an area you may have questions on or interest in.
Start today with one simple, small step. Write it down and follow it through.
What questions do you ask yourself when you find yourself in a career rut?
PS: Want to know more about recharging your career? Join our “Recharge Your Career” month challenge HERE!
