by Solange Lopes | Feb 14, 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!
Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! Hope you’re enjoying a serious dose of love today, and that you’re doing at least one thing for yourself…
- Right on time for V-Day, Business Insider tells us how being single influences your career
- And who you’re going to marry based on your job too
- For those tech-challenged like myself, The Daily Muse tips you off on 13 cheap (or free) online classes you can take to boost your digital skills
- US News lists 3 ways saying no at work can boost your career
- Lev0 tells you why it’s so important to have a work frenemy
- Deal Alert! Corporette tells us all about the Nordstrom Winter Sale
- The Undercover Recruiter tips us off on the do’s and don’t of having an office romance
- Worried about perfecting your elevator pitch? Careerealism gives you 5 tips to follow.
What other news would you like to add to this roundup?
Love,
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | Feb 12, 2016 | Career
Photo credit: farfetch.com
I’m getting on the wild side of corporate things (is there even such a thing?) with this Norma Kamali pencil cheetah print skirt. Loving the unconventional print of this skirt, paired with the more classic pencil cut. I would definitely sport this to work, paired with a neutral color top like the one on the model pictured. This skirt is $129.77 at Farfetch.
And while we’re on the cheetah print train, I absolve this Loeffler Randall work tote from Nordstrom, which would be perfect against your favorite black sheath dress or easy neutral slacks.
Would you sport the cheetah print at work?
Love and Success,
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | Feb 10, 2016 | Career
Photo credit: shop style.com
Today’s corporate catwalk pick is this elegant Eliza J pleated crepe fit and flare dress. Loving the simplicity of the dress, accentuated by the front pleating and charming, non-traditional color. I would sport this dress all day at work with classic pumps, booties, or even knee-high boots.
Perfect for a day at work and beyond…
What do you think? Yay or nay?
Love,
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | Feb 10, 2016 | Career |
Every year, my daughter’s school sends along a big box of candy to be sold for charity. And guess who does all the selling, eating, and sometimes paying for this? The parents, exactly…dragging along boxes of sweets to work, advocating for this or that charity to their co-workers, checking the solicitation policy for any missteps, and putting out their best marketing skills to bail their kids out of trouble…
Now don’t get me wrong…While I encourage Dear Daughter to do her own selling and marketing, I also (almost always) find myself advocating for her. For her success, for her progress, and…to redeem myself for all the times I dropped her off late at school (it happens…). She’s got Mommy in her “success corner”, as I like to tell her…
In your career, too, who do you have in your “success corner”. Who advocates for you to help you along as you advance, and progress through the ranks?
I know what you may thinking…Isn’t hard work enough? Doesn’t showing up early and staying late compensate for all the career support in the world? And how do I even get people to advocate for me?
When I started in Big Accounting, I had the same questions, concerns and doubts. After all, I was an independent, smart (except when it came t figuring out directions), young woman. I knew what I wanted, I was willing to work hard and get it.
When I started seeing others like myself rise through the ranks rapidly, I noticed most of them were the ones who were mentored, supported and advocated for by more senior employees. Those who asked for support and advice. Those who reached out and created their own advocacy network. Those who had other more experienced, more seasoned people go around and help their sell their “career”.
Then when I finally got a mentor, she confirmed what I had always suspected. As a young professional in the Finance industry, she had risen to meteoric levels of success very rapidly. And the tips she gave me changed my perspective on what it really takes to build long, lasting career success:
- Back people up in a corner: This particular mentor would get in to the office early to try and speak with her managers and directors. She would specifically ask them what she had to do in order to get ahead in her career. And she would do this not just during performance reviews, but at least once a quarter to get their attention. The trick here is to ask for specific action items that you can start tackling now, and to keep yourself accountable for these.
- It’s about action! Now getting a list of actionable items from your managers and directors is one thing, putting these into action is another! Devise of a plan of action to address each to-do on your list, and enlist the help of more senior employees who’d be willing to lend a hand. Assess how long it will take you to complete these, and get to work!
- Follow up: Organize frequent (but not too frequent, once a month is a good bet) check-ups with management to follow up on the action items they recommended, and keep them updated. Completing these tasks and presenting your progress will in turn “back them up in a corner”, where they’re now accountable for delivering on their word. Tricky? A bit. Effective? Hell yes.
- Rinse and repeat! Repeat this process as often as needed to keep pushing yourself further in your career. The point is to get members of management to advocate for you and support you as you rise through the corporate ranks. Some of the advice, and the relationships you forge along the way, will last a lifetime…
What is your ultimate trick to advancing in your career?
Love,
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | Feb 5, 2016 | Career
Photo credit: shop style.com
That’s it! I’m going back to the gym…tomorrow 🙂
In the meantime, to get me in the swing of alls things active, my week-end pick is this ruched zip jacket, perfect for hitting the gym in style…or pretending you did!
Loving how style and function meet in this high-performance jacket that still looks stylish after a sweat! My favorite features are the ruched stand collar, and the stylish, figure-flattering seaming that makes it look like you already lost a pound or two…or three. Nothing wrong with looking stylish even when things start heating up in the gym!
This jacket is $120 at Nordstrom!
What do you think of this pick? Yay or nay!
Love,
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | Feb 5, 2016 | Career |
This is our weekly career news update, where we round up exciting career 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 we’re gossiping, you can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter,IG, and Pinterest!
- Vox takes us back to the history behind Black History Month
- There are some pretty new equal pay rules you may not have heard of, here they are!
- The Daily Muse lists 9 everyday habits you should adopt to be well-liked in the office
- Levo League writes about how these two entrepreneurs solved a super common problem by helping women “swipe for friendship”
- Business Insider lists the 10 highest-paying cities in the US
- The Undercover Recruiter asks what the biggest social media mistakes are among job seekers
- The Evil HR Lady lists the top 100 companies to watch for telecommuting jobs
- After last week’s news about Barbie coming in real sizes now (read looking like a human being), now fans are petitioning Mattel for a Selena-look-alike Barbie…To be continued…
- It’s that time of the year again…V-Day is rearing its red and white head around (again), and WhoWhatWear is hooking up with 13 dresses for any type of date
- Last but not least, The Corporate Sister shares a few tips on how to go from green to great, and leverage your performance review
Any news or interesting article you’d like to add to the roundup?
Love,
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | Feb 2, 2016 | Career |
Like most first-graders, baby daughter gets a color rating attesting to her performance in school at the end of every day. Green is for good, yellow is for the initial “you’re-about-to-step-into-danger-zone” initial warning, and red…well, is the “no-toy-no-tv-no-sweets-eat-your-veggies” glaring behavioral emergency light.
After a couple of red episodes, mostly due to experimenting with natural stubbornness and limits, baby girl went back to bringing green little dots on her daily performance sheet. Until the day she approached me with a slight grin on her face, little eyes lighting up with curiosity: “So mommy, what’s after green?”
At which point I took a second (or two) to quietly beam with pride at this human being, who happened to come out of me (oh and her dad, but my side of the family did really well in school)…
After the pride, came the pertinent questioning. She was right…
If most of us, in first grade and through our careers, can get “green” ratings for performance, what’s beyond that? How do we turn an average “green” into an explosion of pink and purple confetti of above average performance? And how do we make it more frequent than the occasional pat on the shoulder after a month of missing family dinners to finish this or that project?
Unless they’re being dealt a performance blow, most people get decent, “meet expectations” performance reviews most years. Which translates into a few accolades here and there, some suggestions for improvement, and a general feel-good sense overall…And the occasional shoe-shopping treat to boot…
Yet, how often do we go beyond this, and ask ourselves: “What’s beyond this decent, good performance review? How do I leverage this good stuff into great stuff? Basically, how do I beat the green?”
Most people will tell you that it comes with time. Others will argue that in this day and age, you should be happy to have a job where you get decent reviews. And others will even push the envelope and tell you not to try to get too great as it might backfire on you…Something about work politics and who you know…
Yet, what if there were a strategy, a system to get you to push through the last barriers of average performance into stellar, one-of-a-kind performance? What if you could leverage your decent, “green” performance review every time to provide you with a Star Wars dimension career boost?
From my own experience down in the career trenches, and studying “real”, everyday successful people managing their own performance reviews into career greatness, here are a few lessons on leveraging a good performance review and turn it into career gold:
- Ask the right questions: Use the time allotted to you during your performance review to ask all the right questions you normally may not have an opportunity to. Strategic questions such as: “ What am I doing well?”, “What should I stop doing?”, “What do you think I should focus on learning/mastering?”, should always be on your list of questions to raise. Not to mention the question that can take you further: “What do I have to do to get to the next level?”
- Show initiative: One of my managers once told me” If the employee doesn’t ask about getting to the next level of their career, we have a problem.” Use your “good” performance review meeting to show great initiative as related to your career’s future. Where do you want to get to? Don’t wait for your boss to tell you what to do. Instead, ask what is required of you to beat the “green” and get to that next stage of your career. And don’t apologize it for it either…
- Build a personal connection: Your performance review is an opportunity to connect with your manager. Don’t let a good performance review satisfy you enough not to try and build an even deeper, more personal bond with your boss. Remember that a large chunk of your career success rests on healthy, positive relationships! Speak to your boss in a personal manner. Relax and leave the corporate stiffness aside. Instead, thank her/him for their impact on your career, as well as their support and leadership. Ask them what they did in their own career to get to the level they’re at. Be personable. Act like you’re talking to another human.
- Humble yourself: A good performance review is not a bragging stage. While you should definitely bring up the positive contributions you made to your team and department, don’t forget to bring out the “humility factor”. One key thing to do is to attribute some of your success to your manager and team. Be sure not only to thank her/him, but also to point out ways in which her/his leadership has helped you in achieving certain objectives. Flattery? Yes, a bit. Hypocritical? Not if you mean it…If you don’t, then you can always stop at “thank you”…
- Show unbreakable determination: I’ve mentioned earlier the need to ask what is required of you to get to the next level. Take it even a step further, by showing unbreakable determination to succeed. Show that you are willing to do what’s necessary to reach the next level of your career. Even better, say it! Something to the effect of “I’m committed to do whatever’s necessary to advance in my career”, will take you far.
- Bring the team factor: We don’t work alone, especially nowadays when the team is Queen in the workplace. Don’t leave a good performance review discussion go to waste by not attributing some of your success to your team, and giving it its due props. It goes a long way to show you’re a team player, and a strategic thinker.
- Follow up: Never leave a performance review meeting without mentioning the “follow up” factor. Make sure to ask your manager if it’s ok for you to check in with her every once in a while (maybe once a quarter?), to track your performance and ensure you’re on the right path. Not only does it show your spirit of initiative, but it’s guaranteed to get you some serious brownie points…
Do you have any additional tips to suggest to turn a “green” performance review into a stellar career boost?
Love,
The Corporate Sis.
