Tips to Corporate Newbies from YouTube

I came across this video this evening and it is filled with gems of corporate wisdom that I wish I had known when I first started in corporate. The video is rather long, but so worth watching. I have no rights to this video

How to “Play The Game” at Work: What No One Ever Tells You

On Being Tied to a Phone…Quick Rant

My current rotation is in a highly regimented, customer service based segment of our business. Being the free-spirited, ants-in-pants person that I am I have had some difficulty adjusting to this new environment. The most difficult part is that I am strapped to my seat and tied to my phone all day anxiously awaiting calls from our beloved customers. My issue comes not from the customer contact but from the imprisoned feeling that I experience while waiting. I cannot leave my seat without logging out of my phone for fear that I will miss a call. Sure enough when I forget to log out of my phone I miss a call and my name is entered into the spreadsheet of shame which is sent out daily for the entire office to see. Nice Pavielle! You failed to serve a customer in distress. What about my distress?? From sitting in one place for hours on end? Doesn’t matter? Ok cool.

Posh Entertainment Presents Je Ne Sais Quoi Part Deux

One thing that the lovely ladies of Posh Entertainment do very well is throw parties! Saturday before last I had the immense pleasure of attending their signature event at Paris Club in Chicago’s River North neighborhood.

Let me tell you…This party was ev-er-y-thing! The location was perfect. The dj’s…yes there was more than one…were gettin it in. The drinks were flowing. The most successful, fashionable, and beautiful people in Chicago were there. And you were EXPECTED to dance on the couches and tables! It was party heaven.

Now, all of this sounds fabulous already, but there’s more! Je Ne Sais Quoi was held during the day. What’s better than day drinking and partying with your favorite people in summertime Chi? Doing it at a Posh Party! People were walking by asking what was going on at Paris Club and how they could get in. The party had completely sold out several days before. Talk about exclusive 😎😏.

I’ve been to many Posh Entertainment events before, but this one took the cake. It is definitely their signature event for a reason. This party had the “it” factor…that one thing that took it over the top but you can’t quite put your finger on. Je Ne Sais Quoi was all of that!

Shameless Selfie

Want to see the rest of the photos from the day party? Go to the Posh Entertainment Facebook Page .

Be sure to follow my blog for info about more events like this one!

A Little Family Time

This Fourth of July weekend my family and I packed up a van and took a road trip back to where it all began. Arkansas! Now, I will be the first to admit that I am a city girl through and through, but it always warms my heart to get back to Arkansas to see my grandmother. There’s no feeling like driving up to her house and seeing her peek through the screen door to see who is in her yard.

On Friday, my brother and his kids put my grandma’s new smoker together while we sat around and chatted it up. Once they finished, my brother threw some steaks on the grill and we went in! Those were some of the best steaks I had eaten in a long time…mmmmmm.

Everything was fine and dandy until the sun went down and the mosquitos sensed northern blood. Baby! They did a number on me!! I have mosquito bites from head to toe..literally! There are bites from my forehead to my baby toe 😭😭. Off is like barbecue sauce to those little pests lol

We hung out with another side of our Arkansas family on Saturday, and had some more fun. My nephew caught THREE frogs, which he brought back to Chicago. Of course, plenty of baby chasing, spade playing, and storytelling went down throughout the weekend. Although it was a short trip, I think we all had a good time. Our trip to Arkansas was a much needed, well-timed getaway from city life. Now back to the hustle and bustle!

Networking at Blu Tuesday

I’ve come to learn that a very important part of being a young professional is the strength of your network. As someone who has recently entered the workforce I know that my network is a lot smaller and weaker than people who have been working for years, so I do what I can to increase my professional connections while having a little fun :).

This past Tuesday I had the chance to attend an event called Blu Tuesday. The event was held at Ivy Sky Terrace in downtown Chicago. This particular Blu Tuesday was organized so that Black professionals in the area could celebrate Juneteenth. This year marks 148 years of African American freedom!

Now, let me profess my love for a good rooftop before the summer really gets started and every post has pictures with the skyline. There’s nothing like a good rooftop view and let me tell you about the view from this event … It was amazing!! The hotel where the event was held was only a block or two from Chicago’s Mag Mile, so we had the best seats in the city to watch the sun set.

There were three things that really made this event work for me: (1) There were people there that I already knew. (2) There were just as many people there who I did not know. (3) The drinks were strong 😉. For me, having a good mix of friends and strangers at a networking event makes things a lot more comfortable. Your friends will probably know people at the event who you don’t know and they can introduce you. It’s also somewhat calming to know that after a long, possibly awkward conversation with a fellow professional you can go shoot the breeze with a friend for a LITTLE while. You definitely have to be careful not to just hang out with your friends at an event specifically for networking. You can go hang out with your friends any time! Use networking time to actually network. As for the strong drinks….who doesn’t need a little liquid courage when first meeting someone?!

Yes, networking events can be a little awkward at times, but the degree of awkwardness all depends on you. People are open and inviting at these events. I definitely try to take full advantage of such ideal conditions and you should too!

Under the Covers: Blink by Malcolm Gladwell

Since I love reading and you love reading my blog, I’ll be sharing some of the books that made it to my “I’m Gonna Finish You” reading list. I read everything from fiction to memoirs to magazines but not everything gets finished. I simply do not finish books that I don’t like.

Right now, I’m reading and finishing Blink by Malcolm Gladwell with one of my work book clubs. I’m about 75% finished and very pleasantly surprised. I had heard wonderful things about Gladwell and this particular book, but my personal expectations were moderate to low. I was almost certain that Blink would be your typical “manipulate your business thinking” book. It isn’t!!

Blink is essentially a book about trusting your first instinct or “gut” as Olivia Pope would call it. Gladwell uses several very real and relatable examples to explain his theory of thin-slicing. Based on his theory, Gladwell suggests that our brains have a nearly automatic reaction to things. That reaction affects our behavior, most times without us even knowing.

What I like most about Blink is that Gladwell makes it okay for us to make those unconscious snap judgements…because knowing what your brain is up to can be scary! A lot of times the judgements that our brains make work in our favor and are fairly positive, but sometimes those judgements can have a negative impact. Gladwell provides readers with tools to change or at least become more aware of what the brain is doing without our permission, and being the control freak that I am I like that!

Gladwell writes about prety cool stuff designed to help make readers more confident in their decision-making skills. Now, I could go on and on about this book, but I’d like to hear what you think. Have you read Blink? What did you think of it?

Nerdy Girl in a Corporate World

I’ve been having a really hard time at work for the past few weeks. I’ve noticed that my attitude has changed somewhat because of the things that I’ve experienced during my first year in the workforce..and I don’t mean for the better. Seeing these ugly changes in myself made me take some time to re-center and think about some things. After having some much needed “me time” I realized that a big part of my unhappiness at work is because business has NEVER been my thing.

I am a nerd through and through! I’ve been in school since I can remember and I’ve been happy with that. I’d much rather read a book or write an essay than listen to a quarterly earnings call. However, around the middle of my senior year in college when I was deciding whether to send those grad school applications or apply for jobs I chose to step outside of my comfort zone. I applied for jobs. And it was hard! Smiling and nodding through all of those interviews and telling each company how awesome it was drained me, but I landed a pretty good job at a very reputable company. I was like BOOM! Business world here I come!!

I started work excited about what the future held and thoroughly convinced that I could be happy in a large corporation. Then, reality set in. My commute is long, each of my team members need therapy and a new job, and the work…*ugghhh*. Lets just say that you don’t need a degree to do it.

I was used to being challenged intellectually and encouraged to be my best. On my team, mediocrity is rewarded. In college, I didn’t have to work with people that I didn’t want to work with. Now, I’m forced to work with people that I wouldn’t even say “good morning” to under other circumstances. Hello real world! Time to put my big girl panties on and navigate through this thing.

Now, I’m not going to lie. I’ve taken a decent chunk of time to sulk over this situation, but my young college self was on to something. Stepping outside of my comfort zone has been painful, yet filled with growth. It’s not a challenge unless it makes you uncomfortable, right? For me, this time of discomfort has pushed me to accept a passion for writing that I’ve struggled with for years. I’ve learned much more about myself, life, and, shockingly, business in this first year than I thought I’d learn in the entire three years of my program. I guess the corporate world isn’t that much of a misplacement for a nerdy girl.

Viva La Teal

~ The life and adventures of a young, black professional ~