There have been a TON of questions on here lately about what to wear to a conference in 2024’s weird fashion era… so let’s discuss! I’ll throw out some topics I’ve seen brought up and I’d love to see you guys weigh in on them in the comments… In the past, we’ve discussed the five things you must bring to conferences, how to network at conferences, and we even took a stab at what to wear to a beachy conference with a “resort business casual” attire. {related: The Ultimate Guide to Business Casual for Women} What Should You Wear to a Conference in 2024? A lot of the questions I’ve seen wonder ..read more

Sure, we all know what work wardrobe essentials professional women are supposed to have in their closets, but if you’re buying one for the first time or replacing one you’ve worn into the ground, it can be a pain to find exactly the right incarnation in stores. In “The Hunt,” we search the stores for a basic item that every woman should have. Today: we’re hunting for budget-friendly interview suits for women! Obviously, we cover a Suit of the Week every week, and we have our regularly updated Guide to Interview Suits as well as our recent overview of brands of suits for women for every b ..read more

I frequently fall down the rabbit hole of updating super old posts, and today I found my way to our previous posts rounding up stylish business card cases for women. Which made me wonder: is anyone still using business cards? (Or business card cases?) If you are, what information do you think is the most helpful to have on your card? (QR code?) Let’s discuss. (If you are still using business cards, do tell! If you’re buying/designing your own, what companies are your favorites? What is your favorite business card case, or spot to display business cards in your office?) (I still do have my bu ..read more

Readers recently had a great discussion about how to survive a merger, so I thought we’d round up some of their tips… The original question asker identified herself as a manager in a small to medium company undergoing a merger/acquisition. She noted that she was staying on, but she’d never been through an acquisition before. Readers chimed in with great tips… How to Survive a Merger Be Flexible Don’t be adverse to change, those people get cut first. Manage Up to Prove Your Worth and Set Boundaries Make sure you manage up well, because the acquiring company is always looking to find redundanc ..read more

We’ve all had those meetings: Every attendee in an 8-person, 10-person, 15-person group goes around, one by one, and gives a general, rambling update. Today’s post on how to stay focused in meetings is designed for times like that and more, as well as for neurodiverse people who find meetings challenging. If you’re prone to a wandering mind, or your brain makes meetings challenging for you, what are your best tips for how to stay focused in meetings? In general, how do you pay attention when you’re tired, distracted, bored, not feeling well, or all of the above? {related: how to manage ADHD ..read more

There was an interesting thread on Reddit a while ago about job perks — readers, what employee benefits and perks does your company offer, and how are you optimizing these perks? There are, after all, a TON of them out there — I was blown away compiling this list!! — and there’s a lot of money involved. In the past, we’ve discussed how many vacation days we get, and tech budgets, and (eons ago) we had a guest post from my friend Sue on how she saves $10,000 a year by maxing out her work benefits, including her flex-spending account, commuter spending account, and dependent care spending accou ..read more

Whether you’re still early in your career or have been working in your field for years, most people have room to improve their networking skills. Today we’re rounding up a few great books about networking for professional women — how to get the most benefit from it and how to use it to help friends and colleagues. These three books — two focused solely on networking and one more generally about interpersonal reactions at work and beyond. We’d love to hear your recs, too! If you need tips on building a network, keeping it strong, and aiming to get your career needs met by your contacts, check ..read more

Readers had a great threadjack on how to keep your notes organized — and it’s been far too long since we’ve talked about this! What are your tips and tricks for keeping your notes organized, whether it’s notes about job-related matters or personal issues like healthcare? Do you use one system for work matters, and one system for personal issues? For my $.02… How I’ve Always Kept My Work-Related Notes Organized Nothing I’ve found since has beaten the system I came up with when I was a lawyer working for a BigLaw firm… as I noted back in my post on how to organize your office: I would keep one ..read more

The WSJ had an article recently entitled, “Is Your LinkedIn Headshot Holding You Back? How to Master a Stylish Professional Portrait,” (gift link), and I thought it might make an interesting discussion here. We’ve talked about headshots before, of course, but we haven’t directly talked about this. (More specifically, we’ve talked about general best practices for headshots, what to wear for headshots, when to update your headshot, how to work with a corporate photographer’s hair and makeup team, and how to get a great corporate headshot in glasses.) Here’s the problem, as the article sets it ..read more

Just like “influencer,” which sounded ridiculous when we first started hearing about it, the concept of “personal branding” seemed kind of silly when it became a thing several years ago — but now they’re common. We haven’t focused on personal branding since 2015 (!), so for today’s open thread, let’s talk about it! So that we’re all on the same page for a discussion, we’ll share a couple of definitions of personal branding. It definitely isn’t just for entrepreneurs, influencers, and “thought leaders,” though those individuals’ techniques don’t always overlap those of “traditional” employees ..read more