I'm back...

Ok, I just learned something new. If you hit the wrong button on my lap top, you can delete your entire blog entry. Argh...Day two, take 2...A friend mentioned that she found my comment
"wish i had something like this when i was just starting out" intriguing. Let me elaborate. When I first started my career, I began in an hourly job filing employment files. I heard a lot about the $40k starting salaries, back then a lot of money, but couldn't find one of those. So, like many things in my life, I just charged in and figured I could do it. My mom, a working mother, would advise me "don't stay late unless they see you doing it" and "don't expect them to recognize your work without your telling them." That type of advice just stuck in my craw. It wasn't until much later, after many books and experiences that I realized what she was getting at in her blunt fashion. In many cases, men and women come to work with completely different sets of beliefs and baggage about work and their roles. Being able to identify those beliefs, come from their point of view and work within or around them, can make you more successful and less stressed out. Regrettable, I also learned that this often meant that you were adapting your style to men and not the other way around. It also means that many women get used to being ignored, overlooked or resentful. Check out "Women Don't Ask" for great insight in to the research in this area. Reading it, was a catalyst that motivated me to start Polish Your Star and provide the tools to change the dynamic so many have come to accept. More later... In the meantime, check out my friend Wendy Blomseth of InBeaute's studio at the St. Paul art crawl this weekend. Tell her Julie sent you. Hope to run into you there!