Dress: c/o London Times Melissa Midi Dress in Size 6

June is graduation season. As new graduates toss their caps in the air, they are also dreaming of their future, creating new paths, and dipping their toes in fields that may or may not turn out to be their life-long careers. To many, starting out their career with a big name – getting the shiny Fortune 500 company mark on their resume – seems like the correct entry point. We all know the allure and the vanity reasons why these names are good for those shorter-than-you’d-like-resumes. Sure, bigger companies tend to pay better and provide better benefits and boost your resume with more credibility. But what about the fact that you get to “wear more hats” in a small company environment, where you have more opportunities to apply yourself?

As the title conveys, a new graduate has a ton to gain from a working in corporate America.  Aside from the prestige and credit that the name of a big company carries, it’s the perfect place to build a solid foundation when it comes to interpersonal skills, networking ability, and even work ethics, among others. As for wearing more hats and being able to do more in a small company setting, worry about that when you have 5+ years under your belt. You have plenty of opportunities to wear different hats for the rest of your career. Think about building a house – the depth of your foundation matters more than the width. After you’ve got a solid foundation is when you can start to get fancy with applications or showcasing of your skills.

Definition of Corporate America

Before we dive into what makes corporate America the prime place to start a young professional’s career, let’s define what I mean by corporate America. It doesn’t have to be a publicly traded or conventionally “large” company. But to be considered the right environment, the company should:

• have at least 50-100 employees
• have somewhat defined functional groups & established processes
• have a steady revenue stream (you’re not worried about the company going out of business next month)
• have clearly stated and shared & business goals

The defining features that constitute “corporate America” are critical because they have everything to do with the exact benefits that a new graduate would gain from working at such a company.  If you are one of the graduates of 2018 and are considering beginning your career in the corporate world, here’s what you’re in for.

Why Corporate America Is The Best Place to Start Your Career

1. In the beginning, your employer has a lot more to offer than you do

In the first few years of your career, what you give to your employer will pale in comparison to what they can provide you. Everything that you are going to learn in the first year of work is what will propel you and your career forward. Whether be it learning the technical details on how to master your job, getting people to listen & pay attention to you when you have a great idea, resolving interpersonal conflicts when you work with difficult personalities, or simple time management tactics… the list goes on. This is what I call real-world education. In Corporate America, as opposed to small businesses or start-ups, you’re more likely to find professionals who you can model your behavior after, learn specific lessons from, and ample opportunities to hone in on the skills you’ve acquired. Yes, you will work hard and contribute as much as you can. But in those formative years of your career, soak up as much as you can in your work environment. That’s what will count in the long run.

Dress: c/o London Times Melissa Midi Dress in Size 6

2. Low-risk learning in a sheltered environment

When you are a single person on a big rowboat with a big crew, if your oar breaks or if your arm cramps up for a few minutes, the boat will continue to move forward. It may slow down or lose efficiency for little, but it won’t come to a complete stop. This is what I mean by low-risk learning – in the corporate world, results always come from a team. This environment makes an individual’s learning particularly low-risk and safe from creating actual, lasting, and irreversible damage. Additionally, you are hopefully being mentored and developed by someone, i.e. your boss, who will benefit from your progress and improvement. This was never the case when you were in school.

3. A readily available and rich network for you to tap into

One of the reasons why I emphasize that this has to be at least a 50-100 employee company is because this determines the size of the network that your employment brings you. Outside of your coworkers and managers in the department you are in, there are many more professionals that you could reach out to. If you are the passive type of are unsure of your networking skills, there are always company events and activities that put you in the vicinity of other coworkers in the same company. Talk to people. Get to know folks outside of your own functional group. When you are young, this is how you learn about what other paths there are in the business world and what people do in different fields. Heck, this is where you develop your networking skills by talking to people that work at the same company with whom you don’t regularly interact with.

4. Understanding of how a cog helps the wheel turn

“A cog in a wheel” is often used to describe the insignificance or lack of a single person’s impact in a larger environment. But when you first start out with not a whole lot under your belt, it’s unlikely that you’re going to be revolutionizing the company anyway. So, this is the perfect timing to be learning how, a little and new cog you may be, you can fit into this new and complex ecosystem. Take the time to learn the complexity of the organization, the expectation of each functional group, what the check and balance levers are at, and where dependencies and co-dependencies exist. This way when you are more skilled and equipped, you will more effectively and efficiently create impact.

Dress: c/o London Times Melissa Midi Dress in Size 6

5. An existing roadmap when you are directionless or lost

In the beginning of your career, where you end up finding employment isn’t always the result of clear-cut decision making, and definitely not an end-all-be-all. If you are ambitious like I was when I started out, you spend a lot of time thinking about what you want to be 5 or 10 years into your career. When you work in a corporate setting, there are many people that have been in your shoes when they started out. So when you “don’t know what you want to do when you grow up”, there are existing roadmaps for you to follow. Junior to senior. Specialist to Manager. Manager to Director. These are defined paths that make up the corporate ladder. When you don’t have a specific direction yet, it’s simple to just follow a defined path.

Dress: c/o London Times Melissa Midi Dress in Size 6

Dress: c/o London Times Melissa Midi Dress in Size 6

Photos by Natalie Alvarado @ Stylenfuse

The post Why Corporate America Is The Best Place to Start Your Career As A New Graduate appeared first on Cubicle Chic.

Disclaimer: I have partnered with Beta Brand to show you a few different office friendly workwear pieces that I was given. I have been a long time fan of Beta Brand (for about 2 years) and I am incredibly excited to work with them! Use my code JESSICA15 to get 15% off your order!!

The issue with being told you “look so young” in a professional setting isn’t the judgment cast upon your appearance, the assumption that it’s based on, or even the underlying ageism. It’s about what this statement invites and implies in and of itself. Allow me to explain.

Top: Beta Brand Peplum Top in Blue Linen, size small
Pencil skirt: Ann Taylor Tweed Skirt in size 6

Being Taiwanese American, I’m used to be told I look younger for my age. For the record, I am 32 years old, and most people I meet for the first time think I’m in my mid 20’s.  So, there’s literally the way my face looks, and I get it. I take it as a compliment when people tell me I look younger than my age.

But it’s a different story when I’m at work.

There are certain risks involved in being thought of as “the young one”. It means you may be perceived to be inexperienced, unreliable, unpredictable. It could also translate to passed up promotions, missed opportunities, or just lack of attention or resources given to you

I am very conscious of what I do that could potentially fuel the “young” image I apparently have. But there is an important distinction that needs to be made: you can have a “young” appearance, but you can’t have a “young” reputation. You can get away with looking more youthful in your appearance, but you can’t be perceived to be juvenile or immature.

Top: Beta Brand Peplum Top in Blue Linen, size small
Pencil skirt: Ann Taylor Tweed Skirt in size 6
Watch: Jord Watch Cora, Koa & Rose Gold

So, what can one do to avoid being perceived juvenile or immature? It’s body language, the vocabulary you choose, your reaction to things, and so many more. But at the very minimum, dress the part. Picking the right clothes, makeup, and footwear is the quickest way to look professional and avoid looking “too young.” Here are some tried-and-true rules to live by:

1) Balance the looseness and tightness in items of clothing

Clothing that is too baggy or too tight tends to be too casual or flat out inappropriate. Casualness combined with other factors that indicate you are “too young”, is detrimental to your professional image. Avoid baggy pants, baggy (“boyfriend”) shirts. Tight clothing also needs to be handled with care when it comes to creating your ensemble. If they show the lines of your undergarment, of create a cleavage or show anything your grandmother wouldn’t approve of, it’s too tight for the office.

Top: Beta Brand Peplum Top in Blue Linen, size small

 

2) Stick with neutrals; unless you know how to navigate colors like a pro

Black, gray, white, and beige ALWAYS work. And most of the time they work well with each other too. 60% of my work wardrobe is black and white, and the rest are either blush-pink, gray, or beige. I have a few fun and more statement pieces that I will mix into my ensemble sometimes but most of the time I stick with neutrals.

Working with a lot of colors is more difficult but not impossible. It’s reserved for the master dressers (like Chanele McFarlane on Do Well Dress Well) when you know it fits your brand and what is flattering and appropriate.

Pencil skirt: Ann Taylor Tweed Skirt in size 6

 

3) Be mindful of your accessories

I’ll be very specific here. When I first started working about 5-6 years ago, I loved wearing bows. Think the beginning of ModCloth and Lulu’s…I could not get enough of bows (on me)! I thought the look fell along the lines of prim and proper and that I could get away with it. In hindsight, it was probably too cutesy to wear a bow on your hair, bag, shoes, however small it is. There’s just something very school girl-y about bows. Avoid them at all costs.

The point is this: it’s okay to have personality and show it in your outfits but don’t let your accessories define your professional brand.

Top: Beta Brand Peplum Top in Blue Linen, size small
Necklace: BaubleBar gold initial necklace

 

4) Professional & quality shoes only

I think those of us in California are probably the serial offenders for this one. The “west coast casual” is a common dress code that you will see in a lot of offices. I, for one, always try to sneak in sandals days at work and always on the look for comfortable but professional looking sandals.

However, even with west coast casual, there’s still a line not to be crossed. The sandals I would wear to the office tend to have heels, and they have to look quality. Most of the time, Banana Republic, and Ann Taylor sandals are pretty safe.

Oh, and no flip-flops. That’s a no-brainer.

Lastly, sneakers. They probably used to be a big no-no for corporate offices, but with some of the leather sneakers they’re making these days, you can sometimes get away with a sneaker outfit in the corporate office setting.

 

5) Use a grown-up and low profile bag

When I first started working, I had this overall bag that was in this crazy zebra print. One of these days I’ll dig it out of my closet and show you guys a picture of it. It was roomy, easy to carry, fit the monstrosity of a laptop I had, and it was comfortable to wear. I LOVED that bag. But in hindsight, it was a disastrous bag to take to the office especially when I had just started. It signaled that I was not prepared for or familiar with the kind of environment I was getting into. In the grand scheme of things, it was forgivable because I WAS new and I did quickly change out my bag.

Top: Beta Brand Peplum Top in Blue Linen, size small
Pencil skirt: Ann Taylor Tweed Skirt in size 6
Watch: Jord Watch Cora, Koa & Rose Gold

 

Closing questions:

What are some of the young professional faux pas you’ve seen in the office? What did you use to wear that makes you cringe when you think about it now? Comment below and since I shared all my embarrassing stories, it’s only fair that you do! LOL.

All photography by Natalie Alvarado @ Stylenfuse

The post How to Deal With Looking Too Young in the Office appeared first on Cubicle Chic.

Life’s been moving at the speed of light for me lately. All within the last 3 months, I quit a 6-figure job, got married, got into a nearly fatal car accident and totaled the car that I’d just paid off 2 months prior, bought our first house, and now about to move into that house. Throughout all these ups and downs, one of the constants that remained is my writing and blogging on Cubicle Chic. Since I’ve started freelancing, content ideas have been flowing and I’ve gotten quite a number of new collaborations.

This got me thinking…

Am I successful? Or at least… am I on the verge of being successful?

Well, let’s look at how conventional wisdom defines success:

·      Consumerism and American culture pretty dictate that success is material possession. Having a lot of “stuff” – a nice car, a big house, or expensive jewelry… means success.

·      Religious and spiritual teachings say that the state of contentment or a state of no more “wanting” is the ultimate goal.

·      In Corporate America, in the most black-and-white-no-gray-area way, success is defined by power and high positions.

But all of us can name at least one person in our life that has one of these things but still not happy, satisfied, or fulfilled.

Whether you’re on an uphill, downhill or a flat-out slump in life, I’m sure this question has crossed your mind about where this pursuit of success is supposed to lead you. When would you ever feel OK to not hustle and strife anymore, and would we ever be able to stop and pat ourselves on the back and admire our success, and just be content? It’s human to instinctively want to pursue success, but it’s also human to wonder just how to define success so we know we are “successful”?

So, what is success? How do we ever know we are “successful” and how do we define success?

Success is a process. Recognize the bits and pieces as it happens

If we recognize the state of pursuing success as a continuous process, we must admit that it isn’t about what happens at the very end, or the big bow that we’re able to put on this whole process. It’s about counting all forms of success like the way we are told to count our blessings. Success isn’t one big thing, it’s many small things. Finishing a marathon isn’t the only form of success, it’s the pre-training, the start of the race, the persevering in the last 3 miles, and crossing the finish line. Success only feels fleeting because we recognize it at the end and we forget to celebrate the beginning and the middle.

“It feels like we constantly chasing a goal and even after we reach it, we’re ready for something more. The chase seems to be what drives us more than the actual “prize.” This happens to millennials more often because we’ve grown up in a world of instant gratification— binge watching a show, order anything to be delivered, and even getting SAT scores instantly. These things make it difficult to grasp and enjoy success when it’s happening to us. To help me recognize my “success” and at the very least enjoy it more, I’ve been keeping a gratitude journal and each night I write down 3-5 things that went well that day and I’m grateful for. I do this because I’ve defined success as a process, and the process is that I’m moving forward so keeping a journal helps me with that.”- Lauren McGoodwin, Founder & CEO of Career Contessa

Success is being in the driver seat of your life and taking it wherever your heart desires

We know we’re supposed to “follow our dream” and “pursue our passion” but the truth is not all of us graduate college knowing what we want to do in life. And even for those of us who have a clear goal, we may not always be in the position (financial, education, resources, what have you) to pursue that goal.

So, whether you mentally will yourself to put in the work after your 9-5 to grow your blog (Cubicle Chic has been my after-work project for almost 2 years now!) or you have saved up from a salaried job so could afford to be unemployed and pursuing your true passion, or that you went through years of schooling to be able to work in a profession that you’ve had a calling to do, I would count these all as success.

“Success isn’t what you think you should do, rather, it’s following what you want to do. The biggest success in my eyes is using your talents and skills daily to achieve what your heart truly wants without thinking about society’s definition of prestige, wealth, and expectations. Crafting an ideal life you truly want to live is the ultimate definition of success. “ – Emily Liou, Career Coach and Founder of Cultivitae

Have your own measure of success

Social media has fundamentally changed our way of life. Most significantly, it changed the way information travels. We are now 100x times more aware of what people have accomplished, not only because people are more likely to flaunt it, but also because our eyes are peeled to our phones where such information is displayed.

How can we not look at our own wardrobe and feel like we need to buy one more dress when we see posts after posts of beautifully styled outfits? How can we not feel like we need to work harder when we see our college classmate getting a coveted promotion? How can we need feel like we need to renovate our kitchen when we see our neighbors brand new cooking space?

The answer is not letting others dictate what you want to create, own, or achieve. If you see someone else achieving something you want to achieve, understand where achieving those goals fit in your life. I’ve seen so many bloggers creating a blog for the wrong reasons – fame or quick money, and they get burned out so quickly because their goals they chase were never theirs. When you chase someone else’s goal, you tend to get lost in the process because you never fully understood the WHY. Have a goal, YOUR OWN goal, and know why you want to achieve this goal. That’s when the “chase” becomes meaningful and you don’t get burnt out.

 “From what I’ve learned, the perception of success comes from setting an aim and accomplishing it. Life is always changing and there are always going to be another aim or goal. Don’t ever think that you’ve done enough but don’t let that bring you down. There are always going to be people ten steps ahead of you but there are also going to be people ten steps behind you. It’s the nature of the business. I really believe in going at your own pace and running your own race in your own time. I’m still learning and don’t exactly feel “successful” but I feel satisfied with the progress I’m making so I guess that’s a kind of success!” – Sangyay Chen, Model and Blogger @ Itssangtime

There’s no such thing as a selfish success. True success is always a collective one.

This is one of my more recent realizations. It dawned on me that helping others makes me feel really good about myself, so good that I’d call that feeling successful. When I answer a reader’s question about salary negotiations, when I point someone who’s lost in their career in the right direction, when I help someone pick out a week’s worth of outfits for a really important conference… all of these things make me want to do more what I do on Cubicle Chic.

And being in a position to help others, to have materials to teach others, to me, is a success. Being successful means being willing and able to help others achieve their goals, and through that, help them become successful.

If you exclude others in your process of reaching success, you won’t feel successful.

“Success is a team sport and is only achieved by bringing others along on your journey and lifting others up to achieve their goals. “ – Kelly Hoey, Investor, Business Strategist, & Author of Build Your Dream Network 

Have you felt lost in the pursuit of success?

Remember, when you feel the urge to find the definition of success, just do the following:  1) recognize smaller successes because it’s not about the finish line, 2) know that if you’re actively pursuing success, you’re semi-successful, 3) pursue your own goals so the process of pursuit will feel meaningful, 4) help others succeed along the way. You don’t regret it!

All photography by Natalie Alvarado @ Stylenfuse

The post How To Define Success || 4 Theories From 4 Successful Business Women appeared first on Cubicle Chic.

The truth is that most people have some form of fear of public speaking, We’ve all been there: dealing with the knot in our stomach, the sinking feeling of doom, and that the world is going to end when people find out about your deadly fear of speaking in front of a crowd.  For those of us that want to become better speakers, we try to find articles on how to improve presentation skills, find resources to get practice like joining a Toastmaster group, or going through paid trainings like the Dale Carnegie programs. Here is my confession: I have tried them ALL. I’ve even seen therapists for my stage freight. My fear was THAT real.

What you’re about to read next is not written by some expert or experienced speaker. It is written by yours truly, who’s had a severe, diagnosed form of public speaking anxiety. After a lot of trial and tribulations, I am proud to say that I can now finally give presentations and speak to a crowd well. However, the road to this blissful destination was no walk in the park. I lived and breathed this debilitating fear for years. First, there were 2 years of business school, where presentation was required for almost every single class. After that, I entered into the workforce in the field of marketing, where I regularly had to report-out business analytics to teams of 5+ people, often involving upper management. I’ve had countless moments where I contemplated faking a car accident or wondering what would happen if I just dashed out of the meeting room door and never came back. “Is it better for people to think I’m weird/crazy/unreliable, or that I’m bad at public speaking?” was a constant question in my head, whenever I was tasked to speak publicly.

Preface: Here’s My Motivation To Become A Better Speaker

For most of my 20’s, the idea of being a poised speaker one day was an eternal impossibility to me. I knew the problem was in me: that fear was in my head, deeply rooted based on traumatizing experiences and negative self-talk. I read and read, researched and researched; I even sought help from therapists about this anxiety. For years, I was trapped in this cocoon of “I’m just destined to be bad at it”, despite my outward effort in trying to get better. Yet, I kept at it. There was something in me that kept pushing myself to be a better speaker. In hindsight, I attribute it to the people that I was surrounded by. They believed in me and they constantly told me that I DO have what it takes, that I do have a way of garnering attention when I DO speak without anxiety kicking in, and that I always had unique and distinct points to share. This mirrored my internal drive of becoming a successful businesswoman, having my own ground to stand on, and the ability to realize my own aspirations and inspire people to do the same. So, I never stopped attempting to better my public speaking skills.

After having said all of that, I want to share with you the things that I’ve done that helped me along this journey. I am not where I want to be yet, but recent experiences have shown me that I can at least be comfortable in speaking in front of a crowd. But there are MORE, oh SO MANY MORE areas that I can improve on. So here it goes:

7 Things That I’ve Done To Curb My Deadly Fear Of Public Speaking:

1) Find out what the root case(s) of your anxiety is (are)

This may sound really abstract at first, but here’s what I mean. Psychologically speaking, our emotional reactions, especially the more extreme ones, often have external triggers. These triggers are usually associated with life events where we may not even be aware of their effects.

Regardless of our natural tendencies as introverts or extroverts, what were your experiences like growing up when it comes to public speaking? Were your parents and close ones not supportive and encouraging of you to express your opinion? Are there people around you that are afraid of public speaking or just expressing their opinion? These are all factors that could contribute to us having fear or anxiety in speaking publically.

Perhaps you’re like me in that English wasn’t your mother tongue or native language. For those of us who learned English as a second language, we may have beliefs in our head that we just don’t’ have as good a command of English.

Or maybe, you actually have a lot of good public speakers in your life as positive influence. They are great examples of what good speakers should be like, but they make you feel like it’s an unreachable goal and that you could ever be like them.

All of these could contribute to your anxiety toward public speaking. If you can’t figure this out on your own and you REALLY want to find out, find an anxiety specialist to talk to. I have seen a few in my late 20’s and I have learned different things from each and every therapist. Oftentimes when our anxiety kicks in, we’re not able to stop it because each thought is so closely associated with the emotion it triggers; seeing a therapist can sometimes help you learn how to slow that thinking process down which is the first step in taking control of your anxiety.  

2) Know what is driving you in wanting to become a better public speaker 

For me, it’s the fact that that I have this intrinsic belief that I have the potential to be a great speaker; it’s an identity that I feel the urge to realize. On top of that, being a marketing professional, I know the power of persuasion of a great speech. Therefore, all my efforts has been toward aligning my external behavior to this internal belief.

What is your motivation to become a better speaker? Is it a good grade you need in a class? Is it to impress someone? Is it because it feels like everyone else is a good speaker and you’re not? While all of these could be legitimate reasons to fuel you and keep you in your efforts, they’re not lasting motivations. Because they’re not aligned with your internal values and are not based on things that define who you are. Find out what your intrinsic motivations are by asking yourself this question:

o   If I don’t master public speaking, I will feel ____, because I won’t be able to ____.

Take some time to think about it if the answers aren’t immediately clear. But you should be able to complete the sentence with clear words to fill in the blank if being a good public speaker is aligned with your intrinsic values and motivations.

3) When you’re not confident, try memorizing your script and practice endlessly. 

You will likely hear mixed opinion on this suggestion, but it worked for me. The fact is that if you’re shaking and not able to even speak, it’s better to sound like you’re reading from a script than just freezing in front of the crowd.

Also, practice your speech/presentation till you have nothing left to practice. Practice it so well that when you’re saying one sentence you already know what’s going to follow next. Just face and embrace the fact that when you’re less skilled in public speaking, this is what you have to do to make up for the lack of experience.

4)  Pay attention to your body language.

If you haven’t yet, watch Amy Cuddy’s Ted Talk on the power of body language. It changed my life, and it could change yours. The science on this method is controversial, but I know for a fact that it worked for me. More importantly, it gave me something to work on when I’m dealing with the jitters. What I used to do 10 minutes before I had to give presentations was to lock myself in an empty conference room or even in the lady’s room, and just spread my arms, stand tall with my chest up, telling myself “You’re going to OWN that audience.”

A more advanced tip along the same line is to watch your body language during your presentation. This also applies to when you’re in a business setting in general.  I’ve included a few good ones here:   

A.     Sit in the front of the room

B.     Don’t play with your hair

C.     Speak UP when you are speaking

D.     Speak TOWARD your audience and not the computer screen or projector screen

Remember that great mentor I talked about a few weeks ago? I learned all of these tips from her.

5)  Seek help. Seek professional help.

Go to a Toastmaster meeting. I have gone a few times and the format of my local meeting didn’t work for me so I didn’t necessarily benefit from the Toastmaster group. But thousands of people have. Give it a try… it can’t hurt.

If your company has development funds set aside for employees, take one of those public speaking trainings. They typically last 2 days, and you are required to give presentations based on particular topics. The best (or worst) part is that you are taped and a professional speaker will then review the tape with you to find out ways you can improve for your next speech. I know Dale Carnegie and American Management Association both offer classes like this.

And if you feel like you’ve tried everything and you still find the fear overwhelming (which I did), find a psychologist or psychiatrist to talk to. Not all psycho-therapies are made equal and everyone needs different levels of interference.  I am simply making this recommendation because it worked for me, so take it with a grain of salt.  

6) Learn how to channel your jitters and re-process it as excitement instead of nervousness

Research has proven it again and again that the the way our body reacts in response to fear and excitement are very similar, if not identical. Learn techniques on how to convince yourself that you are positively excited for the event, as opposed to being scared and wanting to escape. It’s reported a lot in research that when people are told they are “excited” about something, that are much more likely to report higher rate of success than people that are told they are “nervous”. 

I personally make little flash cards (very little for ease of storage and carrying around) that helps guide my thinking and keep my thoughts going in the positive direction. Notes on these cards include “You’ve prepared for this for so long. You are ready” or “No one is as much of an expert as you are on this topic. They are here to learn from you.” or “This is your chance to knock them out with your awesomeness and preparedness. You are going to rock the audience!” Yes, they borderline sound hypnotic, but this is the nature of our thought processes: very malleable and so easily influenced by our surrounding. Learn how to take control of it. 

7)  Lastly, volunteer to speak publicly.

This is the last step for a reason – do this ONLY after you’ve done all of the above, and know what you have in the tool kit for dealing with the queasiness and jitters. Then, look for those opportunities where you’d be able to put all the skills you’ve acquired to use.

I recently started volunteering to speaking engagement and it has been incredibly rewarding. 2 months ago at Taiwanese American Professionals, I was part of a panel of 8 and spoke about my heritage, cultural shift as an immigrant, and my views toward the future as an immigrant young professionalt. Just this past weekend, I was invited to speak at PoshFest as a panel of 2 for a workshop on sales and marketing tactics for how to improve your Poshmark closet.

In both events I was able to share my personal stories, my perspectives on various issues, and provide information to educate, inspire and empower the audience. Both times I had people that came to me after the event to tell me that they learned something new from me and that I have inspired them. Yes, it’s an ego booster and huge compliments. But more importantly, it made me realize that what I have to say is valuable and worthwhile, that my life experiences haven’t been for nothing. All the ups and downs I’ve gone through have put in in the position I’m in today and someone else benefits from my experience as a result of my speaking engagement. It’s so, so, so empowering.

What’s your public speaking story?

The post How I Conquered My Deadly Fear In Public Speaking appeared first on Cubicle Chic.

Sophia Amoruso may have written a book about it, but I have lived it. I’ve always embodied many of the components of what make up the #GIRLBOSS personality – firm, determined, unwaivered, highly professional, and very ambitious. Yet in the corporate world, you see all too often that strong minded women get categorized into the b*itchy bucket. It’s almost inevitable, and it really is a shame. That’s where being “nice” makes a difference.

Being nice is in the professional world is not about being easy-going or eager to please. And it’s definitely not letting people step all over you. It’s actually the ability to persuade other without force, to convey a message without having to scream, and solve a problem, reach a solution, without leaving dead bodies behind.

Having said all that, let’s come back to what I do best… putting together professional outfits to present the woman you want to be. Today,I’m sharing with you an outfit that makes me feel like a total #GIRLBOSS, and a very nice one at that.

 Blazer: Six Crisp Days Amelia Four Button Blazer (Dailylook) Jeans: Topshop Jamie Jeans Shoes: (similar) Gray pumps Sunnies: Banana Republic Linney

There’s something to be said about the soft colors and femininity of a flowy scarf.

 Blazer: Six Crisp Days Amelia Four Button Blazer (Dailylook) Jeans: Topshop Jamie Jeans Shoes: (similar) Gray pumps Sunnies: Banana Republic Linney  Blazer: Six Crisp Days Amelia Four Button Blazer (Dailylook) Jeans: Topshop Jamie Jeans Shoes: (similar) Gray pumps Sunnies: Banana Republic Linney  Blazer: Six Crisp Days Amelia Four Button Blazer (Dailylook) Jeans: Topshop Jamie Jeans Shoes: (similar) Gray pumps Sunnies: Banana Republic Linney  Blazer: Six Crisp Days Amelia Four Button Blazer (Dailylook) Jeans: Topshop Jamie Jeans Shoes: (similar) Gray pumps Sunnies: Banana Republic Linney

What do you do, use, say, or wear that makes you a #GIRLBOSS? I want to know!! 

All Photography by Ngoc M Nguyen

The post New #GIRLBOSS attitude and an outfit to go with it. You’re welcome. appeared first on Cubicle Chic.