The CEO Wants to See You in Five Minutes. What Do You Do?

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It's happened to all of us — you're plugging away at your emails or regular work, and suddenly you get a call to come see the CEO (or senior partner or other Very Important Person). Sometimes it's “hey, Client X is in town and I'm taking them to lunch in 5, are you free?” In any event, you have 5 minutes to suddenly pull yourself together. What do you do?

(Let's assume that you are — of course! — 100% completely prepared for the meeting itself. You know the product and client inside and out, you've read the latest filings and updates, and the only thing you need to do is make yourself look and feel a bit more polished.)

(We'll also assume this is a happy surprise — and not an, ahem, HR surprise.)

I've gotten this call more than once over the years. Sometimes it was a client who happened to be in the office; other times it was a senior partner who wanted me to sit in on a meeting or assign a new project. Either way, I developed a little five-minute routine (mostly about looking polished!) when I got the call:

• quick mirror check – outfit, teeth, stains, gaping — another argument for keeping a mirror in your office
• tame my hair — control the wispies, etc, possibly put my hair up if it was being uncooperative with something easy like a clip
• freshen my makeup — lip gloss, possibly more blush and eyebrow pencil, an extremely light highlighting concealer (I love Touche L'Eclat for this), and some powder (I love Guerlain for this)
• throw on a blazer (ideally one with pockets!)
• grab a legal pad and pen, and head upstairs

One thing I've done that I'm not sure I'd do today: removing things from my outfit that were a bit unusual. Take off the red strappy flats and put on black pumps. Remove the huge agate statement ring. Replace the colorful blouse that purposely contrasted with the rest of my outfit for a simple black or white one.

My perspective now is different from then, though. Earlier in my career, I wanted people to remember my work — not my shoes or whatever ring I'd thrifted. So if I was wearing something unusual, I'd swap it out for a more subdued option. These days, I'm not convinced that's the right instinct… If your work already speaks for itself, a little personality in your outfit probably isn't hurting anything, particularly if you're already on nodding terms with the VIP.

In fact, it may even make you more memorable for the right reasons. Of course, there's a balance! I'd still probably skip anything distracting if I were meeting someone for the first time or walking into a particularly conservative environment.

Readers, how about you — what is your “unexpected Big Meeting in 5 minutes” routine?

• What's the first thing you do when you suddenly have an important meeting?
• Is there one beauty product or accessory you always reach for?
• Have your habits changed since you were more junior?

Psst: we've talked before about the chance meeting with the VIP!