by Solange Lopes | Jun 28, 2016 | Career
I was looking for a punchy yet still professional-looking dress, with a bright, summery look to wear at a networking event or important meeting, and… Found this gorgeous Kasper zip-pocket sheath dress from Macy’s.
I love the chic cut of this elegant dress, accented by the contemporary zip pockets. The lime color adds just the right amount of “punch” to this dress, which can easily go from the office to the networking event in a…zip!
Yay or Nay?
To your success,
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | Jun 28, 2016 | Career
Picture this…You couldn’t wait for summer to roll around, and finally be able to shed the heavy layers of clothes from winter and relax on some white sanded beach with your favorite summer novels. Except for now, the only hint of a white sanded beach you can get is from your last vacation’s picture. And besides, with all that A/C effect blasting in offices in the summer months, those sweaters may have to come back out…
So how do you keep your sanity as you’re stuck on your cubicle when it’s 80 degrees out, and your toes are itching for some white sand on some beach somewhere? Do you just pick up your bags and call it quits (you know you’ve thought about it)? Or do you resign yourself to missing out on the precious heat and beach days?
It can be especially tough as a mom, when the kids are out of school and you’re looking for ways to entertain them as you’re finishing up on the monthly report. When you’re over-tired from summer entertainment over the week-end and after-hours, and then having to re-focus and go back to work…So how do you keep from losing your mind somewhere between a corner of your cubicle, and some white-sanded beach somewhere?
Use Your Vacation
41% of Americans didn’t use their vacation in 2015. Translation: don’t feel guilty about taking your days off, especially in the summer. There’s no better time when the kids are out of school, and when the weather’s so beautiful, to take some time for yourself and your family.
Start early on during the year by budgeting your time off accordingly. One of the biggest mistakes I made one year was not to budget my vacation time wisely, and use too many of my days off before the summer.
Seek to Modify Your Schedule
Can you ask your manager to modify your work hours? You could come in earlier and leave earlier, or come in later and leave later. Or maybe work 10 hours a day and get Fridays off? Seek to adjust your schedule in a way that works best for you and your family.
Get Outside!
Use your lunch time to take a stroll outside (or just eat outside). Take breaks throughout the day for quick walks in the sun. Step outside to recharge your batteries, whether it’s through groups walks or individual strolls. You’ll be surprised how refreshed (and more sane) you feel when you get back to the pile of emails waiting in your inbox.
Organize or Take Part in Your Office Outdoors Activities!
Whether it’s setting up team sports for your department, or participating in team events hosted outside, use these to take advantage of the good weather and lift up yours and your entire team’s morale!
Get Some Rest!
It may not seem like it, but the summer can be especially challenging at work. Whether you’re a parent struggling to entertain your kids, or your morale is just at an all-times low for being stuck inside when the weather’s gorgeous, you can end up being mentally and physically tired from working during the summer months.
In between balancing the work, fun and family, try and get enough rest. Take some time off just for your own mental health, and recharge your batteries whenever you can.
How do you keep your sanity during the summer months?
To Your Success,
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | Jun 24, 2016 | Career
We’re often under the impression that networking has to happen at certain times and places. At networking events, or company gatherings, or select, formal association meetings or get-togethers…Hence the reservations of many professionals, especially professional women, when it comes to it.
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the definition of networking is “the exchange of information or services among individuals, groups, or institutions; specifically : the cultivation of productive relationships for employment or business“; which implies that all it requires, really, is for people to connect, exchange information and/or services, and keep in touch..Which if you think about it, we do pretty much on a daily basis at work.
How many times do you connect with someone as you’re walking down the hallway to the cafeteria? How often do you get introduced, even if informally, to someone from a different group or department in or outside of your company, and actually exchange some form of information or another? Every time you do this on any given day, you’re actually ahem… networking. The only difference may be your not realizing it, and consequently not using it to your advantage.
Once I realized the power of “everyday networking“, I started preparing myself mentally first. By thinking of networking as nothing more than the human exchange of information and/or services, I came to be less intimated by the whole concept. I slowly realized that society has actually turned what should come so naturally to all of us, into an unnecessarily cumbersome and exclusive practice.
Here are 6 steps to get yourself into the habit of leveraging natural relationships as invaluable opportunities to network:
Start with Hello!
It may sound too easy, but it all really starts with introducing yourself. If you happen to approach someone you’ve never been formally introduced to, don’t be afraid to strike up a conversation. And no, you don’t have to talk about the weather, or the state of the world’s pollution…Just state the obvious, and use easy, honest conversation starters like “I don’t believe we were ever introduced“, or ” I’ve seen you around so many times, I’m sorry I didn’t catch your name“. Oh and while you’re at it, keep some business cards handy too…
Do Your Research First!
Before introducing yourself at the cafeteria or in the parking lot, try doing a bit of research beforehand. Pull the person’s Linked In profile, ask around about them, look her/him up in the company directory, or just Google him/her. However, limit yourself to obtaining just their professional information. You don’t want to look like you’ve been stalking them online and know everything about their last vacation in Venice…
Get Out of Your Comfort Zone!
We tend to network with people we can relate to, which can also limit our networking potential. Make an effort to seek people outside of your circle, or people you wouldn’t naturally converge towards. You may have seen this person for years and never approached her because she was outside your circle. Remember that diversity has now become a huge priority in companies, and consciously making an attempt to network outside of your familiar “in-group” might help you overcome any biases you may have. All the while expanding your network daily…
Tap into mutual acquaintances!
When it comes to networking, your acquaintances’ network can also be your network! Ask your friends and acquaintances to introduce and/or recommend you to their own network. Attend events with them, join them when they’re with people you may not know, and introduce yourself. This doesn’t mean you have to become an opportunist, but it does mean you’re using the resources you have available to expand your network…
The rule of the game is “business casual”!
As friendly as you may be, you may want to avoid being too familiar as you network on a daily basis. Keep it “business casual” at all times. If you’re not sure what you sound like, aim for a professional tone at the intersection of introducing yourself at an industry event and going shopping with your girlfriend.
Be Social!
We can’t talk about networking successfully on the daily without mentioning the power of social media. Whether you’re connecting with other people on Linked In, or chatting up some friends’ friends on Facebook, use social media as a way to network as well. And while you’re at it, update that profile picture, refresh your information, and make it a point to make at least one new connection a month.
Like this post? CLICK BELOW FOR YOUR 50 QUESTIONS TO ASK AT YOUR NEXT NETWORKING EVENT:
To Your Success,
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | Jun 24, 2016 | Career
Week-end fashion: Utility shirtdress
Don’t you just love an easy dress you can just throw on on the week-end, and be out the door in no time? Hence our week-end fashion pick, this utility shirtdress from Anthropologie that’s as easy as it’s elegant.
Loving the high-low hem and cool side pockets on this silky-soft finish dress. Depending on your shape and whether you want to dress it up or down, you could cinch it with a skinny belt like this hammered buckle belt, also from Anthropologie.
Yay or Nay?
Enjoy your week-end!
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | Jun 24, 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…
- Did you know France is pushing a law to cut down on work email, but Business Insider tells us why the US probably won’t follow suit;
- We’re still talking about the United State of Women event, and my favorite part was Oprah’s interview with First Lady Michelle Obama. Ellevate Network lists its 7 favorite parts of this fascinating talk;
- We all know about the wage gap, but how about the gender investing gap. Levo League interviewed Sallie Krawcheck on why investing is the ultimate career power tool;
- Are you an entrepreneur of color? Black Enterprise has a list of amazing loan resources for you;
- You know that feeling when you just can’t motivate yourself at work anymore (like when it’s beautiful out and you’re stuck in a cube). The Muse lists 3 reasons why and how to overcome them;
- Planning to ask for that raise? Here are some great tips on becoming a successful negotiator;
- Want to avoid putting on weight in the summer? Check out these 3 healthy substitutes for your next lunchtime;
- Need to sleep more? This healthcare giant is paying employees up to $500 to sleep more;
- In fashion news, this summer bag makes it much easier to find things;
- Last but not least, on the blog this week, I discussed 4 smart ways to prepare for any networking event.
PS: Like this post? Click HERE to get The Corporate Sister’s career, lifestyle and entrepreneurship, bi-weekly updates.
To your success,
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | Jun 23, 2016 | Career
For the longest time, I dreaded networking like I’d dread a root canal procedure at the dentist. Everything about it, from entering a room filled with strangers to introducing myself without stepping all over my words, would make me want to run back under my covers with a solid pint of sea salt caramel ice cream. And I know I’m not alone….
For many professional women, networking is not exactly at the top of their favorite corporate sports.
When it comes to the benefits of networking, our male colleagues tend to get the upper hand. Not to mention the fact that with all our other obligations at home and in life in general, hanging out at the bar after-hours isn’t always an option. Neither is swinging a golf set in the middle of the afternoon…And it certainly doesn’t help that the most common places and ways to network have been predominantly set by men. And this may very well be the reason why networking still fails women in general…
I remember talking to female colleagues at work, as we’d pretty much all complain about having to go to some networking event or another. For many of us young moms, that’d also mean having to delegate POD (Parent-On-Duty) responsibilities for the evening, including pick-up, bath time, and dinner…Or miss the kids’ bedtime…So we’d devise more or less smart strategies to try and get out of the event as early as we could, to reduce the impact at home. As a result, more often than not, we wouldn’t enjoy the event and would end up stuck in a corner with familiar faces, instead of mingling, having fun, and making valuable career connections.
Hindsight 20/20, while it may not have been the most career-forward approach at the time, it was, and still is, a reality many women at work are confronted with. In a modern world where women are representing an increasingly larger share of the corporate world, a skill as invaluable as networking is still based on traditional (and somewhat sexist) patterns set by men decades ago. Networking, especially at the executive level, is still largely done after-hours, in what appears to be exclusive circles reserved to a lucky few.
Yet, even as women are rising in the corporate world, the reality still is that we still carry a significant part of the responsibilities on the home front. Additionally, considering that we’ve been kept out for the longest time of some of the most exclusive networking groups aka the proverbial “boys’ clubs”, we’ve also been indirectly conditioned to perceive networking as outside of our gender, so to speak. Doesn’t then the very concept need to be re-invented and re-adapted to a more fitting reality for both men and women at work?
Through my own experience and by watching the evolution of networking in mine and others’ careers, especially women’s, it seems it’s been about time for professional women to re-invent the concept of networking (and why we may need to do less and network more):
NETWORKING IS NOT AN EXCLUSIVE PRIVILEGE RESERVED TO A FEW
It starts with making networking more accessible to everyone, and especially to professional women, regardless of grade or title. The only way to get better at any skill is to practice it, and networking is no exception. However, many networking events are reserved for higher-level employees, or accessible only through dues and payments, which serves greatly to discourage many women from joining. As a result, some of the valuable resources shared during these events, as well as the instrumental connections made, are not accessed by most.
What if companies could invest in setting up both formal and informal networking opportunities for their employees on a more or less regular basis? Or if some exclusive networking associations would make their membership fees more affordable, and open their doors to more professional women?
Providing incentives for professional women to view networking as an essential skill they have access to develop would change the face of both companies and women’s careers.
NETWORKING SHOULD BE PERVASIVE TO ALL ASPECTS OF OUR CAREERS; IF YOU’RE WORKING, YOU’RE NETWORKING!
Not being able to make it to the bar after-hours, or to the golf club, should not preclude anyone, especially professional women, from accessing great professional networks. Unfortunately, it’s too often the case. Somehow, we’re conditioned to believe and act as if effective networking is dependent upon a specific place and time.
Instead, it should be based on the simple principle that “if you’re working, you’re networking.” Any work interaction, whether at meetings, informal gatherings, or even the trivial exchange of emails, is an opportunity to network. It’s a chance to come into contact with other professionals, exchange resources, and keep in touch, aka “networking”.
Considering women tend to be more collaborative in their work approach, incorporating this principle would benefit us greatly! What if more women understood this simple principle, and leveraged their daily interactions to build their own network regularly? And what if companies stressed more the importance of regularly networking as a part of our careers, instead of reserving it for the company summer or holiday party?
WOMEN’S GROUPS ARE THE FIRST STEP TO GETTING MORE WOMEN TO MORE ACTIVELY NETWORK
I’ve had the opportunity to be involved in exceptional women’s groups, like Ellevate Network for instance. Through m y experiences networking with women, I’ve noticed how much more comfortable we can be interacting with other professional women. Sharing our common experiences, struggles and victories, makes it easier to relate to each other and be inspired to progress and create change.
Women’s networking groups like these can be a crucial first step for many women into the world of professional networking. So many women who may be intimidated to attend certain professional events, may be more drawn towards these. In turn, they may develop their networking skills, and be inspired by other women creating change in their own professional spheres.
Which in turn creates a snowballing effect as it encourages more and more women to come forward, develop their skillset, and have the initiative to join, or even create, other networks. We all have to start somewhere, and starting in women’s networking groups or associations may just be the ticket for many of us…
LIKE THIS POST? CLICK BELOW TO GET YOUR 50 QUESTIONS TO ASK AT ANY NETWORKING EVENT:
To Your Success,
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | Jun 23, 2016 | Career
Today’s corporate catwalk pick on the blog combines a utility-inspired edge with a hint of 1950’s flair. This Dakota skirt from Reiss is the perfect go-to for your summer wardrobe. I especially love the statement bow and mock-button detail, which add to its unique charm. This skirt is on sale for $132 at Reiss.
I’d wear this skirt over a simple tee like this Ren piece, also from Reiss for an easy yet elegant and office-appropriate look.
Psst…. Reiss is currently having a 50% sale and free shipping for all items over $300! Check it out…
Yay or Nay?
Love,
The Corporate Sis.
