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Previously, on Corporette: The Top Posts of 2011

by Kat on 12/22/2011 · 8 comments

Like all of you, we’re winding down for the year — so I thought now might be a fun time to look back at the posts that were the top ones of 2011. According to Google Analytics, they are:

10. Administrative Assistant’s Day: A Poll

9. “Comfortable Casual” for a Heat Wave

8. How to Resign Gracefully

7. Which Stores and Brands Work Best for Different Body Types?

6. Emergency Reader Email: Maternity Leave Email (and other messages)

5. Taking a New Job While Pregnant

4. Diamond Rings and the Working Girl

3. What to Wear Beneath a Suit Jacket

2. What Not to Wear as an Intern or Summer Associate

and the number 1 post of 2011 was…

1. What Not to Wear to the Office

Some of my favorites that missed the Top 10 include:

Readers, do you have any favorites from the past year that weren’t included on this list?

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Our Top Ten Posts from 2010

by Kat on 12/23/2010 · 5 comments

in Admin, Previously..., Top Post

In keeping with our year-end reminiscing, I thought I’d do another post on what our top ten articles were. This year was a big year — I came out of the anonymous fashion blogging closet, traffic grew (welcome all new readers!) and in general the community exploded (in a fabulous way). Some of my personal favorites (such as my “how to get your groove back” post) made the list; I’ll call out my other personal faves below. But first, the list:

Our Top Ten Articles from 2010
(according to Google Analytics)

1. The Intern with the $9000 Handbag
2. The Quest for Comfortable Heels
3. Can You Give Unsolicited Fashion Advice to Interns?
4. Big News — And Introductions
5. Guest Post: Advice from the VP/Hiring Manager Level
6. Calling All Tuckers
7. An Attitude Revamp (Or, How To Get Your Groove Back)
8. How Not to Gain Weight Over the Summer Recruiting Season
9. Some Thoughts on Frump
10. Will Flats Fly in Court?

Some of my personal favorites that didn’t make the traffic based list included our financial discussion of what makes a woman “rich,” as well as my interview with Brandy Lusvardi, the costume designer for Better Off Ted (which, sadly, was canceled). On the fashion side of things, I liked the reader question about how to add personality if you hate jewelry, as well as our discussion about mixing textures and patterns.

Readers, any favorites (or favorite discussions from the commenting threads) that you’d like to call out? I’d definitely like to give a shoutout to the discussion about the pros and cons of being a lawyer (and going to law school) in this thread (start here and here).

Check out our top ten of 2009 (and of all-time), here…

UPDATE: I checked in with Lisa from Privilege (our single Guest Post to break the top 10!) for an update, and here’s what she had to say:
“My corporate job disappeared, to be replaced, however, by some consulting on corporate website design, and a more serious focus on the blog, Privilege. Which, by the way, I feel has hit its stride, now that I understand more what on earth I’m doing, writing about style in its social context. Always helps to know what you’re doing, right? Happy 2011 to Corporette and all its readers.

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10 Things About … Interviewing

by C on 08/25/2008 · 14 comments

in 10 Things, Career, Interviewing, Top Post

We realize interview week is over at some schools; for others they’re still to come. Still, callbacks will be going on well into September and October, so we thought we’d share some advice on interviewing. Photo at left by SOCIALisBETTER, courtesy of Flickr.

Interview Prep…

1. Make sure your resume is up to date and without typos. We recommend putting the “date printed” on your resume — it can just be a field in your footer. This is especially helpful when you make changes to your resume, or if you interview with firms multiple years.

2. Think about which of your personality traits to highlight. Try to recognize what it is about you that makes you a great catch for an employer. Are you creative, an outside-the-box thinker? A great manager? Someone who pulls teams together? These are the sorts of things that won’t appear on your resume and might not even come up through your references. Now, once you’ve identified those traits, sift through your experiences to find examples of those traits in action, because showing is always better than telling when it comes to these things. Armed with two or three stories, you’ll be all set to casually drop them in when you interview. It’s a great way to prepare for those questions you can’t prepare for — (“What does your resume not tell me?”) — and it’s a great way to sound intelligent and charming but not rehearsed.

3. Research, research, research. Google the firm or company. Know the web site backwards and forwards. If you’re interviewing with a law firm, search Westlaw for recent decisions (or briefs) that lawyers at the firm were involved with. Check Above The Law for scuttlebutt.

4. Work an inside connection. Peruse Linked In to see who you know. Figure out if anyone from your journal worked there last summer. Ask the Career Office if they know of any alums. Try to make a phone call or shoot an e-mail — if you know the person well it can be as simple as “I’ve got an interview this Monday with ____ — anything I should know?” We once advised a friend to mention a recent case during her interview and she got the job.

During the Interview…

5. Lean forward — it silently conveys your interest. Simultaneously, avoid crossing your arms (it makes you seem closed off) and keep your focus on the “triangle” of the person’s face formed by their eyes and mouth. Check out Lifehacker’s guide to other “conversation hacks.”

6. Focus on the conversation and be sure to answer the questions asked. Sometimes doing a little preparation work makes you overeager to answer questions a certain way — be sure you’re not making that mistake.

After the Interview…

7. Keep detailed notes of who you spoke to — and what you spoke about. We had a friend who, during her OCI week, kept a spreadsheet that included the firm’s name/website/telephone number, the date of the interview, the name of her interviewer, 3 brief pros and 3 cons about the firm (in case someone from the firm called she wanted to remember quickly), the date of her callback and any information about it (hotel/flight reservations, etc), the name of who she interviewed with on her callback, and her general impressions from walking around inside the firm on her callback.

8. Don’t pick up your telephone unless you know who’s calling. Of COURSE, firms aren’t fungible. But the distinctions between the firms tend to get a bit blurry after a you’ve interviewed with 15-20 of them. Our advice: let everything go to voicemail unless you know for sure who’s calling. This way you’ll absolutely be prepared to sound professional, intelligent, and 100% interested in the job.

9. Set up Google Alerts or Westlaw alerts if you’re interviewing for a legal job. If there’s a new development, you’ll want to hear about it, both to sound knowledgeable about the firm during your interview as well as to gauge your own interest in the firm.

10. Send professional thank you notes. Check and check again to be sure there are no typos in the letter! Be sure to mention the conversation you had (“It was great to hear more about X and Y”). If you interviewed with multiple people, it’s acceptable to send one thank-you note to just one of the people — either via the hiring office or to whichever (senior) interviewer you clicked with the best. For more advice on thank-you notes, check out this list of FAQs on Thank You Letters.

We also suggest you check out the Daily Lawyer’s interview tips. Have we left anything out? Comment away…

Liking this article? Check out more like it in our Interviewing section — including posts such as:

- What to wear to your interview

- How to accessorize for your interview

- Our thoughts and suggestions on basic suits

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Reader Mailbag Part I: What To Wear on Interviews Generally

by C on 08/11/2008 · 42 comments

in Career, Fashion, Fashion Gaffes, Interviewing, Suits, Top Post, Wear to Work

Ellen Parsons took interviewing seriously... so should you!

Wow, it’s the start of the interview season already for those of you still in law school. Good luck! Stay tuned; we’re going to (try) to do a lot about interview tips and a guide to women’s suits. Immediately, though, we have this question from a reader named Summer:

I am a 3L law student looking to buy a nice conservative suit for interviews. I am also a big fan of corporette! I have looked around malls and nothing seems to be nice enough. The only thing that I have found in my size online is Talbots. I also ran across the site www.mycustomclothing.com. Do you think this site is legitimate? Do you have any other recommendations?

Thank you so much for your kind words! We’re not familiar with the site, but we wouldn’t recommend going with a custom suit for a big interview unless you already had a relationship with an amazing tailor. Our best advice with interviewing for conservative jobs is that the entire goal of your interview wardrobe should be to take the focus off your appearance and put the focus where it should be: on your mind, your accomplishments, and the way you carry yourself. You can show your personality, your taste, your quirky sense of humor — whatever! — later, after you’ve got the job. That said, we might suggest adhering to some simple guidelines when buying clothes for interviewing.

Buy within your budget. No one’s going to “ding” you on an interview because your suit isn’t Armani.
Choose a dark suit. A black or navy suit is always more conservative than a brightly- or lightly-colored suit, and if you have to buy something inexpensive then it will hide the imperfections in the fabric and the seams.
Buy a skirt suit. We know, we know: feminism, equality, misogyny, etc. We’re not saying it’s cool. We’re saying it’s a crazy world out there and you should go with the most conservative option available if you want the job — which for women is a skirt suit. The skirt should be knee-length or slightly above the knee. If there’s a slit in the back of the skirt, make sure that a) you’ve pulled out any threads that “closed” the slit with a big X, b) the slit doesn’t go so high that you’re showing your upper thighs or worse — if you’re wearing control-top pantyhose those control tops should not be showing, and c) if it’s an old skirt, make sure the slit isn’t in need of repair. We tend to wear dark pantyhose (“off black” or gray is our preference, for some reason) but in writing this we’ve realized we’re not absolutely sure what’s appropriate — good thing tomorrow is the poll of the week! Be sure you pull a chair over to a full-length mirror and practice sitting in the skirt suit; you want to see what the interviewer will see and make sure you look appropriate and tasteful.
Dress for the season you’re in. If you’ve got an interview this week, please don’t go in wearing a tweed suit — you’ll look like you’re not aware of your surroundings. Similarly, if you’re interviewing in January or April, don’t go in wearing a white linen suit.
Wear a suit that fits well. We’ve all had it happen: you gain a few pounds and swear you’re going to take it off so there’s no point in buying new clothes. Trust us, we hear you. This is one of those times that you’ve got to just suck it up and go buy a bigger size (or two), because you will be dinged for your appearance if your suit is too tight. See our Lisa Cuddy 360 Review for reference, but here are some telltale signs your suit does not fit you:
- You can’t button the jacket, or the buttons don’t lay flat once buttoned
- The skirt is “smiling” because it’s being pulled so tight across your hips
- When you walk the skirt hikes itself up because it’s too tight across your hips
- Your arms look like sausages in the jacket
- You can’t lift your arms above your head

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10 Things: About the Art Of Saying Goodbye*

by C on 07/31/2008 · 15 comments

in 10 Things, Business Etiquette, Career, Features, Top Post

How do you say goodbye with a picture, uploaded by 23am.com

*The Pat Benatar song is actually “About the Art of Letting Go,” not saying good bye, but so it goes.

As the summer dwindles for summer classes of future MBAs and JDs, we thought we’d give some advice on how to say goodbye (and hello).

While you’re still working there…

1. Give people a head’s up that your last day is approaching — do your best to set up lunch, coffee, whatever. Until you’ve accepted your offer there is still very much an air of “let’s make the summers happy,” so now would be a good time to approach that Big Wig and see if you can set something up. (Hint: If you’re trying to organize something with the CEO or Executive Partner you may want to try to get a few other summers on board — it’ll be less awkward for you and it’ll be seen as more time-efficient for the Big Wig.)

2. Assess if you’d like to offer any of your time during your final year in school – law firms in particular have been known to quietly use 3Ls if there is too much work. If you’d like to commit your time during your last full year of freedom, offer it up during lunch or coffee.

3. Make sure people in your summer class are organizing a thank-you present for your secretaries, as well as the recruiting office — flowers are nice, spa packages are better. If no one is, spearhead the effort yourself. If you had a very active summer, follow up with a hand-written thank-you note to the recruiting office. Why? It’s the gracious thing to do. (And no one likes working with an ingrate.)

4. On your last day, try to do a personal drop-by to say goodbye to the people you enjoyed working with the most. If anything comes up in the conversation, be sure to follow up on it. Exchange e-mail addresses if possible — if there was a mid-level at the company you especially liked you may want to make sure you get his or her personal e-mail address, on the off chance they leave before you return.

5. Be judicious about social networking sites. It’s fine to use Facebook or MySpace to connect with the other students you summered with. If you want to, it’s not inappropriate to use LinkedIn to connect, either. However, do not request to become “Linked In” with superiors at the company, unless you’d also ask them to recommend you to a future employer — it’s more serious than a casual link, and no one has really had time to assess the other person’s work. Requesting to become linked to an mid-level or senior person you had lunch once or twice with, or wrote a memo for, is really not acceptable. Similarly, be wise about your Facebook or MySpace page — if you’re going to connect with future work associates, take your cue from them. If they don’t have drunken bikini shots of themselves on there, you might want to think twice before putting those on your own page. (Although, really, we’re hoping you removed those pictures before you started the interview process.)

During the long absence…

6. Stay in touch with people you liked! Ask for advice, give them a general update on your life if you got to personally know someone well. This can pay off professionally: if you worked at a law firm this summer and got to know a first- or second-year associate very well, by the time you get back they’ll be a mid-level associate with (hopefully) good work to pass along.

7. Use Google Alerts to stay “up” on projects you worked on during the summer. Did the deal ever happen? Did the case ever settle? Did the product ever launch? Send an e-mail when you see an article on point to the bosses who supervised you. Also use the service to stay up on other company news and gossip. This way, if the firm wins a huge judgment, or the company posts huge profits you can congratulate the people you knew at the company (as well as being aware if layoffs happen or the stock price plummets). Finally, you may also want to use Google Alerts for any newsmakers in your firm — it never hurts to e-mail the BigWig and say, “Ah, saw your op-ed in last week’s WSJ. I learned a lot, and thought you’d be interested to read ____ as well.”

8. Don’t speak ill of your experience around campus. Remember, this is the company you’ll be working for; it will appear on your resume — you don’t want to contribute to a bad opinion of it, if one exists (and you certainly don’t want to create one).

As you prepare to come back for the start of work…

9. Send a personal e-mail to the people you worked with to let them know you’re coming back – even if everyone in your class is starting on the same date. The onus of getting back in touch falls to the person with the least seniority — which is you. Let them know you’ll be coming back soon; depending on the person you’re e-mailing you may want to ask if they have any good projects if they can hold them for your start date, or you may want to ask if there are any projects at the company you should avoid like the plague.

10. Whatever you do, during every part of this process, avoid e-mailing everyone at the company or law firm. You may have seen people who had worked at the company for years send around a mass e-mail saying good bye — THIS IS NOT YOU. DO NOT DO THIS. All you will do is make yourself seem self-important and lacking in discrimination.

Liked this story? You may also want to check out our Corporette 101 features (advice for women just starting out in the business world), The Hunt (where we review some options in the market for basics), our What to Wear To… advice, or maybe check out some of our polls. Oh, or also our 10 Things columns…

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Poll – Is it acceptable for businesswomen to have long hair?

by C on 07/08/2008 · 1 comment

in Beauty, Fashion, Fashion Gaffes, Polls, Top Post

Long Hair Design, originally
uploaded by asobitsuchiya

poll by twiigs.com

And, now, just because we’ve got it running through our head, we thought we’d share some lyrics from Hair with you:

I want it long, straight, curly, fuzzy
Snaggy, shaggy, ratsy, matsy
Oily, greasy, fleecy, shining
Gleaming, steaming, flaxen, waxen
Knotted polka-dotted, twisted beaded braided
Powdered, flowered and confettied
Bangled, tangled, spangled and spaghettied!

Is Long Hair Unprofessional? [Ms. JD]

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