Let's just be completely honest, no one is ever really ready to become an adult. There's no magic moment where you go from being a sloppy teen, wearing Nike shorts and oversized sweatshirts, and transform into this high class adult with a good job, name brand clothes, and a perfectly clean apartment.
We all have that awkward transitional phase where we try to dress nice and fail. Or we swear off any more 2 AM pizza deliveries, and end up just ordering the pizza at midnight instead. Like it's not all sunshine and rainbows, trying to find your "adult" place in this world. Especially for a woman. Mainly because society expects us all to be perfectly perfect, with a slight addiction to the gym, and a name-brand business professional wardrobe.
(Just to throw this out there, I am in no way that woman! I'm currently sitting in bed in my Nike shorts and an oversized sweatshirt, with a box of Thin Mints at my side. And I've been in the professional world for four years. I'm STILL in that transitional stage in my life!)
But one thing my Mama always taught me is to Fake It Till You Make It! Here are 10 Ways to Fake It Till You Make It In The Professional World, As A Female.
1. Find a good salad dressing
I know this sounds completely bogus, but I promise that it will make you fake it! I don't know a singer person who is like "You know what I crave? A big bowl of raw, poorly washed rabbit food, with a side of flavorless paste and a touch of bird seed for protein." Yeah no. We all need some flavor in our lives! That's where the salad dressing comes in. When you're hungry but not starving, get yourself a nice little salad together and put on the type of dressing you like. It won't feel like a burden anymore. Salad is the ultimate grown-up food.
2. Find the meal deals
Food is freaking expensive! Like no joke, I could spend my entire paycheck on food. And I would still be hungry. So if you're like me and don't like to or don't have the time to cook, find the meal deals! Download those apps! Get the free 2-liter with the purchase of a large cheese stick! Trust me, that 2 AM pizza taste a lot better when it's only $11.
3. Find drink deals too
It's not just about the food either. It's about the drinks. Can someone please explain to me why I was at dinner the other night and the restaurant had Target brand wine selling for $6 per glass? Yeah no. I know that the Target wine is only $5 plus tax for the bottle. Let me say that again. Target wine is only $5 a bottle. If you're going to go out to drink, you need to know the drink deals and play off of that. Only spend what it's worth for that drink. But if you are staying home to have a drink and relax, I think we all need to just start shopping for alcohol at Target.
4. Buy tailored pants
Having a couple of well-fitting dress pants is so important! Nothing screams newbie quite like wearing a pair of slacks that are too tight in the waist, swimming in the knee, and are draggin on the ground by a half inch. Only buy pants that fit you in your entirety. I'm short and have a big rear, so if I try to purchase pants that fit my bum, they will be way to big in the legs and about a foot too long. This is where I've learned that you have to try on a lot of styles and eventually tailor them to fit you perfectly. Hemming your pants that half inch makes all the difference! And when you start that new job, you won't look like a newbie that has no idea what their doing.
5. Learn how to make soup
Especially if you've just moved out on your own for the first time, your mom and your grandma will start to get worried that you're going to get sick from eating out so much. They'll try to have you over every night of the week, and will offer that you go shopping in their cabinets every time you make your way to their house. One way to get them off your back is to learn how to cook. But as a busy young professional, you wont really have all that much time. So what do you do? You learn how to make soup. (Bonus points if you make it in the Crockpot.) Your family will no longer be scared that you can't provide for yourself. And then you also know how to make something fast and easy for when you start making friends and want to have them over for dinner.
6. Invest in nice perfume
Everyone has that scent. My grandma always smelled like Channel and cigarettes. My teacher always smelled like Tommy Hilfiger. And every time I saw them, I would expect that sweet smell to come with them. Now that you're entering the professional world, you need to get started on finding that scent for yourself. Some scents will match or clash with your pheromones, so not every perfume will be perfect for you. But you need to find something that smells like how you want to be remembered. Mine is Lavendar, just in case you were wondering.
7. Apply eye liner and two coats of mascara
Even if you are not a make up girl, a little bit is important. Chances are, you look about as young as you feel. And in the business world, that's not always a good thing. Whether you are wearing a full face every day, or just some moisturizer and mascara, it is important to look like you care enough about yourself to want to be pleasing to others. It's not about painting it on until you don't even look like you, it's about enhancing yourself in a way that makes you look polished.
8. Jewelry makes the difference
Jewelry can make up for the fact that you have a small wardrobe. When I first became a teacher, I had about three tops and two pairs of pants in my closet. And I would strategically pause them so that nobody realized threat I wore my entire wardrobe within a week. I invested in some cheap jewelry from the Goodwill, and found that I could dress up a long sleeved tee and no one would think that I was too under dressed.
9. Buy a good nude lipstick
It doesn't need to be anything fancy. Just a nude that polishes your look enough for special things. Something that you can wear for those amazing interviews or meetings in the conference room. You still look young, you need to make a point that you are here to stay, and you know exactly what you are doing.
10. Be true to yourself
Faking it doesn't mean that you lose yourself in the process. It just means that you know how to prove yourself little by little until you you've reached where you want to be. Hopefully that's the top, but that's none of my business. Faking it means that you are pretending to be through that awkward transitional phase. It means that you are the same person that you have always been, you're just a little more polished from 8-5, Monday through Friday. Faking it does not mean that you are no longer a genuine, mature, knowledgeable, loyal professional. I means that you are almost there, you just need a little push.
