by Solange Lopes | Jun 11, 2014 | Career |
What is your career’s mission statement – mybbwo.com
Happy Hump Day! We’re half-way through the week, time to re-evaluate what we’ve done (or not) thus far this week, and set to accomplish the remainder of our goals for this week. In our careers and our lives, we’re on a mission! And speaking of mission, what is your own mission statement as a career woman? Do you even have one?
In my years in Big Corporate, I’ve come to value the importance of purpose, especially as a corporate sister and a woman of color at work. Add to this the major changes on the corporate and economic landscape, the serious lack of gender diversity, the fear and uncertainty plaguing the corporate world lately, and you’ve got a great recipe for career instability we have to strive against.
As corporate sisters, we ought to take ownership of our careers as a business, and market our own brands to the companies, departments, groups, etc, we aspire to work with/in. Hence, the importance of a mission statement to keep us focused on our goals and aspirations, even as job transitions, careers shifts and other professional detours and bumps in the road present themselves. And there’s just something about a mission statement that feeds the individual’s vision for the future, thus setting in motion a natural mechanism of cause and effect towards the realization of success.
The first time one of my mentors asked me about my career mission statement, I went: “Huh?” And it still took me a few years to actually draft and complete something that looked anything like a mission statement.
So what does one look for when preparing their own career mission statement? One of my favorite questions to start anything at work or in life is “Why?”. And that’s exactly where a mission statement should start as well: “Why? What is your career’s purpose? Why do you do what you do? Why do you want to achieve what you want to achieve?” This will help in drafting a brief summary of your goals, personal values, previous successes and how YOU, as unique as YOU are, can contribute to your current or potential employer.
Here are some great examples of career mission statements:
My career mission statement is to become the first woman CEO of X Engineering Company and to build a network of women CEOs in my field.
My career mission is to develop my skills and abilities in my field so as to become an outstanding person in my work.
My career mission is to contribute in the development of a cure for cancer.
One famous mission statement that is often spoken about is that of John F. Kennedy, which reads: “This nation should dedicate itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the Earth”. And didn’t it happen just as he predicted? Sure did…
What is your career mission statement?
The Corporate Sister.
by Solange Lopes | Jun 10, 2014 | Career |
Hello again…We’re back for our coffee-break, water cooler chit chat of the day, with these Cambiami
Build Your Own Sandal – cambiami.com
sandals that we thought to be a pretty darn good idea for the summer! As summer is upon us, sandal season is definitely in full swing, and as much we love our favorite pair of beat up sandals, we also like a bit of variety, especially in the shoe department (ladies, I think we’d all agree). I personally love my go-to sandals that I slip in right after work in the summer, to stroll around stress-free and in style.
So when I stumbled onto these “Build Your Own Cambi” sandals on MSN’s GLO, I was ecstatic! “Cambiami” means “change me” in Italian (Aye Mamma Mia), and is the eponymous name for this shoe collection that you can basically build on your own. Each strap has its sole mate (literally), so you can buy separate straps of various colors and designs, match them with their corresponding soles, and voila, you have 3 or more sandals in one!
Love love this time-saving, energy and space-saving idea! These are $85 for one sole style and two interchangeable straps, on cambiami.com!
Spotted a great fashion find you’d like to share? Please email us at corporate@thecorporatesister.com or post a comment!
The Corporate Sister.
by Solange Lopes | Jun 10, 2014 | Career
Structured linen trouser leg pants – $49.90 – loft.com
For our lunch break today, we’re back to linen with these structured linen trouser leg pants from Loft.com. Last week, we featured this linen safari jacket, and these are great coordinating pants for it, or can be worn alone with an elegant top for work or the week-end! Love the light, airy feel of these linen pants! The cut and curvy fit are absolutely impeccable and incredibly flattering! These would look fantastic with a nice pair of slingback heels as on the picture. These pants are $49.99 on LOFT.com, and as an added bonus, come in regular, petite and tall sizes! Psst…You can get 40% off at LOFT, no code needed! Seen a great, office-friendly fashion piece you’d like to share? Please email us at corporate@thecorporatesister.com, or post a comment! The Corporate Sister.
by Solange Lopes | Jun 10, 2014 | Career
What Fuels you – swagher.net
Happy Tuesday! It’s Day 2 of this week, and we’re on, keeping’ on keeping’ on and achieving this week! Reflecting on our careers, ambitions and dreams, some of my girlfriends and I have come to discuss the sources of our motivation. Many a time, we tend to set goals for ourselves, especially career-oriented goals, without exactly thinking about what motivates us, what fuels, what is behind our hard work and tenacity? Yet by asking ourselves the question, we can very often uncover truths about ourselves that will steer us int he right direction…
My friend Annabelle S. is a multicultural, overachieving chick from the Caribbean. She was raised by a single mother who struggled to make ends meet to provide all of her six children, Annabelle included, with a roof over their heads, food on their plate, and what she even thought most important, an education. After her family moved to the US, Annabelle went on to become a successful lawyer, stopping at nothing to reach education and career milestones. Cliche? Maybe, as it is the story of many a successful Black or multicultural woman facing and ultimately surmounting the odds. What tends to be overlooked in this, and many other similar stories, is what has come to fuel these successful women, and ultimately keeps them on top of their careers, or end up depleting them to the point that they unfortunately don’t achieve as much as they could! Is it anger, a sense of betrayal from society, a burning desire to beat the odds and prove everyone wrong? Or is it a sheer, authentic, self-regenerating and self-sustaining vision? What fuels us to give our best, and is it enough to sustain our success over time in order to build a lasting legacy?
As women, we are often dubbed as “creatures of emotion”. While it is true and represents in most cases a great source of strength, it is these same emotions that when misunderstood and misused, can derail us from our paths. In our quest for success, whatever success may mean to us, it is important that we understand what lies behind our motivation. That we dig back through our past, our mothers’ and grandmothers’ past, to uncover those truths that are to be the foundation of our journey, for the good of all concerned.
Once we understand these truths, then we know what we’re after, and we know to steer ourselves in the right direction, whether it is to heal the sometimes strong yet ineffective in the long-term anger of our youth, or to redirect the hurts of our past towards a positive difference, or even to fulfill the legacy of those who came before us in a healthy, positive, fulfilling way.
What fuels you?
The Corporate Sister.
by Solange Lopes | Jun 9, 2014 | Career |
“Excuse me…my dreams and I have a date” tag – $12 – etsy.com
Hello Again…For our coffee break today, we are gaga over this MAEBbyBIANCA tag from etsy.com!
We came across the MAEBbyBianca stationery on etsy.com, and immediately fell in love with the greeting cards and stationery dedicated to women of color! In the words of the creator of MAEBbyBianca, she saw that there weren’t really cards and stationery celebrating women of color, so she decided to simply fill the void, and voila….
Love love this tag dedicated to the ambitious and purposeful woman with big dreams! It’s $12 at etsy.com, and makes a perfect gift for the overachieving, goal-driven corporate sister in your circle (or yourself, hint hint)…
The Corporate Sister.
by Solange Lopes | Jun 9, 2014 | Career
Fit and Flare Shirt Dress – $150 – whitehouseblackmarket.com
Happy Monday! For our lunch break fashion escapade today, we picked this 3/4 sleeve fit and flare shirt dress by White House Black Market. Loving the sleek stretch poplin dress, the cuffed sleeves and pointed collar, all great for the office in the summer. While the fabric is lightweight, the classic structure of the dress, as well as the pleated waist and full skirt are very comfortable for the ventilated office in the summer.
The whole silhouette is very ladylike with a longer length skirt and a bit more coverage on the arms, which I prefer in more conservative offices. My favorite features on this dress? Both the wrapped surplice and skirt pockets, which give it a sophisticated and modern “je-ne-sais-quoi”!
It’s $150 at White House Black Market, and is out first fashion pick of the week!
Seen a great, office-friendly fashion piece you’d like to share? Please email us at corporate@thecorporatesister.com or post a comment below!
The Corporate Sister.
by Solange Lopes | Jun 8, 2014 | Career
News – visualphotos.com
Happy happy Sunday! Hope everyone is having a great Sunday and enjoying the summer weather!
As we’re relaxing and getting ready for the week, here are some of our favorite articles and posts this past week:
- Black Enterprise reveals to us in their analysis that as baby boomers see job gains, millenials on the other hand, face stagnation;
- And for the job hoppers out there, Black Enterprise’s Janell Hazelwood relieves some of our fears by sharing with us that according to a recent survey, employers are more accepting of job hoppers:
- Just in time for graduating season, Fast Company tips us on how the class of 2014 will find jobs;
- Wondering if tech industry sexism is finally disappearing? Well, not exactly, as HuffPost shares with us how this “tone-deaf” sexist ad is biting TechWeek Chicago in the butt;
- In high-tech news, there’s a new innovation we wouldn’t mind using, the high-tech headband that can make your stressed brain happy again, via Forbes;
- In more spiritual news, Essence’s Coach Felicia gets us uplifted and shows us how to get to the upside of conflict;
- We couldn’t help but going “yes” when reading about LEGO Introducing its first female scientist playsets, via Refinery 29;
- In natural hair news, Mahogany Curls (we love Mahogany Curls) explains 5 ways to prep for the summer;
- Last but not least, our own The Corporate Sister tells you that no, you don’t have to choose between career and motherhood.
Thanks for reading, and thanks to each and every one of you for your continued support. Much love, and happy Sunday!
The Corporate Sister.
