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For today’s Money Snapshot, we’re talking salary, net worth, debt, and more with reader L, who is 36 and works as a non-equity partner at an AmLaw 200 law firm. She lives in the suburbs of Minneapolis with her family of five.

Please remember that this is is a real person who has feelings and isn’t gaining anything from this, unlike your usual friendly (soul-deadened, thick-skinned, cold-hearted, money-grubbing) blogger — so please be kind with any comments. Thank you! — Kat

Name: L
Location: Minneapolis suburbs
Age: 36
Occupation: Non-equity partner at an AmLaw 200 law firm (80% schedule)
Income: $280,000 — I am theoretically bonus-eligible but my firm does not pay large bonuses and my transactional practice area has big swings in hours, so I never count on it.
Family: Husband is also 36; he is a stay-at-home dad to our three children and has been for almost a decade.
Household income: $280,000
Household net worth: ~$300,000
Net worth when started working: I started working at age 15, when my net worth was 0. My parents paid my college tuition but I paid for my living expenses. I got married after college and worked part time for a few years before law school. I graduated from law school and started working at a BigLaw firm when I was 27.
Living situation: Own home

Debt

How much debt do you have currently?
$300,000 left on our mortgage and $60,000 left on my law school loans. No car payment or credit card debt.

What does your debt picture look like?
We have never had credit card debt. I had about $160,000 in law school debt when I graduated. I’ve refinanced a couple times when interest rates were favorable, and we’ve been making the scheduled payments; we have about four years left on it. We bought a house for $375,000 two years ago and have a standard 30-year mortgage on which we make the scheduled payments.

How much money are you spending each month to pay down debt?
We pay $2,150 on our mortgage and $1,250 on my student loans. Both are at very low interest rates so we are not paying them down aggressively.

How did you pay for school?
My husband and I both had National Merit scholarships for undergrad and our parents paid the remaining tuition. We both paid for our own living expenses with part-time jobs and debt, so we had some debt when we graduated, which we paid off before I started law school. I again had about a 33% scholarship for law school (I paid out-of-state tuition at a state school); my husband worked full time (while he went to school too) while I was in law school, which paid our living expenses, and I took out loans for the remaining tuition.

Do you own or rent? How much do you pay monthly?
We own. In addition to our $2,150/month mortgage, we average about $550/month for utilities.

Home debt: Share your theories and strategies with us (including any that lead you to rent rather than own). 
We rented for many years while we lived in a higher-cost-of-living city; in retrospect we probably should have bought but we valued our mobility/ease of switching jobs, etc., at that time and didn’t want to be encumbered with a mortgage.

We purchased a house two years ago before interest rates started to rise, and because our interest rate is so low we have no intention of paying it off early; it will still be paid off before we hit retirement age. We bought much less house than we could have technically afforded because my husband stays home, we have a nanny, and our kids go to private school, and we are not willing to compromise on any of those things, so we keep our housing expenses down.

Have you paid off any major debt? 
No dramatic success stories, just the normal college and law school debt.

Have you ever done anything noteworthy to avoid or lessen debt?
I joke that we live a 1950s middle-class lifestyle — we have one income, one stay-at-home spouse, one old car in a one-car garage, a small 1950s house in a not-fancy, first-ring suburb, one small television and one radio, one road trip summer vacation, one push mower, and a handy husband who can fix most things himself. It’s a good life!

Savings, Investments & Retirement 

How much do you save each month or year in retirement vehicles like 401Ks, Roth IRAs, and others?
About $25,000/year. Our accountant is always pushing us to save more, and we should, but we don’t.

How much money do you allocate to other tax-savvy investments/accounts like HSAs, 529s, FSAs, and others?
$7,750 to our HSA

How much do you save outside of retirement accounts?
We use YNAB so all our money has a job; we don’t have amorphous “savings.” We have about $90,000 sitting in high-yield checking/savings accounts at any given time, and $40,000 in a brokerage account, but that money is allocated to known upcoming expenses, like estimated quarterly tax payments, private school tuition paid in a lump sum in August, a $50,000 home renovation project we have planned.

Talk to us about investments: Do you have/use a financial adviser or planner?
We do not currently have a financial adviser. My husband is a hobbyist and manages everything himself, and has outperformed the market for the last 12 years so I let him do it.

Do you have an end goal for saving or are you just saving for a rainy day?
We do not really “save.” We have some small retirement savings, although I don’t know if I will ever be really ready to retire — I love working. We have a lot of more immediate needs like home renovation projects and private school tuition and summer camp.

Our plan is basically for my husband to get a job if we need more money for the kids when they are in college — we don’t have extra money for college savings now. I hope to be an equity partner with a higher income at some point, or could go back to a full-time schedule if we really needed the money.

When did you start saving seriously? How has your savings strategy changed over the years?
Other than retirement savings and an emergency fund equal to three months’ expenses, we don’t have any extra income beyond what we need for each year’s expenses. We have amounts earmarked for vacations, home repairs, a new car, etc., but I don’t really consider that “savings” because we will definitely need a new car at some point, our house will definitely need maintenance and repair, we will definitely take a vacation — these things are not unknowable expenses so we just budget for them in advance.

What’s the #1 thing you’re doing to save money, limit spending, or live frugally?
I think the big thing is living in an average house in an average-cost-of-living area — that keeps all our other expenses down.

Do you have an estate plan in place? A trust? 
We have a simple estate plan but there isn’t much in our “estate” — house, life insurance, and retirement accounts — so it’s not complicated.

How much do you have in cash that’s available today?
$90,000

How much do you have in cash that’s available in a week? 
An additional $40,000

How much is in your “emergency fund,” and did you include it in the previous question?
$25,000 in a high-yield savings account (included in the $90,000 available cash)

How much do you have in retirement savings?
$225,000 between me and my husband

How much do you have in long-term investments and savings (CDs, index funds, stocks) that are not behind a retirement wall?
$15,000

If property values (home, car) are included in your net worth, how much are those worth?
House is worth about $375,000.

Spending 

How much do you spend on the following categories on a monthly basis?

Groceries: $2,235
Restaurants, bars, takeout, and delivery: $356
Clothing and accessories: $583
Transportation: $300 (car insurance, vehicle maintenance, gas, transit, parking)
Rent/living expenses: $2,627
Kid-related expenses: $4,000
Entertainment: $361

Health care – premiums and other costs: Our premium for a high-deductible plan is $16,487 for a family of five. We contribute $7,750 to an HSA and typically need all of that for deductibles and co-pays. (We have two family members with complicated and treatment-intensive chronic medical conditions.) We also spend about $120/month on supplements and alternative treatments not covered by health insurance or reimbursable through the HSA.

Other major expenses:

• $800 for home renovation/home maintenance (budgeted each month, often spent in a chunk on a single project/issue)
• $700 for what I call “household and personal care” — linens, makeup, soap, trash bags, home décor, haircuts, toothpaste, etc. — things that are not groceries and not clothing but ordinary expenses of living
• $500 for life and disability insurance
• $350 for housecleaning
• $350 for travel (budgeted, often spent in a chunk one to two times per year)
• $250 for phone (including landline so our children can talk to their friends), internet, streaming services and website hosting fees (for our family website)
• $200 for entertaining expenses above groceries — We host big parties a couple times a year and have 10–15 people for dinner weekly.
• $150 household gym membership

What’s your spending range for these things? What’s your average?

Vacations – Range: Most of our travel is to visit family and costs less than $3,000 per trip. Our honeymoon on Maui would have been our most expensive trip except it was mostly paid for by family as a wedding present. We also took a bar trip but that also cost about $3,000.
Vacations – Average: $3,000

Charity – Average donation or giving amount: $600/month, $400 of which goes to our church

Individual items of clothing – Range: $0–$600

Apartment or house – Current main residence: $375,000

Car or other vehicle – current main vehicle: $14,000 for our minivan (bought from a family member below-market as a baby gift)

Fill in the blank on this question: I could save _____ if I stopped ______, but I don’t because _______.
I could save $650/month if I stopped buying the majority of our groceries directly from sustainable farmers, but I don’t because the nutrition and ethical commitment of sustainable and traditional foodways are important values for our family.

If you’re married: When was your wedding, how much did it cost (total), and how much did YOU pay?
We got married in 2010. I think our wedding cost about $11,000 for close to 200 guests; we paid about $500 (for my dress and tailoring on his suit), and my parents paid the rest. My husband’s parents paid for the rehearsal dinner and some activities for out-of-town guests the day before the wedding; I’m not sure how much that cost altogether but likely less than $1,500 (but this was 13 years ago so who knows!).

Wedding: Tell us about it!
Not fancy, very religious. I am definitely of the opinion that when it comes to weddings, the more children there are running around and the less money you spend, the more likely your marriage is to be successful. (I know, I know, everyone has many counterexamples to this, it’s fine, your marriage is fine, I’m happy for you.)

Have any large medical expenses (including nursing homes) for yourself or others played a role in your financial picture?
We just plan to hit our deductible every year and plan accordingly.

How has your family provided financial support in your adult life, if any? (Or, do you provide support to them?)
We’ve received small gifts from parents at critical points — a few hundred up to a thousand here or there when we were first married and needed a major car repair, or when we needed just a bit more to have a full down payment for our house.

Does your family provide any non-financial support? 
My mom and dad live a couple hours away but are very involved and supportive of our life! We leave the kids with them or they come watch the kids when one or both of us is traveling, and they occasionally pay for a summer family vacation in lieu of Christmas/birthday presents so that we can be together with all my siblings and their children.

Money Strategy 

Do you have a general money strategy?
YNAB — give every dollar a job! We have kept track of every last cent together since we got married 13+ years ago and it helps us make sure we are spending in line with our values and are prepared for the normal expenses of living.

Time vs. money — do you spend money to save time (e.g., cleaning service)? Do you donate your time instead of money? What else does this phrase mean to you?
Yes, we have a very high value on our time while our children are young — they are only little for such a short time and, hopefully, we will be able to work for a very long time. (We are heavily insured with disability/life insurance if not.)

So we have prioritized being able to spend meaningful time with our kids while they live in our house, participating in their education and giving them an unhurried childhood at home. I could work full time and make way more money; my husband could work and we could increase our household income by 75% (based on his salary before he stayed home), but we would miss so much more of our kids’ lives then and it is not worth it to us.

What are your favorite resources for personal finance?
My husband! He has read a master’s-degree worth of economics and personal finance books.

What advice would you give your younger self about personal finance?
Probably should have done what we could to have bought a house earlier… but we didn’t want to. So.

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Want more posts like this? These are some of the latest Money Snapshots…

This post may contain affiliate links and Corporette® may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

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 out these books!

We’ve also discussed how to network when you’re junior, how to build a network and maintain it, alumni mentoring and networking, and networking in your niche — but outside your company. We’ve talked about what to wear to a business casual networking event and a recruiting dinner, as well as how to network with both older men and older women.

3 Books About Networking for Professional Women

Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time

by Keith Ferrazzi and Tahl Raz, 2014 (Amazon, Bookshop)

This frequently recommended book is a bestseller and has been called a classic and a networking bible. In the book, Keith Ferrazzi, an entrepreneur and executive team coach, emphasizes the importance of connecting your friends with other friends. He shuns the selfish, score-keeping style of networking while advising readers to build a network that helps them reach their goals and ensures everyone gets what they want.

Ferrazzi’s strategies include consistently keeping in touch with contacts, not just sporadically when you have a particular request; make sure to stay visible; and more. He also provides tips for handling rejection and other challenges you’ll encounter.

In an interview with Fast Company, Ferrazzi described the book’s message: “We came out and said the most important element of networking is building authentic, intimate relationships. And that to do so we need to lead with generosity, asking the question, how can I help you! We talked also about knowing how to ask for help among your friends.”

Praise for Never Eat Alone:

• “A business book that reads like a story — filled with personal triumphs and examples that leave no doubt to the reader that success in anything is built on meaningful relationships.” — James H. Quigley, CEO emeritus, Deloitte & Touche
• “Keith’s insights on how to turn a conference, a meeting, or a casual contact into an extraordinary opportunity for mutual success make invaluable reading for people in all stages of their professional and personal lives.” — Jeffrey E. Garten, Dean, Yale School of Management
• 4.4 rating at Amazon; 3.84 rating at Goodreads

Relationships at Work: How to Authentically Network within Your Company

by Rachel B. Simon, 2023 (Amazon, Bookshop)

If you’re specifically seeking advice on networking with coworkers, this is the resource for you. In this new book, Rachel B. Simon, a vice president at AT&T, gives of strategies on how to build authentic relationships at your employer across multiple levels, improve your collaboration, and maintain your personal network. She also provides helpful tools like email templates and checklists — and 200+ examples to illustrate her tips.

Simon’s publisher isn’t one of the large, traditional publishing companies and didn’t seem to get a ton of media attention for this book after it came out, so I didn’t manage to find reviews or interviews to share. However, it’s definitely a great tool that focuses on internal networking!

Praise for Relationships at Work:

• “The email templates and tips scattered throughout the book provide examples demonstrating that she can show as much as tell, and can lead us to a new way of thinking about how we can network and be ourselves at the same time.” — David Satchell, author of Extracting the Leader from Within
• “This book is a practical guide to help you create, foster, and deepen meaningful and inclusive relationships at work so you can build a rewarding and results-driven career.” — Kelli Thompson, author of Closing the Confidence Gap
• 5.0 rating on Amazon; 4.7 rating on Goodreads

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking

By Susan Cain, 2012 (Amazon/Bookshop)

This bestselling book isn’t specifically about networking, but it can provide insight to the one-third of us who are introverts. In Quiet, Susan Cain, a former corporate lawyer and consultant, explains introversion and how it’s become undervalued, and profiles several successful introverts. This book can help you look at networking in the context of your personality and give you a new perspective on your nature.

In an NPR interview, Cain explained, “Many people believe that introversion is about being antisocial, and that’s really a misperception. Because actually it’s just that introverts are differently social. So they would prefer to have a glass of wine with a close friend as opposed to going to a loud party full of strangers.”

Regarding networking specifically, an interview with Cain on her website offers some alternate methods of developing and strengthening professional connections — rather than, for example, attending big networking events. She suggests finding places to showcase your expertise via writing or giving talks to your colleagues, and connecting with others in small groups.

Praise for Quiet:

• “This book … will make introverts and extroverts alike think twice about the best ways to be themselves and interact with differing personality types.” — Library Journal
• “An intriguing and potentially life-altering examination of the human psyche that is sure to benefit both introverts and extroverts alike.” — Kirkus Reviews
• “I finished Quiet a month ago and I can’t get it out of my head. … It’s also a genius idea to write a book that tells introverts — a vast proportion of the reading public — how awesome and undervalued we are.” — The Guardian

Let’s hear it, readers: What are your favorite books about networking for professional women? Have you read any of the ones above?

Stock photo via Pexels / fauxels.

This post may contain affiliate links and Corporette® may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Readers who have stopped doing things you thought you “should”: What advice would you give on how to give less f*cks? A reader started an interesting thread a few months ago by saying she was “Looking for ‘f it’ attitude things,” and there were some really great answers, so let’s talk about it today!

Editor’s Note: I think it would physically pain me not to point out that we’re aware “how to give fewer f*cks” would be the grammatically correct phrase — but that would sound silly. /nitpicking

Lots of women say that reaching their 40s (or thereabouts) helped them developed a general “f*ck it” attitude. (See the poem “Warning” by Jenny Joseph — you know, the classic purple + red hats one.) Becoming a parent can also help — and it starts during labor and childbirth, when your inhibitions quickly go out the window.

One light and silly example: As a 40-something, I really do not care if random people think it’s odd that I’m middle-aged and sometimes wear Hello Kitty shirts or earrings. (Come on, she’s just so cute!) That isn’t to say that I entirely left behind any self-consciousness when I bid farewell to my 30s, because, no — but I care less about a lot of things.

{related: do you have a new “beauty minimum”? [CorporetteMoms]}

The pandemic and resulting pivot to remote work also made a big impact on many women’s ideas of how they “should” look and dress. Remember all those articles declaring “Women have stopped wearing bras!” and “Women have stopped wearing high heels!”? We did a post on this in mid-2020, in fact — and readers also shared their thoughts on it in this comment thread from 2021.

Along those lines, here’s a sampling of things readers mentioned in the more recent thread that they no longer do — or have never done:

• Social stuff: Finding the “perfect” gift, saying yes to social events you don’t want to attend, holding on to unwanted gifts rather than regifting/donating
• Appearance stuff: Caring about your weight, covering grays, removing body hair, wearing expensive clothes/makeup, wearing a coverup at the beach
• Work stuff: Baking/cooking for office potlucks, working late or on weekends if not necessary
• Home stuff: Going all-out for holidays, making your home pristine before hosting

Of course, some people love to do many of these things (I really enjoy finding the perfect gift and decorating a lot for holidays, for example), while others prefer to kick ’em to the curb.

{related: do, delegate, NOPE: holiday edition [CorporetteMoms]}

So, readers, do tell: What do you say “f*ck it!” to? What things did you used to find important (or think you should find important) but now couldn’t care less about? Which of the habits in the bulleted list have you ditched — or love to do?

This post may contain affiliate links and Corporette® may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

For today’s Money Snapshot, we’re talking salary, net worth, debt, and more with reader D in the Midwest, who works as a government lawyer. A mom of two, she noted, “Kids don’t need ‘the best’ of everything — your time is the most important thing you can give them.”

We got a few requests from readers to launch our own “money diary” series, so we’ve asked willing readers to fill out a form with lots of details about debt, spending, saving, and more! If you’d like to fill out the form and be considered for a future personal money snapshot, please click here to submit your response! You can see a PDF of the questions if you want to review them ahead of time. See others in the Personal Money Snapshot series here.

Please remember that this is is a real person who has feelings and isn’t gaining anything from this, unlike your usual friendly (soul-deadened, thick-skinned, cold-hearted, money-grubbing) blogger — so please be kind with any comments. Thank you! — Kat

Name: D
Location: Midwest, MCOL
Age: 46
Occupation: Government lawyer
Income: Around $160,000 per year ($140,000 from main job; $20,000 from side gig)
Family: Spouse, 43, married 12 years; two kids
Household income: Varies, but around $400,000
Net worth: Combined net worth is around $900,000
Net worth when started working: Age 14 — net worth of nothing
Living situation: Married, own home
If you have children, how much do you spend for childcare and/or education? Two kids, $25,000/year daycare, afterschool for elem.

Debt

What does your debt picture look like?
No debt other than mortgage — around $180,000

How much money are you spending each month to pay down debt?
Mortgage around $1,900/mo.

How did you pay for school?
Split cost of college with divorced parents (we each paid one third; I took out a small loan for my third). I paid grad school and law school without parental help through work study, scholarships, and loans. Always worked as well, except 1L year when prohibited.

Home debt: Share your theories and strategies with us (including any that lead you to rent rather than own). 
We chose a home that is much less than we could technically afford — it’s a weird house in a great neighborhood. We bought at a good time and at a very low rate. We’ve made modifications over the years to accommodate more kids, two home offices, etc.

Have you paid off any major debt? 
Paid off all grad/law school debt (around $100,000) within seven years of graduation by living frugally, making large payments, and (key) delaying mortgage/children until nearly paid off.

Have you ever done anything noteworthy to avoid or lessen debt, such as cashing out your 401K early?No

Savings, Investments & Retirement 

How much do you save each month or year in retirement vehicles like 401Ks, Roth IRAs, and others?
Max out 401K through work, contribute $500/mo. towards investments.

How much money do you allocate to other tax-savvy investments/accounts like HSAs, 529s, FSAs, and others?
We contribute at least $5,000 per year to kids’ 529s with refund from childcare account.

How much do you save outside of retirement accounts?
None, but we spend less than we make each month. Just sits in the account until we make large deposits once or twice a year into joint investment account.

Talk to us about investments. Do you have/use a financial adviser or planner?
We use a financial advisor and trust his allocation.

Do you have an end goal for saving or are you just saving for a rainy day?
Would love to retire early, but my youngest doesn’t graduate high school until I’m 60, so…

When did you start saving seriously? How has your savings strategy changed over the years?
Always. Grew up poor.

What’s the #1 thing you’re doing to save money, limit spending, or live frugally?
Limited expenses — public schools, eat most meals in, limited entertainment budget.

Do you have an estate plan in place? A trust? 
Not yet, but would like to get one set up for kids.

How much do you have in cash that’s available today?
At least $100,000

How much do you have in cash that’s available in a week? 
$300,000

How much do you have in retirement savings?
$400,000 between the two of us

How much do you have in long-term investments and savings (CDs, index funds, stocks) that are not behind a retirement wall?
$300,000

If property values (home, car) are included in your net worth, how much are those worth?
House, around $575,000 (purchased for $345,000 nine years ago); cars, negligible

Spending 

How much do you spend on the following categories on a monthly basis?

Groceries: $800
Restaurants, bars, takeout, and delivery: $200
Clothing and accessories: $50
Transportation: $150
Rent/living expenses: $1,900 mortgage
Entertainment: $50
Other major expenses: Travel 1–2 times per year, $5,000 annual
Health care – premiums and other costs: $250/month for family coverage (gov’t employer)

What’s your spending range for these things? What’s your average?

Vacations – Range: $1,000–$6,000
Vacations – Average: $3,000

Charity – Range of donations: n/a
Charity – Average donation or giving amount: $3,000/year

Apartment or house – Current main residence: $1,900/mo.

Fill in the blank on this question: I could save _____ if I stopped ______, but I don’t because _______.
I could save $250 month if I used drugstore-brand skin care and stopped yoga gym/occasional Botox, but I don’t because I’ve earned the right to spend a little on myself.

If you’re married: When was your wedding, how much did it cost (total), and how much did YOU pay?
Paid for ourselves, $5,000

Wedding: Tell us about it!
Small event in a local park, nice lunch for 40 or so guests

If you own, how much did your car cost?
$30,000 Honda CRV, paid cash

Have any large medical expenses (including nursing homes) for yourself or others played a role in your financial picture?
IVF: $30,000 for one procedure that, thankfully, worked

At any point in your life to date, has inheritance played a role in your money situation?
Not yet, but anticipated

How has your family provided financial support in your adult life, if any? (Or, do you provide support to them?)
No

Does your family provide any non-financial support? 
Occasional childcare, more by request from them than need from us

Money Strategy 

Do you have a general money strategy?
Be poor at least once in your life — no better way to learn how to manage expenses than if you have to by necessity.

Time vs. money — do you spend money to save time (e.g., cleaning service)? Do you donate your time instead of money? What else does this phrase mean to you?
Spend on cleaning service — weekends are for family time. Also, kids don’t need “the best” of everything — your time is the most important thing you can give them.

What are your favorite resources for personal finance?
None

What advice would you give your younger self about personal finance?
Don’t live beyond your means. If you can, live frugally and spend down on debt before taking on expenses of a house/kids. Buying nicer groceries is still cheaper than eating out. Goodwill plus tailoring will serve you well for work clothes for a long while.

Icons via Stencil.

Want more posts like this? These are some of the latest Money Snapshots…

This post may contain affiliate links and Corporette® may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

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 (ugh) “thought leaders,” though their techniques don’t always overlap those of “traditional” employees.

Your reputation is made up of the opinions and beliefs people form about you based on your collective actions and behaviors. Your personal brand, on the other hand, is much more intentional. It is how you want people to see you. Whereas reputation is about credibility, your personal brand is about visibility and the values that you outwardly represent. — Harvard Business Review

A personal brand is a marketing strategy to promote yourself and your career. When creating your personal brand, you can consider your unique talents, skills and goals that distinguish you from your peers. Understanding how to create a personal brand can help you manage your professional image and market your skills and experiences to attract potential employers. — Indeed

{related: how to work with a recruiter: 7 great tips}

Interestingly, this topic hasn’t come up all that frequently in Corporette comments over the years, but a peek at Google Trends shows steady growth of web searches for “personal brand” since the time of our last post. Most of the comments around personal branding here have been negative (i.e., “Um, no, how silly”) but then most of the lengthiest conversations took place in 2016 and earlier.

Readers, now that we’re in 2024, we’re interested to hear about how much you think about your personal brand, how you develop it, and what your goals are for how others see you as a professional? What tools do you use? Are you in a career or have an employer that limits you in how you build your personal brand — for example, where blogging about your profession would be a no-no? Do you feel that your personal brand is more or less important if you’re not getting a lot of face time with your superiors?

{related: are there differences between LinkedIn and your resume?}

Fun fact: “Influencer” in its original sense was first used in 1662.

Further reading:

• “How to Define, Develop, and Communicate Your Personal Brand” [Harvard Business Review, 2023]
• “Personal Branding in the Digital Age: A Guide for Lawyers and Senior Business Professionals” [The Social Media Butterfly, 2023]
• “The Importance of Personal Branding for Junior Lawyers: A Roadmap to Success” [The National Law Review, 2023]
• “Your personal brand is crucial for your next promotion and raise. Here’s how to create one” [Yahoo!Finance, 2023]

Stock photo via Deposit Photos / nevenova.

This post may contain affiliate links and Corporette® may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Sure, we all know what wardrobe essentials for work 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.

If you’ve been hunting for dressy tops for work outfits that have that special something, we have some great suggestions — and we’d love to hear yours. These are all machine washable, and can easily be worn beneath blazers for a more conservative office environment, or just worn by themselves with trousers for a more business casual style.

For purposes of this post, we’re not including (links go to our round-up posts):

We’ve rounded up all of those in the past, and we’ll put our latest favorites at the bottom of this post… but for purposes of today, we’re hunting for that hard-to-define top that can really elevate any work outfit, and effortlessly add style and polish…

In general, tops we’re including might have features like the following… (links all go to Nordstrom if you want to see the most recent options they have)…

{related: The Ultimate Guide to Business Casual for Women}

The Best Dressy Tops for Work Outfits

M.M.LaFleur

Some might call this blousy T-shirt from M.M.LaFleur just, you know, a blouse — I’m including it in this roundup because it feels somehow more than a blouse with the draping, slight peplum, and dolman sleeves — but it also feels like it’s as easy to wear as a T-shirt. (In fact, the brand notes that this top is “the intersection of three of our favorite things: a classic tee shape, elegant draping, and machine-washable, travel-friendly fabric.”)

The shirt is 100% polyester and can be machine-washed; it currently comes in three colors, sizes XS-XXL. Also great: their Antonia top (an elevated V-neck that feels more like a blouse) and their Jin top, a button-front knit with a wide square neck.

Boden

This jersey T-shirt from Boden with tiny pom details at the crewneck and sleeves is lovely — such a great way to elevate a crewneck. I also like the slightly puffed sleeves, and the keyhole at the back.

The T-shirt comes in five colors — green and navy have multicolored poms, while red, black and white have poms that match the shirt for a monotone look. It’s $50 at Boden, available in sizes 2-22.

Modern Citizen

Modern Citizen has a number of clothes that feature this polished wrap effect — this slightly cropped T-shirt also has it.

The shirt comes in six colors, in sizes XS-1X — we’ve pictured the “blue grey” option.

Amazon Seller Avanova

I recently saw this top from Amazon seller Avanova featured in a Buzzfeed roundup, and liked it a lot — it has a really elegant look but for a super affordable price. The top comes in the half-sleeve version pictured as well as a sleeveless, short-sleeve, and long-sleeve version; all options are under $35 and come in about 30 colors in sizes XS-3X.

The material is a polyester/rayon/Spandex blend — they suggest “hand wash only,” but I would definitely put it in a delicates bag in the machine.

(One of the reader favorite sellers, Milumia, has a two sleeveless options that are really similar; so does seller Sweaty Rocks.)

{related: what to buy at Amazon for work outfits}

Saint & Sofia

This cowl-neck tee from Saint & Sofia looks great — it has an almost classic elegance to it. I’ve pictured it in this pretty blue floral pattern, but most of the 9 color options are solids. The shirt is made out of an “sustainable eco viscose,” which the brand describes as having a “silky smooth hand feel,” but the brand does not that it’s machine washable.

The top is $44, and comes in US sizes 2-18; they also have camisoles, dresses, and long-sleeved tees featuring a cowl neck as well.

The Fold London

This top is one of the OGs when I think about this kind of top — it isn’t quite a blouse or T-shirt, definitely not a sweater — but it’s not a blazer either. I’ve always thought it lends a ton of authority and polish to practically any outfit, whether you wear it with jeans or more formal trousers.

The top comes in 9 options, including sleeveless ones, at The Fold, available in US sizes 2-14, and the brand notes that it is “cool machine hand wash, at least in this “Clever Crepe” material.

Looking for a dupe? Amazon seller Grace Karin has a few similar options, including this top under $50.

Amour Vert

I’m putting this top from Amour Vert at the bottom because it’s down to lucky sizes, and unclear if they’ll be bringing it back — but I love that little twist detail at the neckline!

Maeve

This striped “corset peplum top” from Maeve is worth mentioning also — the stripes make it feel inherently casual, but the corset detailing, peplum, and puff sleeves all make this the kind of top you can wear to work or weekend without much else for adornment. It’s available in regular, petite, and plus sizes for $68, and comes in three colors (green, white, and black).

Other Great Tops for Work Outfits

These tops all fall into more distinct categories… here are our latest favorites from each category!

Work Appropriate T-Shirts

Dressy T-Shirts with Sophisticated Prints

Looking for T-shirts with fun but professional prints for 2024? Some classic brands to check include Ted Baker, Boden, and The Kit. These may be on the more casual side, but also look at Sanctuary, Caslon, and Tommy Bahama.

Great Sweaters for Work

Short-Sleeved Sweaters

Silky Blouses

100% Silk Tops for Work Outfits

Silky Button-Front Blouses

Crisp Button-Front Blouses for Women

Sleeveless Work Tops

Like this feature? Check out other recent installments!

This post may contain affiliate links and Corporette® may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Here’s a fairly broad open thread question for today: Do you feel like new employees at your company or firm are less prepared than in previous years? If your office allows a lot of WFH days, how does onboarding look in 2024 — and how does mentorship look? What things are working in your company, and which ones really, really aren’t?

There have been a TON of articles about this in the past 12-16 months. According to the WSJ (gift link):

The shortcomings run the gamut from general knowledge, including how to make change at a register, to soft skills such as working with others. Employers are spending more time and resources searching for candidates and often lowering expectations when they hire. Then they are spending millions to fix new employees’ lack of basic skills. 

This sentiment was echoed by a few responses in the most recent Corporette survey,* with some people commenting things such as:

• Junior associates are woefully unprepared to be professional. Work ethic has seriously changed.
• It seems like fewer and fewer of our junior employees have any work experiences outside of professional settings or internships, and it makes them very out of touch with the real world.
• The newer hires seem to be less prepared to work with teams.

Obviously one huge way companies are trying to address this is by forcing employees to return to the office… but that tends to be wildly unpopular. Which then begs the question: How has onboarding changed at your company? How has mentorship changed? Whether you’re a senior manager or a new worker just out of school, I’d love to hear your thoughts…

Readers, what are you seeing at your companies? Do you feel like new employees are less prepared than they were in previous years? (Or is this just a generational thing, and not a “loss of learning”/pandemic issue?) Do you think this is something that better onboarding and better mentoring can fix?

* I’m still reviewing the Corporette survey, but hope to share some of the info soon. The winners were picked back in December, and all have accepted their gift cards — congrats to B, K, and K!

Stock photo via Stencil.

This post may contain affiliate links and Corporette® may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Hours of super-dry air, plus poor-quality sleep (while your hair’s flattened against the seat) are guaranteed to make everyone look a bit worse for wear after being on a plane. Fortunately for you frequent fliers, readers recently had a great threadjack about how to look good after a long flight, and we’re sharing their — and our — tips!

What are your favorite ways to look your best after a flight (for the situations where you feel it matters, that is)?

Especially if you find yourself in a situation where you can’t get early check-in at your hotel — and don’t have access to an airline lounge for showering — these tips will help you look presentable after a flight, and feel a bit better, too.

How to Look Good After a Long Flight: Readers’ Best Advice

Use dry shampoo to freshen up airplane-hair: Of course, no seatmate wants to have that stuff sprayed near their face, so save it for the airport restroom or, if you’re sure it won’t linger, the airplane bathroom. One reader recommended MoroccanOil post-flight, and in the past we’ve recommended dry shampoos from Batiste, Hask, and Psssst!.

More hair tips: One reader also recommended showering right before you fly to have your hair as clean as possible when you board — and others suggested putting long hair up in a claw clip or silk scrunchie.

Stay hydrated: You’ll feel better if you make sure to drink water in the ultra-dry air (only 10-20% humidity!) and avoid alcohol. I also like bringing saline spray to moisturize my sinuses: Arm & Hammer’s Simply Saline Nasal Mist. It comes out in a fine spray rather than more liquid-y like other saline products. (Anyone else strive to avoid the restroom by drinking minimal water? Bad habit of mine. I chug a drink when I land.)

Remember: Don’t drink any water on a plane unless it’s bottled (eww)!

{related: what’s your favorite suitcase: hard-sided or soft-sided?}

Remember to moisturize: Because drinking water won’t really help hydrate your skin, facial moisturizer and lip balm are key. (Vaseline stopped making the basic Lip Therapy that I loved — nooooo — but I’m still using ones from my Amazon hoard.) One great option for a flight is tinted lip balm, because when you arrive exhausted, you don’t have to deal with precise lipstick application. I love Burt’s Bees tinted balm, and Kat’s recs are in this post.

One reader recommended performing your evening skincare routine when you board an overnight flight. To soothe your hands during flying, slip a travel-size bottle of rich (unscented) lotion in your bag, and for facial moisturizer, you might as well use one with SPF so that you’ll be protected when you land.

Bring a facial product to perk up when you land: Before I go on a long trip, I buy a travel pack of facial cleansing wipes, often from Cetaphil. Not only do they clean your face a bit, but the cool(ish) feeling wakes me up (a bit). If you wear mascara and you expect it to be smudged underneath your eyes after hours on the plane, bring makeup remover wipes like these, also from Cetaphil.

Don’t bother with contacts, that is, unless you want to wake up mid-flight with extra-dry eyes. They’ll feel dry enough without napping as it is! If you have a shorter flight and you do wear them, I recommend Bausch & Lomb’s Sensitive Eyes Rewetting Drops to keep eyes happy. And don’t forget to bring extra lenses in case of mishaps.

When I wear glasses, I make sure to bring a sturdy glasses case to protect them when I (try to) sleep. Also bring a travel-sized lens cleaner and cleaning cloth so you don’t have to deal with a dirty tissue

{related: dressing stylishly but comfortably: what to wear for a long flight}

Skip the full face of makeup: If you want to apply something at your destination, readers recommended bringing basic makeup (mascara, lipstick) to apply in the airport bathroom. For my bare skin on flights, I like to use blotting papers when my skin gets oily to compensate for the dry air. I’ve used Clean & Clear’s version for years and always keep them in my everyday bag.

If you can’t change right away when you arrive, wear knits or other clothes that won’t wrinkle: One reader commented, “My favorite travel outfit is a long-sleeve black knit dress with scarf and sunglasses and flats. I look presentable enough for wherever I may need to go when I land whether casual or more dressy.” Remember to bring a cardigan or cozy wrap for the chilly air.

Consider compression socks: They’re not just for Grandma! Compression socks help increase circulation in your legs, reduce swelling, and make blood clots less likely. Healthline has a ton of tips for wearing them, and Bombas makes some pretty cute ones.

Freshen up your teeth: If you have a meeting really soon after your flight, for example, consider bringing Wisp disposable toothbrushes, which don’t require water. (I’ll warn you, they have a VERY strong mint flavor. It’ll perk you right up, though!) You can also bring a regular toothbrush, of course (but for me, the idea of using an airplane bathroom’s or airport restroom’s faucet to brush my teeth gives me the ick.)

Let’s hear it, readers: How do you arrive after a long light looking your best — or your best-ish? Any tips for getting early check-in at your hotel?

Stock photo via Pexels / Gustavo Fring.

This post may contain affiliate links and Corporette® may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

The last time we rounded up great TikTokers to follow was almost two years ago now, and since we have a feeling many Corporette readers have jumped on the (addictive) bandwagon since then, today we’re highlighting some of the accounts with the best career advice on Instagram and TikTok. (Also, job humor, because sometimes if you don’t laugh, you’ll scream). (The content differs slightly for each of them from IG to TikTok.)

If you’ve got your own recommendations, please drop their names in the comments!

(We realize there are also many never-would-use-TikTok-in-a-million-years readers, and for those of you, feel free to sit this one out or let us know your favorite career experts on LinkedIn, Instagram, and other platforms.)

The Best Career Advice on Instagram and TikTok

1. @corporatenatalie (@corporatenatalie on IG)

We included @corporatenatalie in our first TikTok post and we just have to feature her again. Less career advice than career commiseration, she pokes fun at corporate life (and life in general) with relatable sketches about things like working from home, irritating coworkers, generational differences at work, and more.

2. @allifromcorporate0 / Allison Peck (@allifromcorporate0 on IG)

@allifromcorporate0’s profile declares, “I help early career STEM professionals get jobs.” The career specialist makes videos all about the world of job-hunting and provides tips on interviewing, public speaking, networking, corporate culture, and more. She also has a podcast and book.

3. @yourrichbff / Vivian Tu (@your.richbff on IG)

@yourrichbff was recently recommended by one of our readers — but she was also on our radar — and the ex-Wall Street trader focuses on financial literacy. (We’re including her because of the major overlap between personal finance and career, of course!) @yourrichbff has lots of other resources, like a podcast, newsletter, and book.

4. @loewhaley / Laura Whaley (@loewhaley on IG)

@loewhaley’s career advice videos (plus lots of funny, relatable ones) cover topics like working from home, stylish workwear, and communication at work. For example, her video series “How Do You Say?” helps her followers professionally and diplomatically express things like “That’s way above my pay grade” or “Do your job.”

5. apowermood / Sam DeMase (@powermood on IG)

Reader-recommended @apowermood is a career coach and author who specializes in career guidance for women in the corporate world. Topics include salary negotiation, body language, leadership, resumes, interviews, workplace culture, and more. She also has a workwear line!

6. Honorable Mention: techgirljen / Jennifer Dove (@techgirljen on IG)

While this TikToker focuses on tech tips, her videos are career-advice-adjacent! Though iPhone tips are @techgirljen’s bread and butter, she also offers smart, time-saving tips for Apple Watch, TikTok, Google Docs, Google search, and more (y’know, the ones that make you go, “OH! You can do that?!”). PSA for parents: You can get @techgirljen’s guide to Google Classroom free right now.

Readers, do tell: Which accounts do you think have the best career advice on Instagram and TikTok? What other social media apps do you get career tips from?