by Solange Lopes | Jun 6, 2014 | Career
Linen Safari jacket – $108 – thelimited.com
TGIF! We’re dreaming of exotic escapes today, so our fashion excursion is taking us on a safari with this linen safari jacket from The Limited!
Love love this linen jacket in mid-weight linen twill, with its notched lapels and buttoned epaulets! So stylish, and so “right on time” for summer! Perfect to pair with the coordinated pants for work, and the coordinated shorts for the week-end, both available at The Limited!
A great addition to your summer wardrobe! It’s $108 at The Limited!
Seen a great, office-friendly fashion pick you’d like to share? Please post a comment below, or email us at corporate@thecorporatesister.com!
The Corporate Sister.
by Solange Lopes | Jun 6, 2014 | Career |
Career choices – atlantablackstar.com
Happy Friday! TGIF!
There’s been a lot of controversy lately around women having to choose between career and motherhood. With the pressures of a successful career piling up on a minority of women, and the sense that career opportunities are really too far and few in between for women, the sense of an impending choice is all too real, all too often…
“I can just sacrifice and do this for a few years, then I can have my life back!”, or “If I don’t seize this opportunity now, it’ll never happen again!”, or even “If I get pregnant now, I’ll never be able to achieve my dreams”, are just some of the thoughts going through many a corporate sister’s mind, as we consider the possibility of motherhood against the narrow career path for women.
While we’ve seen some women for whom delaying motherhood has somewhat worked, allowing them to reach high levels in their careers before “settling down”, we’ve also witnessed cases when choosing career over motherhood has translated into heartbreaking infertility stories. By age 35, a women’s chances of conceiving decreases, with a 20 to 35% chance of miscarriage. Yet again, some corporate sisters would have preferred having children earlier in hindsight, mourning the time lost and having a hard time grappling with time-consuming careers and families.
Is there a right choice to be made here? Is there a right or wrong answer to this perennial dilemma? I don’t believe there ever will be. Simply because there should not be a dilemma in the first place. Because we, as women, mothers and professionals, should not have to choose between nature’s course and achieving our dreams. It’s because society, and ourselves, have been imposing this pressure on our bodies and lives, that it has now become one additional (and weighty) limitation.
It is up to us to change the dialogue and teach society and companies alike (and ourselves in the process) that there should be no choice required. That both career and motherhood may be par for the course, and that neither ought to cancel the other out!
The Corporate Sister.
by Solange Lopes | Jun 5, 2014 | Career
madamenoire.com
In our after-hours feature today, we were wondering what your “after-hours system” is, that is, if you even have one! What do we mean by an “after-hours system”(as you’ll notice, we have a bunch of “corporate sister-isms”, or more or less corny catchy phrases that more or less capture the essence of our uber-busy, overpacked existences).
So back to the “after-hours system”! In other words, once we real corporate sisters get home after a hopefully productive, definitely grueling day at the office, do we have a well-oiled, engineered system to get us through our personal, family and house-related tasks effectively and efficiently? Or do we just go through the motions, barely making it through the evening, before (un-graciously) collapsing in bed? And why would we even need a system? Aren’t we just wired to perform perfectly at work, and follow up with a comparably stellar performance at home, maybe even fitting some beautifying fitness in the mix? Right? Wrong!
After years of drowning under the pressures and demands of work and home, I’ve decided I simply can’t keep pretending I’ve got it all under control. Judging by the overflowing laundry baskets, makeshift menus and “forgotten” doctors’ appointments, I needed a system! And frankly, the prospect of spending sunny week-ends creatively expanding my family’s clean clothing options, not so appealing!
So instead of going through the motions and delaying the inevitable, I pulled out my smartphone, gathered my team family and got to work! Sundays andTuesdays are Cooking days (read 30-minute meals), while Mondays and Wednesday evenings are laundry nights. The rest of the nights are for leftovers, and ordering out. And Friday night is family night, so no chores whatsoever, even if the sink is piled up with dishes or we have to come up with makeshift pajamas…It is what it is… And when late nights at work, kids’ recitals or emergency grocery runs come to disrupt the “system”, we take a deep breath and compromise!
Do we stick to the “system” on a consistent basis? Hmmm….we do our best, let’s put it that way. Yet one thing is for sure, we’ve regained a good chunk of our week-ends, and we feel a tad bit less underwater…
Do you have an “after-hours” system?
The Corporate Sister.
by Solange Lopes | Jun 5, 2014 | Career
Close the Gap App – she negotiates.com
For our coffee break feature today, we absolutely wanted to talk about the Close the Gap app! We recently ran into it on Twitter, and literally thought: “Wow!” An app that acts as your own personal or business coach, helps you define your goals, build your support network and even negotiate your salary! Pretty revolutionary, huh?
We love the concept, and as corporate sisters on the lookout for new innovations helping everyday career women like you and I to make it further and higher in our careers, we think this is a darn great step in the right direction!
Collaboratively designed by the founders of Take The Lead and She Negotiates, this app is simply, in the words of my two-year old, “awesome”!
Check it out more below:
Your thoughts?
The Corporate Sister.
by Solange Lopes | Jun 5, 2014 | Career
Happy lunch time! For our fashion interlude today, we are switching things up a bit, and offering 2 selections from a high and low budget points, instead of our usual one! We were on the lookout for printed tops, and happened to find two that we really liked at two very different price points; and since they are both oh so cute, we’d rather not commit the fashion crime of choosing.
Print Satin Top by Prabal Gurung – $540 – modaoperandi.com
Splurge, with this Print Satin Top from Prabal Gurung via modaoperandi.com: Loving this multicolored floral print short-sleeved top! While the round top and boxy shape are pretty classic and conventional, the modern pattern and satiny luxurious texture propel it high up on the list of contemporary corporate fashion must-haves! It simply spells pure elegance, and would look incredible paired with a neutral bottom in a distinctive gray or shiny black. Plus Prabal Gurun is one of our favorite designers for a reason! It’s $540 at modaoperandi.com, and is our splurge of the day, well, half-day so far, you never know where our fashion eyes will take us.
Printed top – $69.90 – zara.com
Save, with this floral top from one of our favorites as well, Zara! Same round neckline and boxy shape, yet the pattern is more deconstructed and definitely more along the artsy-contemporary lines! Loving the sophisticated yet modern statement of this top, coupled with the feminine patterns balanced with the seriousness of the darker colors. A great buy at $69.90!
Saving or splurging today?
The Corporate Sister.
by Solange Lopes | Jun 5, 2014 | Career
musingsofastrongblackwoman.com
Happy Thursday! Are you currently biting your nails, waiting to hear from your management about a long awaited promotion? Or did you just sit for a license or certification that will make all the difference between a successful or barely average career?Yet again, are you waiting to hear from a recruiter about a potential great job offer?
As many a corporate sister has experienced, there are those times in one’s career when you just have to wait it out! While these are times of grueling and painful uncertainty, they also may be some of the periods that teach us most about ourselves, our goals and objectives. So, while you anxiously wait:
1. Keep working! Oftentimes, the anxiety of the wait makes us feel paralyzed and unable to keep going until we find out the outcome. Yet, this waiting time is often crucial in sharpening the skills we’ll be using at the next level, to prepare for the next level, or even reflect on whether or not we even want that next level! One manager once confided in me that one of the criteria they rely on to finalize an employee’s promotion, is how this employee behaves once they know they are up for promotion! Are you working towards the next level? Are you keeping mentally and physically strong? It’s not how long you are waiting as much as how you are waiting…
2. Keep positive! Many a corporate sister has undertaken more or less challenging career transitions. Moving from one position to another, working to achieve a career or education milestone, waiting to start on a new career path: lots of opportunities to get lost in the shuffle of high-stress waiting periods! Your mental attitude is key here, keep positive, picture a positive outcome, and prepare for the best!
3. Last but not least, prepare your options! What’s a plan without options? While you prepare for the best, have options in case the worst strikes (because it may very well). If you don’t pass that license, plan to retake it as soon as possible! If the promotion does not come through, plan to expand your range of employment options, including lateral moves. If the job offer does not come through as expected, start sharpening your negotiation skills! While your options may not be definitive, they will be a source of assurance, and ultimately comfort, to you as you approach the situation’s outcome.
How are you waiting for your big career break?
The Corporate Sister.
by Solange Lopes | Jun 4, 2014 | Career
Kate Spade laptop sleeve – $60 – katespade.com
For our coffee break today, we are in the mood for…cake! Yess, and that’s why we went absolutely gaga over this Kate Spade laptop sleeve. For all the corporate gals out there who cherish their sweet tooth (right along with their professional style), this “Eat Cake For Breakfast” laptop sleeve is sure to make you smile…or reach for the next cupcake!
Love love the stand-out-in-the-crowd color which will not only make you noticed, but picks you up every time you open your laptop for work (or fun). This cheery and oh so delicious-looking laptop sleeve fits most 13″ laptops, and is $60 at katespade.com!
Did we say you can eat cake for breakfast, because really who needs rules?
Seen a great, office-friendly, smile-inducing accessory you’d like to share with our readers? Please post a comment, or email us at corporate@thecorporatesister.com!
The Corporate Sister.
