LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — A new study claims that if a woman’s office wardrobe is viewed as “too sexy” it may hurt her career. Daisy Swan is a career coach who agrees. She spoke with CBS2′s Rachel Kim about the so-called wardrobe secrets of successful women in the workplace, and says dressing too sexy for work could be career suicide. “It’s lack of good judgement to wear something that is inappropriate for the workplace,” Swan said, noting it’s become harder for women to know what’s appropriate because the work environment has become more casual over the years. That’s especially true in Southern California. “We do have a sector that’s very conservative; we’ve got the attorneys, we’ve got the finance folks, but we also have Hollywood and a start-up culture,” she said. Business etiquette experts say unflattering assumptions are made about women who wear provocative clothes and they’re not taken… Read More
Life
WHERE TO NEXT?
Guest Contributor for My L.A. Lifestyle Ever look around and wonder how the people you know, got to where they are? I know you have. We all do this. We especially wonder about the people who have driven us crazy, right? Or perhaps a boss or your boss’ boss…how did they get there? Career development is a little mysterious but also quite simple, like cooking. We start with a basic recipe: Relevant skills and strong personal development, like good listening, writing, speaking and presenting, a good sense of humor, and the ability to get the job done – and done well. Then add a bit of luck – being in the right place at the right time. Or friends and colleagues who become a good network and offer job referrals, and can be counted on to compare and share stories and ideas. If we’re talking a really fine recipe, we’d… Read More
Do You Really Represent You?
Daisy Swan, now a contributor to Find Bliss Magazine! Read her article in the July 2013 issue, here… The key to success could simply be showing up just as you are. It’s all about branding when it comes to marketing ourselves for a new job, an online dating profile, or even in our current workplace. We want to present an intentionally consistent ‘brand message’ so that people (or consumers) know what they can expect from us. This is also known as a brand promise. By Daisy Swan When we buy a Coke, we expect it to taste like a Coke and not a Pepsi. If we taste the latter, we feel duped and confused. As individuals, our brand message is supported by the language used to describe us on LinkedIn or Facebook. Similarly our resume is representative of our professional skills and accomplishments. The information we share… Read More
Calm Communication: Skillful Strategies for Stressful Social Situations
Guest Contributor for My L.A. Lifestyle We live in a noisy world; one that is often overwhelming for even the toughest of us. For many introverts, the noise of life and the incessant social situations in which we find ourselves can be mind-numbing and exhausting. I’ve been studying the ‘quieter’ folks of the world for years. I grew up in a family of introverts, married a couple, and am raising an introverted son. I’ve also worked with hundreds of introverted clients who have struggled to stretch into a larger world, to connect with others who could help them attain their next opportunity. So when a former client contacted me to see if I’d be interested in offering a class for people like her – someone who has achieved a lot, but who finds the social demands of her work daunting – I happily said “yes”. All of… Read More
Career – Waking up to What’s Important
Daisy Swan, now a contributor to Find Bliss Magazine! Read her article in the June 2013 issue, here… Believe in yourself to light the spark of excitement “There is no scientific answer for success. You can’t define it. You’ve simply got to live it and do it.” Anita Roddick, Founder, The Body Shop Lately, when I first open my eyes in the morning, I remember what day it is, and do a quick mental scan of what I have planned. Then, as I’m enjoying those final moments with my pillow and quilt, I feel the simultaneous pull of excitement to enter my day. by Daisy Swan Taking that action to step into the day isn’t always easy; it doesn’t always seem so inviting that we leap into it with a burning desire to make something of it. I’ve had mornings when, lacking in energy, I didn’t believe… Read More
Stretching That Creativity Muscle
Guest Contributor for My L.A. Lifestyle Angelenos are a creative bunch, on the whole. We tend to be people who are a little daring — hard workers who like to play hard, too. And yet, I hear from clients all the time that they would like to have more creativity in their lives. Many of these people are suffering from an abundance of familiarity. Stretching ourselves to experience something new, creative, and visually beautiful…now that can really expand our being. I recently stretched myself by attending my first glass blowing class at Revolution Glass in El Segundo. I love the medium of glass and have a large collection of glass paperweights, so I was thrilled when I was given this class as a gift. Josh Gelfand, who owns, teaches, and creates at Revolution Glass, offers classes in glass blowing as well as studio time for… Read More
Keeping Up With The World, Personally
Guest Contributor for My L.A. Lifestyle With so much buzzing around us all the time, it’s easy to think we can keep on top of the important stuff by staying plugged in to our phone, laptop or device of choice. But sometimes, we need to inject an extra dose of energy and inspiration, via simple human interaction. In L.A. we have traffic, right? So if we’re going to head out of our neighborhood it better be worth it, yes? I’ve come to feel that one of my most favorite, and worthwhile, treks in L.A. is when I get up early and head downtown to the beautiful and inspiring Gensler building, to see and hear a fantastic speaker hosted by Ted Habte-Gabr and Live Talks LA Business Forum. Ted has been producing these speaker events for a while now, and he’s doing a great job of hosting people… Read More
What We Want
Guest Contributor for My L.A. Lifestyle Recent studies show that more than half of all employees are looking forward to leaving their jobs once the economy gets better. But, what would they be leaving for? What would you be leaving for? Overall, what most people want is a way to make meaningful progress in their work. They want to feel like their work matters. Given that we want these changes, and that the better employment picture we’d hoped for may still be limping along for a while longer, what can we do to keep our own happiness, satisfaction and spirit up, in the face of this often WAY frustrating scenario? As a career coach, I see how anxiety is ratcheting up, and how learning various techniques and practices that help with all of this anxiety can truly positively affect my clients. Mindfulness, and the stress-managing principles of this approach,… Read More
Enter 2013! Time to reboot.
Guest Contributor for My L.A. Lifestyle As 2013 rounds into view, I’m seeing the light at the end of the tunnel – in fact, there’s lots of data that says we all are. We’ve lived through several remarkable years that have stretched everyone in a myriad of ways. Finally, it looks like we may be emerging from the worst of the retracted job market. But this is still not the job market that it once was. Many people have had to change how they work, learn and retool, and many people have endured jobs that they’d rather have left, after co-workers were let go and work demands increased. Even if your work hasn’t changed, the pace of life has increased as emails, technologies, and choices flood our lives. With increased responsibilities, loss, and overwhelm – and ultimately, stress – we tend to emotionally retract into a defensive posture. We can… Read More
What Matters – From Side Dish to Main Course
Guest Contributor for My L.A. Lifestyle At a barbecue the other night, a new acquaintance was telling me that she had the hardest time staying motivated to do her job. She’s a single mom raising two teenagers, so she needs her steady income. But to feed her spirit, she has a robust side-business teaching children to play instruments. Essentially, she’s working two jobs. The job that has her feeling like she’s really engaged, where she really loses herself in the activity of her work? Teaching music. Is it exhausting to do this and her regular job? Yes. But in an energized, fulfilling way that comes with knowing she’s made a difference. “It’s instant gratification,” she tells me. “I can see how these children develop and learn in one lesson, not to mention what they’ve learned by the time they perform at the recital,” she says, laughing. Her energy is up,… Read More
