If you are an ambitious career woman like myself, or ever googled words like “how to be successful in one’s career” you’ve probably heard of the term Career Coach. Have you ever wondered how exactly does a career coach help everyday people like you and me?  We all have a vague sense that we can use some help here and there in our career. We all know the importance of having mentors who will help us navigate our career but how is a career coach different? And how exactly does a career coach help one progress in their career? Here’s a brief description from Shinebright, a boutique career coaching company, about what career coaches do:

• Identify and develop your talents into powerful strengths
• Explore the type of roles that will tap into your natural motivations and energize you
• Determine which work environments are the best fit for you and will allow you to flourish
• Choose a career path that will lead to increased engagement, fulfillment, and success

To fully understand this mythical group known as career coaches, I have a 2-part series on Cubicle Chic this week. First, let’s bust some of the most common myths about career coaching. Then, in the next post, we will talk about the 5 signs that indicate you actually need a career coach.

Most fundamentally, career coaches lead you through a process that helps you get stronger in your understanding of self that allows you to move forward in your career in a powerful, informed way. Maybe you knew that maybe you didn’t. Chances are, you had some preconceived notions about what career coaching is about. Some may be myths, some may actually be true – let’s address them all.

6 Myths about Career Coaching:

I’ll hire one when I need one.

This is perhaps the biggest and most commonly-heard myth about career coaching. Most people seek out professional help only when they are already in crisis. The truth is, career coaching is often most effective when it’s applied at a point of thriving rather than a point of struggle. But this is how the human mind works – we tend to only think about improving and problem-solving when there is a problem already. When thinking about hiring a career coach, imagine having someone whose only job is to help you improve, do better and become better, keeping you accountable for your progress and making sure you are moving along the right path to meet your goal.

It’s for executives or people in management. 

The best analogy I have for debunking this myth is equating this thinking to the following.
This is the same as when you are poor, you think saving is reserved for the rich. It’s also the same as when you are overweight, and you think CrossFit is only for people that are already in shape. The truth is, a career coach helps you understand yourself, set the right goals, then accomplish them using the right, personalized method. The majority of the work is done by you with the support of the coach. So, if executive professionals and those in management can put in the time and effort into improving their careers, so can you.

It’s going to cost me an arm and a leg.

Traditionally, career coaching has been offered to those that have already “done well” in their careers. So, the traditional clientele in career coaching tends to fall into a certain (high) income bracket and therefore can afford fees that may seem intimidating to the rest of us in Corporate America. This isn’t the case anymore in 2018. There are so many flavors of career coaching offered by various groups and individuals. You can hire a coach from boutique career coaching companies like Shinebright, or find the coach that meets your needs through a network of coaches such as Marlow, or find individuals who own their coaching businesses like Emily Liou at Cultivitae (a good friend of mine!) These various coaching options also come at various prices, so choose according to your budget and what you need. Coaches usually understand that if you are in crisis mode (for example if you just got laid off or somehow lost your job), so depending on their business model or service offering packages, they can offer you only the services you need and none of the nice-to-haves.  Or, sometimes they may even let you make payments on a payment plan.

I’ll just read books & listen to podcasts.

If this is your thinking, I commend you and I can 100% relate. I am a proud reader and hoarder of information. I take pride in knowing things that most people don’t know…and derive pleasure from learning. So, for me to admit that I NEED HELP in my career is incredibly difficult. Heck, I have a blog where I write about my career. I should know what I’m doing. Right? The sad truth is: not always. We all have blind spots, biases, and habits (esp. the bad ones). And we don’t know what we don’t know. A career coach is supposed to help you understand yourself and your environment with a new pair of lenses. These lenses will give you different perspectives so you can see alternative outcomes or solutions that you otherwise wouldn’t see.

The career coach is going to solve all my problems for me.

If you are a self-help book fan, you might have this myth of hiring a career coach. You might think they have the key to a missing piece of your puzzle. You might think they have a magic formula. You might think they have all the answers for you, all you have to do is to make a payment and unlock the answers. While some coaches to advertise and market their services as such, I’d wager it’s mostly marketing language and promotional verbiage. No one has a magic bullet or secret formula… if they did, they wouldn’t be a career coach, LOL. What they have instead, is experiences working with other career professionals, insight into the human psyche and organizational behavior, patience in guiding you, supporting you on your personalized career journey and expertise in teaching.

I’m not sure if I need it.

It’s easier to argue that everyone needs a career coach at some point in their career (which I do believe to be true) than to pinpoint exactly when you will actually need one. The truth is that a career coach helps you see beyond your existing accomplishments and align you with your talent and potential. A good career coach guides you toward your goal and helps you achieve them. So when you need a career coach depends on all of the key points I mentioned above – what your talents are, what your untapped potential is, what your career goals are, and how you can achieve them. A good coach will help you 1) figure out all of the above and 2) help motivate you to accomplish your newly defined goals and 3) stay on track to reach your potential. This is why I say one should see a career coach when they are actually thriving in their careers. When you don’t have to dig yourself out of a hole, you can focus on building yourself upwards!

If you are still unsure whether or not you need a career coach right now, I’ve pinpointed some signs that may indicate you do. Stay tuned for the next post later this week if you’re curious about whether you need a career coach right now!

The post 6 Myths about Career Coaching & 5 Signs You Need One [Part 1] appeared first on Cubicle Chic.

If I had a dime every time I hear the question “should I create a cover letter”, I would be a happy person with a great passive income (a very specific example, I know.) In my personal experience, I have not done a cover letter in the last 3 years and I have definitely managed to get not only interviews but job offers. However, this has been my personal experience, and a part of me still wonders if I simply got lucky. So, I consulted with a talent acquisition professional who is an industry expert experienced in evaluating talent and extending interviews…

I present you Virginia Lloyd and her perspectives on whether or not we should still do a cover letter in 2018.

Skip the Cover Letter

Applying for jobs has become increasingly easy, in most scenarios involving a single click to submit your resume. Although this makes the job applicant’s life much easier, it makes the recruiters’ jobs much harder. Countless hours are spent scanning through resumes with very little return on the investment. For this reason, recruiters spend more and more time actively looking for and engaging with passive talent rather than sitting in an applicant tracking system waiting for the right person to apply.

We all have incredibly short attention spans nowadays, and recruiters are no exception. Recruiters usually don’t spend more than 10 seconds skimming through a resume. When applying for a job, the application’s first and most important function is to catch the recruiter’s attention. So, focus on your resume and forget the cover letter. Cover letters tend to be a distraction or in most cases are not even looked at. They’re too often obviously templatized & mass produced (e.g. Dear Hiring Manager or To Whom It May Concern) or have clearly not been updated with the correct job title or company name or include spelling and grammatical errors. You probably hate creating a cover letter as much as the recruiter dreads reading it. Ultimately, a cover letter is more of a liability than an asset.

A Resume Is Your Most Valuable Real Estate

Rather than spending time on a cover letter, put the extra effort into perfecting your resume. Resumes should convey your elevator pitch at the top and showcase the impact you’ve made. For example, if you work in marketing, describe the value you added in different roles. Perhaps you created a plan that increased the company’s web traffic by X number of unique visits. Or you developed a campaign that improved inbound sales numbers by X amount. These are important data points that tie into the company’s bottom line and give a better indication of the value you will add to your next role.

Putting an objective at the top of your resume with what you are looking for is almost as bad as including a cover letter. It tells the recruiter nothing about your experience and what you have to offer. Consider instead adding an impact summary. List relevant projects and the business impact you’ve made in past positions. Ultimately, driving impact is what matters.

Listing side projects can also be valuable to include. They demonstrate passion and allude to the fact that you enjoy learning and take ownership of your own growth. These points can greatly increase the chances that you’ll grab the attention of the recruiter and they’ll continue reading into the details of your resume. Even if they decide you’re not the right fit for the role, the odds are better that they will spend time reviewing your qualifications & background.

Network, Network, Network

To really set yourself apart, take the time to find a recruiter or hiring manager on LinkedIn and send them a connection request with a personalized message. Personalized and intentional networking offers the highest chances of getting a response to your job application. Once you’re connected, send a quick note and express how excited you are about the role and company and let them know you’ve applied. This approach will greatly increase the chances that someone will review your resume.

As recruiters focus more time on hunting for talent, they spend less and less time on reviewing applications. Unfortunately, it’s common for resumes to sit in an applicant tracking system and never be looked at. This is especially true for large companies with high volumes of applicants. More often than not, the right candidates come through employee referrals, networking events, company-hosted events, and customized outreach. In other words, you have to set yourself apart as a job applicant. Any good recruiter will respond to a candidate and personally sends them a message expressing interest. If they don’t respond within a week, consider sending a follow-up message to reiterate how interested you are in the role, or try contacting someone else at the company instead. Although it can get frustrating when you don’t hear back, try not to be discouraged. This approach takes more time, but your success rate and the odds of talking to a hiring manager are much higher.

So, if you are actively job searching, forego the cover letter unless the job application specifically asks for it! Let me know what your experience is in trying this method if you decide to adopt it today. Or, if you’ve gotten interviews without cover letters, let us know too!

One exception (edited 3/14/18): 

Wisely noted by my good friend Sergio Sanchez, PhD (see his comment by scrolling to the bottom of the blog post):

Networking is the way to differentiate yourself and get ahead of the bot because the hiring manager knows s/he wants you before they even post the job. A cover letter (or a modified, less formal version of one) is a helpful way to introduce yourself to individuals that don’t yet know you but you want to network with. Whether it is a cold contact or an introduction through a mutual acquaintance, folks at the receiving end of networking requests want to know a little bit about you before they decide to share 20-30 mins of their busy time with you. They are going to have to stop doing something to talk to you! So that brings us back to the original question … Are cover letter still required? For the one-click applications … definitely not. For networking and introducing yourself … I think the answer is yes. Funny thing is, this is exactly why cover letters were first created: to introduce yourself to a PERSON and create demand for you as a candidate. It all comes back to the beginning, doesn’t it! : )

Virginia specializes in talent acquisition ranging from hands-on recruiting to building out best practices and processes, as well as leading small teams at high tech companies. She is an alumnus of Google, SONOS, Red Hat, and Spotify, and is currently the Director of Talent at White Ops, an NYC-based cybersecurity startup.

The post To Cover Letter or Not Cover Letter, That Is The Question || Are Cover Letters Still Relevant? appeared first on Cubicle Chic.

Top: Ann Taylor
Jeans: Eujeanco
Sunnies: Karen Walker

Long time no see, friend! I’ve been mostly MIA on Cubicle Chic this month. It’s because we had moved towards the end of June but mostly, it’s because I started a new job. It’s been an extremely busy first month filled with learning the ropes, getting to know the company and the team, and all that good stuff.  If you follow me on Instagram, you’d know I haven’t stopped griping about how this job has taken over my life. Cubicle Chic, as my side hustle, has taken the back seat. Ironically, this side hustle was the very reason I was able to land this new job in the first place. With 2 years of blogging under my belt, I’ve officially ventured into the social media space in a professional capacity!! How did I do it, you ask?

Top: Ann Taylor
Sunnies: Karen Walker

Career Foundation of Marketing in Biotech

I built the foundation of my marketing career in the first 6 years of my professional life. Coming out of school, it made sense that I landed a job in marketing in the biotech industry as I had a degree in biology and another one in psychology. In those years, I learned the foundation of marketing principles and learned the operational logistics of marketing campaigns. I worked under and with professionals from all aspects of marketing like communications, analytics, product marketing, digital marketing, event management, and eCommerce. Somewhere along the 6 years, I became a confident marketer and an expert at navigating the biotech business landscape. I knew I was doing something right as I was highly sought after as a job candidate having gotten 8 job offers in those 6 years.

iPhone 7 case: Ideals of Sweden

The Birth of Cubicle Chic

Two years ago in July I decided to publish my first ever post on Cubicle Chic. When people ask me why I started a blog, I try to recall what I was thinking when I was figuring out how to build a blog. “I knew something was missing in my career”…..well, that’s what all entrepreneurs say, right? For me, I didn’t necessarily think anything was missing. I was simply bored. I had mastered most aspects of my job and things got to a bit of a lull. What I knew was that I love to write and tell stories, and I always wanted a resource for corporate work fashion and career advice all in one place. Additionally, in my work experience, I had learned to craft emails subject lines that get clicked, write web content with SEO in mind, how Google PPC works and the list goes on. I desperately wanted to test out this knowledge outside of work.  So finally rounded up all the resources (blogging platform, photographer, outfits, and well, time to write which I had plenty at the time) and started Cubicle Chic in July 2015.

Top: Ann Taylor
Jeans: Eujeanco
Sunnies: Karen Walker
Sandals: Topshop Notorious Sandals

How I Went From Marketing to Social Media

Fast forward to 2 years later, I was again at a crossroad. I could continue on the same path of biotech marketing, which was probably going to be the easier and more obvious direction. Alternatively, I could go down a different path, leveraging the 2 years I spent blogging, creating regular content, growing my social media presence, and cultivating the Cubicle Chic brand. In my heart, I wanted to explore a new career path in social media and put all the new skills I learned to test. So when an opportunity presented itself, and I embraced it with arms wide open. Looking back, here are 5 principles I stuck to that helped evolve a side hustle into a change in career path:

1. Treat your side hustle with the same respect and professionalism as with your job

They say dress for the job you want, not the one you have. The message here is that if you elevate your thinking, reality conforms. Similarly, treat the side hustle as if it’s your full-time job and your livelihood depended on it. I’ve always approached my blog as a business, even though I have only recently started to earn some income from it (definitely not profitable yet). A business needs a clear and concise mission statement, a business goal, and a way to scale. So, I made sure Cubicle Chic has all of that. A business’s value is determined by measurable results and impact…and along the way, I made sure I am keeping track of Cubicle Chic’s growth and development so I can present Cubicle Chic with facts in its impact when I need to.

2. Learn the art of positioning

This is one of the most basic principles of marketing. Know the strengths of a service/product the exact unmet needs/pain points it’s meant to address, and find the audience that has these pain points and needs, and deliver the marketing message relentlessly. The key words here are strengths, pain points, and relentlessly. As I grew Cubicle Chic, I was very conscious of what strengths or skills I was developing; writing, content analytics, a little bit of graphic design, just to name a few. I was also conscious of what kind of market value these skills instilled in me. I positioned these strengths and skill relentlessly when the time was right, and got a potential employer interested enough to give me an offer.

3. Scale your operation by setting goals

As a blogger, my eyes are always on the prize that’s coming next. If I hit the 3,000 unique visitor mark, I ask myself “how many more months until I hit 5,000?”  If I got a dream collaboration request, I ask myself “how do I turn it into a long-term relationship?” So by setting new goals every time I hit a milestone, I created a growth-oriented operation for Cubicle Chic. Along the same lines, I also allow myself to dream big. It doesn’t mean I start daydreaming about becoming a celebrity blogger while I binge on Game of Thrones and eat chips (That’s reserved for only Friday nights.) But I allow myself to see the possibility of explosive success and have this possibility baked into my vision. When I elevate my outlook on Cubicle Chic like this, inspiration and motivation ensue. And hopefully, one day, reality conforms.

4. Understand whether your hobby has a place in your professional network

One of my biggest dilemma for the first 18 months of the 2 years of Cubicle Chic’s existence, was whether or not to share this hobby with my professional network i.e. LinkedIn. Some close friends and co-workers knew about it, but it wasn’t part of my professional identity. I was Jessica the marketing gal, not Jessica the blogger. Not yet at least. I had a lot of encouragement to “take it public” but never felt completely at ease about the idea.

The first time I contemplated fusing Cubicle Chic into my professional brand was when The Financial Diet published my article on finding motivation during a long job search.  That was the kind of validation I needed in order to go “public” with my blog. In hindsight, I am glad I waited despite encouragement from friends and professional contacts. You only have one shot at your first impression when meeting someone, and it’s the same thing with your blog. I’d much rather people find out about Cubicle Chic as a mature and well-established blog than a half baked experiment that was in its infancy. Don’t mix up your side hustle with your professional network before they are ready for each other.

Top: Ann Taylor
Sunnies: Karen Walker
Watch: Daniel Wellington

5. Always. Be. Learning.

This is more of a life motto than a principle to stick with. It’s just a fact, so accept it. No growth comes from being stagnant or a dull and unstimulated mind. As a blogger, I learned how to improve my writing, how to better my photography and modeling. I spent countless hours studying how SEO works, how to write a better title for a blog post, how to get my Facebook posts to rank higher. Yes, I also sweated about my Instagram follower base like most other influencers. But because I know my educated mind as a blogger will carry me through the muddied and troubled water, issues like this don’t keep me up at night. My point is that knowledge gives you an edge over others, and combined with a proven track record, is a recipe for how you’re going to win in the end.  By the way, if you’re a blogger, you need to listen to these two podcasts: Marketing School by Neil Patel and Eric Siu, and The Influencer Podcast by Julie Solomon.

So… I woke up super early on this Friday morning to finish and polish up this post. I’m going hit publish now and go get ready for work. The hustle continues and Happy Friday!!

All photography by Natalie Alvarado @ Stylenfuse

The post How My Side Hustle Changed My Career Path appeared first on Cubicle Chic.

Whether you are currently looking for a job (like I have been) or thinking about making your next career move, you need all the free job search tools hat will help you level the playing field as a job seeker.

I remember when I was looking for internship opportunities as a new college graduate in 2007/2008. Craigslist, my university’s job board, and monster.com were the only resources that were available.

Fast forward to 2017, everything is now online which also means your personal network is more connected than ever. Someone who may give us a reference or pass our resume into the hiring manager’s hands is a click away in today’s world. Additionally, the way we look for potential opportunities, the way we present our professional profile and portfolio, the way we stay connected with our network has all been turned on its head. In 2017’s workforce and career advancement, it’s more important than ever to stay visible, understand what your competitive strengths are, know how to leverage them, and lastly, put yourself out there and stay connected to the right network.

Here are 5 tools that you may not know about that will help you do these things more efficiently:

1. Glever: AI-based Resume Generator

This is the job-search part of the internet’s best-kept secret- you can literally create a resume from scratch in minutes! The way it works is that you enter in the title of the position(s) you’ve held (for example, social media specialist, marketing communications manager, etc) and the system will generate all the related responsibilities related to this function. You can then pick and choose from a seemingly never-ending list of job function descriptions, to describe your experience and role. Then, this is a very important step – you want to modify them so you are not plagiarizing others’ work. Also, you want these descriptions to be a 100% reflection of your actual experience. Try it out, let me know what you think!

2.     Glassdoor Know Your Worth: Gain Leverage in Salary Negotiation

It’s one thing to research what the average salary is. It’s another to calculate your worth based on the specifics in your job history. The things your salary worth depends on years of experiences, your location, and the positions/titles you’ve held. Glassdoor helps you figure out what you are worth based on your career history. Get this free piece of information today and so you can negotiate like a pro!

3.     Levo: Present Your Career Like a Story

Think of it as a more dynamic, lively, and flexible version of LinkedIn. Levo is great for those that feels like their employment history doesn’t represent their career holistically, or that they have a side hustle or amazing life experiences that make them an attractive job candidate. Levo is a great platform to use to tell your career story, one “card” (the building blogs of your Levo profile) at a time.

I have only very recently discovered Levo (see my profile here!), so you know of more ways to utilize it, let me know!

4.     Good & Co: Find Out Your Workplace Personality

If you ever struggle with figuring out what your professional strengths and inclinations are, take one of these work personality tests. Additionally, do you ever wonder how you come across to others at work, what your approach is in getting work done, or what kind of co-worker you are to others? These are all things you can take this simple 18-question quiz to find out!

Knowing the answers will help you steer your job search in the right direction. You will also have more idea about how to answer the dreaded interview question “what are your strengths and weaknesses”.

5.     Jobscan’s Resume Keyword Scanner: Tailor Your CV/Resume For The Job

If you’ve ever felt like your resumes go into a black hole online, you’re not alone. At some point, you should check out whether it’s even passing the screening algorithms. Larger companies tend to use resume scanning bots as their first line of the filter. Your resume needs to have the right keywords!

It’s quite simple – Jobscan takes your resume, and your desired position’s online description, and compare them side-by-side to spits out a percentage of keyword overlap. It will even give you a list of keywords to use. Put the keywords to use and increase the likelihood of your resume showing up on the company’s radar!

6.     Career Blogs: Personalized, Tailored Advice

This is one of my favorite free job search tools online: career bloggers. One of the most common traits of bloggers is that they are passionate and empathetic. If they started a blog, chances are they have a lot of advice to offer and want to help. And if they write about career advice, you bet they’d help you out!

The two bloggers below have both helped me in my job search in the last 3 months, and I have enjoyed pretty much every single post they have written!

a.     Tori Dunlap // Digital Marketing Guru

• 5 (Fail-Proof) Ways to Negotiate a Raise
• 10 Tricks to Deal With Work Stress

b.     Emily Liou // Career Coach

• What’s Your Career Mind Map?
• 3 Crucial Steps to Killing an Interview

Which one of these free job search tools have you used, and what’s your experience like with them?

The post 6 Free Job Search Tools You Did Not Know About appeared first on Cubicle Chic.

Appropriate for job interviews in HR, finance, law, high-tech, upper management, consultancy, accounting, teaching positions in universities

Last week, we covered job interview outfits for the creative industry featuring a longline vest and a bright color pencil skirt. For those that work in the more conservative industries, you haven’t been forgotten! Today’s interview outfit is for the more traditional type of offices.  I’ve spent the last 6 years in the biotech industry so I know a thing or two about how people tend to dress. For you #bossladies out there that are prepping your blazers and power suits, here’s an outfit that will make you stand out!

 Dress: Banana Republic Tweed Dress (size 4): On Sale for $71 now!  Bag: Banana Republic Tote, similar here

Ready For The Job Interview?

Having been actively job searching myself, I like the idea of having an outfit ready to go when I need to meet people for the in-person interview.  I have a few dresses and blazers that I consider perfect for interviews but in today’s post, I wanted to talk about colors.

Why The Little Red Dress For an Interview Outfit

This Banana Republic Tweed Dress (on sale for $71 now, I wear a size 4!) is one of my wardrobe favorite right now, not just for the fit and the way it looks, but for the color. They say to wear red when you’re trying to persuade or impress someone, and it’s perfect when you’re trying to convince someone that they should hire you! I really like how his muted red is very flattering and sends a subtle message of passion, conviction, and excitement!

 Dress: Banana Republic Tweed Dress (size 4): On Sale for $71 now!  Bag: Banana Republic Tote, similar here  Dress: Banana Republic Tweed Dress (size 4): On Sale for $71 now!  Bag: Banana Republic Tote, similar here  Dress: Banana Republic Tweed Dress (size 4): On Sale for $71 now!  Bag: Banana Republic Tote, similar here

Colors and Associated Traits Impressions

According to this article from Business Insider, here is what each color means in an outfit, so consider what’s most important to convey in your job interview. Check out all these amazing interview outfits in different colors from a few of my favorite fashion bloggers. Take notice what each color is supposed to convey!

Black: Leadership
Photo credit: The Work Agenda

White: Organized
Photo credit: Avec Amber 

Blue: Team Player
Photo credit: Corporate Style Story 

Brown: Dependable
Photo credit: Lin Self Portrait

Gray: Analytical/Logical
Photo credit: Do Well Dress Well 

Red: Power
Photo credit: DC Girl In Pearls

More to Choose From:

Here are more job interview appropriate dresses from Banana Republic (in case you can’t tell… I am a huge fan!) that are in this spectrum of great colors to wear:

What’s your favorite color to wear for an interview, or even outside of your work life? Maybe look into your closet today to learn a little bit about what personality traits you’re showcasing with your wardrobe!

All photography by Natalie Alvarado @ Stylenfuse

The post What to Wear To A Job Interview & 6 Outfit Colors to Consider appeared first on Cubicle Chic.

{Appropriate for positions such as engineer, coder, startup product manager, graphic designer, communications specialist, digital marketing strategist, videographer}

So, an in-person interview has been confirmed. You are taking hours to study the industry, get to know the company, understand the role. You’ve printed 5 copies of your resume and got that portfolio of your work ready to go.

Now, the last and the only loose end is the outfit. What should you wear for this in person meeting?

Your main goal is to look professional, showcase your style, and have a little bit of an edge so you leave a strong impression. You have done the research (you’ve looked on their social media channel, read the company blog, searched for news pieces that feature them), you know the company has that business casual environment where people dress according to their personal style.

What are some rules of thumb to follow when creating an outfit for an interview in the creative industry?

Be Confident and Comfortable

You want to feel yourself, and not be worried about a longer than usual sleeve or a pair of pants that’s tight in a place you’re not used to. So, don’t wear clothes you’re not used to wearing. And when in doubt, opt for “soft material on the inside and stiff material on the outside.” For example, a silk shirt allows you to be comfortable, and a more structured blazer will give you that professional looking edge.

Use Colors to Your Advantage

Wearing a pop of color is an easy way to add a focal point to an otherwise simple and minimalist outfit. Try a colorful bag to an otherwise black and white outfit, or a colorful (but simplistic) necklace, or a pair of colorful shoes. These will help those people that you meet remember you.

Start with a Basic Must-Have

If you don’t know where to start, I always tell people to start with one piece of clothing that you know says “professional”. Take a pencil skirt, a crisp blazer, a silk blouse, and go from there. Once you have the foundation of your outfit, pick other things in relatively neutral colors that compliment this piece. Finally, add a pop of color somewhere, and you should be done!

Do you need help putting together an interview outfit? Email me! We can do a 15 min Facetime session and try to put together based on things already in your closet. Or, if you are inclined to shop for the interview, I can also make recommendations for that!

All Photography by Natalie Alvarado @ Stylenfuse

If you’re looking for more sample interview outfits, here are 4 interview outfits some other amazing fashion bloggers. Click on the images to see their posts!

The post What to Wear To A Job Interview [For the Creative Industry] appeared first on Cubicle Chic.

As I look out the window and hear the morning rush hour, it struck me. That was my life for 6 years: waking up earlier than I want to, rushing to get out the door, and fighting traffic to get to work. I never thought I would say this, but I miss that life.

I’ve been job searching for the last month or so. While I’ve kept myself busy with working on Cubicle Chic, taking care of some important personal business (changing my last name has NOT been fun), reading profusely, and taking a lot of online courses, there are times when I catch myself feeling frustrated with how long it’s taken me to get back into Corporate America.

 This romper is $48 from ShopTheMint and I wear a size small!

I talk to friends and family about it, and they re-assure me that with my credential and experience, it’s only a matter of time and that I should be more patient.

But when it’s 10:30AM, and I’m staring at LinkedIn, Glassdoor.com, and even Craiglist and all the job applications I’ve sent out, it’s hard not to wonder “Now what? What else do I do?” Inevitably, frustration sets in because I feel like I have done everything I could, and I’m still not where I need to be.

To distract myself from this type of negative thinking and the world of despair it often downward spirals into, I started to engage myself in activities that take my mind off things but still feel productive.

1) Create a career mind map (Thank you Cultivitae)!

Are you on the right track with your career? A break from employment might just be the perfect time to figure out whether you are maximizing your potential, or if you have all the skills required to find your dream job. It’s an exercise that helps you look in the mirror at your professional self, find clarity, and identify areas for opportunities.

 This romper is $48 from ShopTheMint and I wear a size small!

2) Connect with more like-minded professionals/individuals.

• Hop on Career Contessa, where career advice, mentorship opportunities, and industry professionals that will help make you more hire-able in your job search.
• Find groups like Professional Networking & Career Advice Group
• If you’re a creative, check out events like Creative Mornings

3) READ.

Any reading, if it relaxes you and helps take your mind from the job search process, is highly encouraged. Plus, it gives you material to talk about when you go networking! For me, I like to read books where I find inspiration and learn things. Here are 3 books that I’ve read recently that helped keep my spirits up:

Rachel Cruze’s “Love Your Life, Not Theirs” [see a great review here]

This is a book about how to clean up your financial life. Rachel is personal finance Guru Dave Ramsey’s daughter. In this book, she teaches you 7 money habits to win with money.

When you are unemployed, the last thing you need to do is to be loose with money. I have been relatively comfortable in my situation because I am debt free, and my husband is happy to support me (for now at least, lol!).

This book also offers great advice on how to be content with what you have, and not be swayed by what we see in social media.

J. Kelly Hoey’s “Build Your Dream Network” [I’m going to try to review this book next week]

One of the best career-related books I’ve read recently. No humble bragging, and with Hoey’s credential and accomplishment, it’s amazing how modest of a voice she writes with. She transformed what I understand “networking” to be, to mean, and how to go about it. It’s a must-read for those of us who know we need to get better at networking but dread the idea of having to do it!

Marina Keegan’s “The Opposite of Loneliness” [see a great review here]

As a writer, I mean I cringe as I call myself a writer after reading this book, but I was deeply inspired by the 9 short stories and Marina’s personal story. Like a shooting star, this Yale graduate’s death was untimely and premature, but she behind her splendid work that the rest of us will admire for eternity.

It’s a must-read if you’re looking for short but brilliantly written essays about life, relationship, and everything in between.

4) Take an online course. For free!

Develop or hone in on skills that you always wanted to work on but never had the time to. Take an online class like what I’ve been doing: Udemy’s Writing with Impact: Writing that Persuades. I’m half way through this course now, I must say it’s transforming the way I write already.

A few other ones that I am intrigued to take: The Strategy of Content Marketing, U.S. History (I know, random, but I love learning things I think I know a lot about but most likely don’t!), Hamlet’s Ghost (offered by Harvard University) … to name a few!

 This romper is $48 from ShopTheMint and I wear a size small!

5) Locate your local library and sign up today!

Why? Because the library is any American citizen’s best treasure! If you’ve paid tax to the city you’ve lived in, you probably have contributed to the maintenance of a library. Take advantage of it! Not to mention that books, magazines, a lot of DVDs/movies, Wi-Fi, and AC are all FREE. I now routinely check out books I want to read from the library first, go through them, and if I love them as much as I thought I would, then and only then I buy them from Amazon.

Carve out 3-5 hours a day to go to the library, and submit all your job application when you are there! This is incredible for those of us during a job search. It helps us stay focused and creates a line between “work” and life.

 This romper is $48 from ShopTheMint and I wear a size small!

6) Go to networking events and make new connections.

For a person who draws energy from her groups and community, spending a lot of time alone never benefits me in the long run. It’s important to schedule time in your day to go out, meet new people who are perhaps also in their job search mode. I take conscious effort to find local events where I can meet with other creative and marketing professionals. The next event I’m trying to go to will be Creative Mornings in San Diego.

Do you know someone who’s currently searching for a new job? Share this post with them. I hope it will help them the same way it’s helped me!

All photography by Natalie Alvarado @ Stylenfuse

The post How To Stay Motivated During A Longer Than Expected Job Search appeared first on Cubicle Chic.

I recently received and accepted an offer from a  new company. I will be starting a new job in a few weeks! If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve probably heard about this news. But on Cubicle Chic today I want to share with you what I’m doing now that I am between two jobs, and how I am preparing myself for the next phase of my career.

This is how it goes: after many sleepless nights, numerous interviews, the final negotiations, the constant anticipation, finally, came the phone call. THE phone call that changes everything! 

Celebrate, give yourself a pat on the shoulder, and go out and get something nice for yourself because you deserve the reward. And after the adrenaline rush subsides, take a moment to think about what your next steps are. 

Leave your current employer on a good note

Do your best to leave a good transition plan for your replacement, and close all the gaps you can foresee. Be honest in your exit interview, provide constructive feedback if there are things you think your current employer could improve on. Lastly, write a heartfelt but concise farewell email to all that you’ve worked with; include your email in there, and a link to your LinkedIn profile so people can stay in touch with you. This is the last chance for you to make an impression on this professional network, make it count. 

 Romper: NastyGal Stripe Her Down Romper  Bag: Louis Vuitton Empreinte Montaigne BB Sunglasses: Oscar de la Renta 215

Mentally separate yourself from the old, and be ready to embrace the new

This is more of a philosophical note than a practical one. I’ve seen in the past people that join my team, and cannot stop themselves from using the lingo of “this is how XYZ used to do it” or “the way that we did it before was…” Let’s just conclude once and for all that there is no good end to this kind of lingo. If you have good recommendations, don’t position it as “the way that XYZ did it”; make it yours! If you don’t have good recommendations, well, you shouldn’t be making them in the first place. But by associating it with your old company, you come across as still attached and not able to adapt. For example, try to say “it’s better to ask why do WE do it this way”, and not “why do YOU do it this way” as a tactic to show you are ready to embrace the new culture and environment (Career Girl Daily). 

Be strategic in the way you build your new brand

The same way you prepared for all those interviews, you should be thinking about how to rock your first day of work, the first week of work, and the first month, and the first quarter, and so on. Read up on the 30-60-90 Day Plan (Business Insider) and think about the personal goals you’d like to reach on Day 30, Day 60, and Day 90. Think about what you want to be known for, because that is going to be your professional brand.

Also, fine-tune your elevator pitch (MyDomain.com). As part of your introduction to the new teams and new people, one of the first things they will ask you is “where did you come from” and “what did you do before”.  Be ready to have a concise but to-the-point summary that will effectively summarize your past experiences, and even impress your new co-workers just a little bit. 

 Romper: NastyGal Stripe Her Down Romper  Bag: Louis Vuitton Empreinte Montaigne BB Heels: Kenneth Cole; similar here Sunglasses: Oscar de la Renta 215

Use common sense

Listen more than you speak, turn off your personal phone, curb your (hyper)enthusiasm, and observe the culture and blend in. These are all more common sense than actual tactics, but the trick is to remember these things while you are under the pressure of adjusting to a new environment, constantly meeting new people, and wrapping your head around how to hit the ground running with the new employer. 

You should also be ready to throw the work-life balance out the window for a while (The Every Girl) and be ready to log in some extra hours just to get up to speed.  These extra hours spent in the beginning will pave the way for your success later on, and also leave a good impression on people around you that you are committed and dedicated to success.

 Romper: NastyGal Stripe Her Down Romper  Bag: Louis Vuitton Empreinte Montaigne BB

Re-think your strengths and weaknesses

Take stock of the work history with your last employer and think of all your successes and failures. Think about how they made you feel, how they changed you, and what you did to make sure you can replicate the success, and avoid making the same mistakes. It may help to write these things down so you can visualize them more clearly. Take the highlights from this list of historic success and failure, and make sure that’s your starting point for your next job. Lean on your strengths, and find ways to develop things you are weaker in. 

What were the things you did right, or wrong, when you first started your job? 

All photography by Natalie Alvarado @ STYLENFUSE.COM

The post How to Prepare for a New Job || The Work That Comes After the Job Offer appeared first on Cubicle Chic.

Ever since I went to PoshFest 2015 last year with no entourage and ended up making a bunch of lasting friendships, I feel like I’ve conquered networking, the fear of talking to successful, possibly intimidating, people doesn’t deter me from making connections anymore. So when I saw that Career Contessa was having this “Interview Do’s and Don’ts” net working event, I signed up without thinking twice.

P.S. A side note about Career Contessa in case you didn’t know about them. Think professional career focused Refinery29 customized for professional women, and with insight and guidance like ones seen on Glassdoor.com and Salary.com. The Career Contessa company tagline is ““A career resource for women who want more and are daring enough to get it.” I’ve been a Career Contessa reader since early 2015 and their content has become SO insightful and so in-depth. My recent favorite is a article on salary growth of a VP in Marketing and how he/she went from making 45K to 156K in 10 years.

 Job Search Do’s and Don’ts by Career Contessa and Six Degree Society Photo by Kathrina Sio  Job Search Do’s and Don’ts by Career Contessa and Six Degree Society Photo by Kathrina Sio

Initially, what attracted me to this event was the impressive line-up of panelist: recruiters from Nasty Gal, Hulu, and Glassdoor dishing out insider information on how interviewers can succeed during job searches. What I didn’t know about, was how awesome the “curated networking” which was the work of Six Degree Society, was going to turn out.

I am going into the 8th year of my professional career, and I’ve gone to a lot of networking events. I have not gone to one with such nicely established structure for attendees to engage with each other, without awkward games or artificial conversations. I was paired with Amber and Natalie, who both have digital media experience and ambition to do great things in their content creation journey. (I also met Connie, not through the pairing but just good ole networking). Six Degree Society studied carefully the bio I provided and paired me with people who share similar or complementary experience or skill sets as me. My conversation with Amber and Natalie felt naturally engaging and we all learned so much from one another. In fact, I already know there will be collaborations on the horizon with these #girlbosses soon!

Besides the free drinks, awesome freebies, and all the socializing, I learned a few things that were pretty surprising (to me at least):

1) Treat your recruiter as your best advocate. They want you to succeed almost as much as you do! Be transparent with them, be comfortable with them, and count on them.

2) Don’t show up too early for an interview. Thirty minutes is too early; try arriving there 15-5 minutes beforehand. If you’re early, chill in your car or a coffee shop.

3) Have the salary conversation earlier in the interview process rather than later. Do it in a tactful way. You don’t always have to reveal your current salary level (my personal opinion is that you should never disclose this info), but this is to make sure your desired salary range matches the company’s budget.

4) Men and women have very different negotiation tactics; men tend to be more fact based in their negotiations, and women tend to list more emotionally based reasons. Whether you’re a man or woman, approach this subject with your worth (based on your experience and public data) and not personal reasons or life circumstances.

What are your interview must-do’s and must-not-do’s? If you’re an interviewer, what’s your biggest pet peeve?

The post 4 Secrets I Learned From A Job Search Networking Event appeared first on Cubicle Chic.