Thursday, October 6, 2016

Work Hard, Dress Smart.

I don't normally post on Thursdays, but today was a pretty good day, so why not? I'm window shopping on Amazon, which is something I usually reserve for purses, shoes, and watches, but today is different. Today I am totally looking at power suits. Yes, you read that right, I am looking at all things business professional. After years of working in the finance realm, I enjoy a pair of good quality, reasonably priced slacks, and the hunt is always challenging finding said slacks.

When I was a little girl growing up in the 90's, everything was all about girl power (thank you Spice Girls), so obviously I imagined myself as some big shot businesswoman with a corner office, a $200 haircut, and a wardrobe so sharp it would make you scream "owe!" when I walked by. This was also partly influenced by my mother who was a big shot businesswoman. Except, back then, I saw myself doing something with writing or music, and my mom worked for a rather successful trucking company (more on that later, because there is a hilarious story to go along with power clothing) so I was SO not going that route because it sounded boring. Anywho, I assumed by the time I was 25 I'd be a record label executive on Music Row, or an editor at some publishing firm in New York. And yet, here I sit, 25 years old, in a rocking arm chair I inherited from my grandmother, on my day off from my low man on the totem pole job, one town away from the one I grew up in, flat broke, and writing a blog on the iPad I could only afford because its cost was rolled into my tuition at the college I dropped out of.

Sounds depressing, right? Well you're wrong. Yeah, so I'm not where I assumed I'd be. But I didn't actually make the plans to get there when I was a kid. Now that I'm older, and less naïve, I realize being a top dog in any company at 25 years old is pretty freakin' rare, and takes so much more time and dedication than I had to give until recently. Also, those young professionals who did make it to the top early probably devoted their hard earned high school job cash to their wardrobe, and I didn't. I spent mine on cheap whiskey and take out, and one fire red designer handbag (That bag was life. I wish I still had it.)

I know you're wondering about that last sentence, hopefully not about the whiskey and take out, or the handbag part, trust me my mother was kept in the dark about those shenanigans, but seriously dressing the part is crucial. I went to high school with a kid we all swore would be president some day. This kid was hardly ever seen in anything but nicely pressed oxfords and creased jeans. Guess what, that guy turned out to be pretty darn successful as an adult. Why? Well he worked really hard, and he dressed very smart.

I watched a Ted Talk once about power posing and its impact on your confidence. Basically the speaker, Amy Cuddy, found through a study that standing in positions that symbolized power, you could increase your self confidence a little. Totally makes sense right? Well I wondered if the same went for dressing well, and I conducted my own little experiment through out my many interviews I've had in the last few months. And it works. I felt like I looked like I owned/belonged/was perfect for whatever position I was interviewing for, which made me more confident in my abilities, and made my interviews go as smooth as silk. Clearly I didn't get any of those jobs, but I did get recognition on my professionalism/humor, and my attire more than once. All of that inflated my already rather large ego to XXXL, and I have had even better interviews since. Dressing smarter also made me feel more comfortable with myself in front of total strangers who wanted to know every little detail about my work history, and a few details about my blog.

So I'm assuming there is a lot to be said about a person who dresses for the job all the time, and I'm wondering if I should start stocking up on power suits to aid in my efforts to the top. Which brings us back full circle to my window shopping on Amazon. My only problem is, who has the cash to drop on a slick suit, and then pay to get it altered? I certainly don't...not yet at least.

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