by Solange Lopes | Feb 24, 2017 | Career
Welcome to our weekly career, entrepreneurship, lifestyle and fashion news roundup! Think of it as your online watercooler/work gossip station/coffee break spot for now…Want to add anything to our list? Email us at corporate@thecorporatesister.com!
- If you haven’t read Susan Fowler’s post on the dysfunctional culture at Uber, and what many women engineers go through, stop everything and read THIS!
- Speaking of this, Business Insider tells you what to do when you have a problem at work and HR won’t help you!
- Have you ever wondered how soon you should update your LinkedIn profile? The Personal Branding Blog tips you off!
- Speaking of Linked In, Recruiter lists off 9 facts you should know about the new Linked In profile;
- Worried about money? Ellevate Network is telling you how not to lose sleep over it;
- Want to tell you if your job is right for you? Take this Glassdoor quiz;
- Want to become a public speaker? Inc. advises you to do these 5 things;
- Get inspired with these quotes from Black female authors on Ellevate;
- WhoWhatWear tells you how to build your entire wardrobe on Amazon;
- Hello busy mamas! Food52 tells you you can put away your knife and cutting board and still get a yummy dinner ready.
Happy Friday!
Cheers,
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | Feb 17, 2017 | Career
Faux-leather backpack – Photo credit: shopstyle.com
Welcome to our week-end chat feature! Got something you want to chat about? Post it in the comments below…
I’m curious to know: would you be sporting a backpack on weekends or even on workdays? Or does the idea bring you back to middle school and pigtail time?
Well, this Sole Society “Kylie” faux-leather backpack is a nice alternative! I love the compact size and minimalist look of this hip bag, that you can pair with just about anything. It comes in grey and oxblood. It’s $49.95 at Nordstrom.
Cheers to the weekend!
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | Feb 17, 2017 | Career
Welcome to our weekly career, entrepreneurship, lifestyle and fashion news roundup! Think of it as your online watercooler/work gossip station/coffee break spot for now…Want to add anything to our list? Email us at corporate@thecorporatesister.com!
- This week as part of my Race & Work series, I’m discussing the Olivia Pope Syndrome;
- Facing racism at work? Experts on the Glassdoor Blog reveal what to do;
- In MAJOR news this week, Facebook rolled out a new feature allowing companies to post jobs on their business pages. Read more on Workology about it;
- As an entrepreneur, do you ever feel like quitting? Ellevate Network advises you to do these three things first;
- Speaking of entrepreneurship, Forbes Woman shares the best US cities for young entrepreneurs;
- Is your budget getting out of hand? Lifehacker teaches us to keep it to these 3 categories;
- Don’t like stress? Business Insider lists 32 high-paying, low-stress jobs you may want to look at;
- Healthy power lunch anyone? Love and Lemons suggests these easy power lunches to het your healthy on;
- Ellevate lists the 4 must-do’s women must tackle to establish their credibility;
- Last but not least, I rounded up my favorite maternity dresses for work.
Anything you’d like to add to this list? Email me at corporate@thecorporatesister.com, or add it in the comments!
Cheers,
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | Feb 16, 2017 | Career
ASOS Maternity Dress in mono animal print – Photo credit: shopstyle.com
Let’s get real, expecting your bundle of joy is a beautiful thing. Dressing it every day for work can be a tad more challenging, especially when you can’t see your feet or when you look like you’re about to topple over any second. Yet it’s not about because we’re giving life, that we should give up on (professional) style. So in honor of all the working mamas styling it at work, here’s a quick selection of my own favorite maternity dresses:
Maternal America Front Tie Nursing Dress _ Photo credit: shopstyle.com
The Mama-Approved LBD
For all your board meetings/unnecessary meeting/why-are-we-meeting-again days, this elegant Maternal America stretch jersey dress from Nordstrom dresses the part. I love the figure-flattering sash at the front, which gives it a distinctive street-style appeal.
I also really like this maternity Three Seasons peek-a-boo front solid ruche dress from Amazon, as well as this Mamalicious leather panel dress. And how about this gorgeous ASOS Maternity Embellished Floral Cropped Top Dress?
ASOS Maternity Dress – Photo credit: shopstyle.com
The Floral Maternity Dress
Because Spring can’t come any faster, I’m selecting some floral maternity dresses like this ASOS maternity wiggle dress. I also like this smart pencil dress, also from ASOS.
ASOS Maternity Dress in mono animal print – Photo credit: shopstyle.com
The Patterned Dress
Add some pep to your step with this maternity skater dress in mono animal print from ASOS. In a similar style, I also like this petite blurred spot skater dress, accented with a belt.
by Solange Lopes | Feb 16, 2017 | Career
This post is part of a Race & Work series featured on The Corporate Sister in honor of Black History Month.
The advice from Papa Pope to his daughter on Scandal to be twice as good in order to have half of what her white peers have rings true to many Black women (and men) in the workplace…
If there’s one quote in Scandal that struck and stayed with me to this day, it’s embedded in these words from Papa Pope to his overachieving, far-from-mediocre daughter: “You have to be twice as good to get half as much” (read the recap of the episode here). At the time, this racially charged motto uttered smack down in the middle of prime time television had many, if not most, Black and minority families, and women, nod in approval…
The exchange went something like this:
Rowan: Did I not raise you for better? How many times have I told you? You have to be what?
Olivia: Twice as good.
Rowan: You have to be twice as good as them to get half of what they have.
via GIPHY
If you’re the kid who’s ever brought home a bad grade, or missed an opportunity because you didn’t study hard enough, the feeling is all too familiar. I mean, just read Twice As Good: Condoleezza Rice and her Path to Power…
Many may disagree with this assertion, holding up merit as the only balance of power to measure ourselves against. Yet, if you’ve ver been denied a promotion without exactly knowing why, or have been held accountable for small mistakes that others seem to get away with, then you know…Then you know that, as my mother used to say, “you must be the absolute best when you don’t look like the majority“.
Yes, being Black shouldn’t mean having to be twice as good, but the reality is often not what we’d all like to see. When speaking to the Tuskegee University graduates back in May 2015, Michelle Obama’s words were as wise as they were piercing: “The road ahead is not going to be easy. It never is, especially for folks like you and me. Because while we’ve come so far, the truth is that those age-old problems are stubborn and they haven’t fully gone away”.
In an October 2015 report published by the National Bureau of Economic Research, research suggests that even when Black employees are hired, there’s a tendency to consider them as less skilled and competent. Despite the recent advances made in business hiring practices, a long-standing history of prejudice may cause more scrutiny towards employees of color. And you know what they say, the more you’re being told you’re not smart or good enough, the more you may tend to believe it…
And for Black women, in the words of activist and author Malcolm X and as Beyonce beautifully pulled in her record-breaking, generation-changing album Lemonade:
“The most disrespected person in America is the black woman. The most unprotected person in America is the black woman. The most neglected person in America is the black woman.”
via GIPHY
Very few of us, if any, escaped this pain. Yet we find strength in being the best we can be, and making lemonade out of lemons no one else would really want to deal with…And every now and then, we look back and remind ourselves that it was never a waste of time if we learnt so much through the journey…
Do you think the Olivia Pope Syndrome is a myth?
To Your Success,
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | Feb 14, 2017 | Career
Langston Ballet flats – Photo credit: shopstyle.com
It’s Love Day, people, and in the name of all the mushiness and sentimentality in the world right now, I’m making my Wear to Work pick all about love too…These ED Ellen DeGeneres Langston Ballet flats from Nordstrom are a cheerful (and cute) reminder to live, laugh and love all the way down to your toes. The original embroidery on this classic and comfortable shoe adds all the charm to it, and is sure to turn heads…
I also like this red Lilliane cap-toe version pictured below. In a similar style, these Roger Vivier graffiti patent leather ballet flats are a show-stealer too!
Let’s love each other (and chocolates)!
Lillian Cap-toe ballet flats – Photo credit: shopstyle.com
To Your Success,
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | Feb 14, 2017 | Career
Ask me to list my favorite romantic movies of all times, and Love Jones is pretty sure to feature right next to the top. If you’ve seen the 1997 movie featuring my imaginary boyfriend Larenz Tate (he doesn’t know yet) and the ever-gorgeous and talented Nia Long as two artsy lovebirds on the rebound from Chicago, then you know all about getting the “love jones”, at least when it comes to your relationships…If you haven’t seen, Netflix people, Netflix…
via GIPHY
But how about getting the “love jones” in your career? You know, where you spend the majority of your time doing what you do? Remember when you started your first job, all fresh from college/school of hard-knocks/Mama’s basement, and you were all excited on Orientation Day? When you felt your first “love jones” for your career?
via GIPHY
According to a recent #LoveWhatYouDo survey by Adecco USA, 71% of women in the workforce love their jobs. And 29% of us don’t exactly got a love thang going on with work…Let’s admit it, there are times in your career when you’d rather skip dessert for a month than pull in to work. And other times when you’re ready to bring in homemade cookies to the team every other day…
Yet, if we’re going to spend most of our lives at work and fulfill our best potential, we deserve to love what we do. Besides, there’s something about having that “love jones” for your career that puts a pep in your step, a smile on your face, and some inspiration in your soul (in addition to seriously slowing the aging process)…
So for all you who may need to get that career love thang going, here are a few loving tips to fan those work flames all over again:
Keep It Fresh!
In relationships as in your career, boredom is a silent killer! Doing the same tasks over and over again can have you sink in a deep rut with no end. Instead, challenge yourself to keep it fresh! It could be as simple as learning something new every day, whether it’s meeting someone new, or researching new information, or even taking a course or reading a book.
You can also try switching things up a bit by collaborating with other teams, asking for a rotation, changing work locations every so often, or offering innovative solutions to old problems. As long as you make an effort to keep it fresh…
It’s About Relationships!
It’s one thing to keep your head down, getting your work done as effectively as possible. But it’s another to avoid or limit your interaction with other humans in the workplace, and may end up hurting your career and happiness altogether…
Strive to connect with others and develop healthy, collaborative relationships. This will not only make you more connected to the company as a whole, but will also immensely help out on those days you need a hand (or two) to help you out with your workload. Besides, what’s the point of coffee breaks without all the chatting (and gossip)…
Stand Empowered!
In relationships or at work, not feeling valued or important can negatively impact our love for what we do. If we don’t feel like we belong, or are not sure what role we play in the big picture, it can be easy to call it quits in search of more welcoming, meaningful professional pastures…
Instead, try and understand how you fit in, and how your particular responsibilities support the company’s wider objectives. If necessary, have a conversation with your manager or colleagues about it. You may very well get out of this with a pep in your step, and a better appreciation of how much what you do makes a difference…
Have a Life Outside of Work!
Work is important, but it’s certainly not everything. It can be tempting to focus so much on our careers that we forget that a large part of appreciating what we do, lies in appreciating what we do …outside of it. You know what they say, “absence makes the heart grow fonder”…Well, you ungluing yourself from your computer screen may just be what you need to rekindle that love thang with your career…
So enjoy your time away from the office, take a mental day every now and then, and stop checking your work email every other second like you ain’t got no social life…Call a girlfriend, order some Chinese food and watch a re-run of Love Jones, for love’s sake…
Ok, so now, got a love jones with your career going?
To Your Success,
The Corporate Sis.
