Workplace Essentials Every Girl Needs

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I can’t tell you how many times I regretted not having a nail file before I finally brought one in to work with me. (I’m the kind of person who will sit there and mess with my nails ALL DAY LONG.) It honestly gets distracting when you don’t have everything you need on hand. All the essentials you’ll find yourself reaching for during various parts of your day can be found here. Be sure you stock up your workspace with all the miscellaneous items you don’t realize you need!

Nail Essentials – tweezer, mini scissor, nail file, nail clippers, current polish, hand lotion

Lady-business Essentials – pads/tampons, Advil, two bottles of wine, you know – just the essentials 😉

Makeup Essentials – mirror, touch up powder, mascara, eyeliner, lipstick/chap stick

Food/Drink Essentials – extra tea bags/instant coffee, gum/mints, artificial sweeteners, on-the-go snacks

Electronic Essentials – portable battery pack, chargers for all your devices, headphones

Leave me a comment below and tell me what you can’t live without during the day at work!
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The Interview Outfit That Won’t Fail You

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You could have the greatest resume in the world and give the best answers during your interview but, you could be passed up for your appearance. As absolutely silly as that sounds, it is a very real thing that happens every day. Interviews are stressful enough, you shouldn’t have to worry about what you’re going to wear!

I always like to stick to the more dressy corporate attire for a job interview. Of course, you should gauge your attire by what the employees are wearing. Dressing more formal doesn’t hurt, it may even help your chances. Always stick to neutral colors and stray away from vivid colors and daring patterns. The point of the interview outfit is NOT to show your bold personality through fashion, it’s to be neutral and look mold-able into the kind of employee that company is after. The way you can let your personality peek through is by small details. Put on some of your favorite earrings, dress it up with a girly heel, wear a neutral floral pattern. I love the pairing of the classic business formal with a hint of feminine. If you’re staring at your closet wondering where to start, stick to these rules of thumb :

• Stick to business formal attire
• Pair your neutral pieces together
• Add a feminine touch with accessories
• Let your personality peek through in details

Leave a note below and tell me what your go-to interview outfit is!

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How To Judge If A Company Is The Right Fit

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Job searching is hard enough; however, by far the hardest part is after you’ve been offered the position (or multiple positions). You can accept any job you’re offered but the key to work space bliss is accepting the right job for you. It can be really difficult to determine what exactly your preferred work environment is but hopefully the following list will be a good guideline.

Ask yourself a series of questions and see what is important to you and what your feelings are :

1. What is the size of the company?
2. How many people do you interact with on a daily basis?
3. Who is your superior?
4. How do you envision your relationship with your superior?
5. How do you envision your relationship with your coworkers?
6. Is the environment fun? Stuffy? Corporate? Unique?
7. Are you getting to do what you love in this new position?
8. Do you see the possibility to grow and better your skills here?
9. Does this company promote from within or do they outside hire?
10. If this isn’t your dream job, will this job get you closer to where you want to be long term?

If you can answer those ten questions, you will have a very good grasp on whether or not you’ll enjoy working for a company. Don’t get discouraged if some of your answers don’t favor the company you’re considering. Odds are, you won’t find your 100% perfect company right away. That will take time and experimenting with different positions to settle on a job you really do enjoy, in an environment that you love.

Leave me a comment below and tell me if you considered any of these questions when accepting your current job. If not, would it have benefited?
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My Dream Home Office

Hello you, and welcome to inside the mind of an Obsessive Compulsive Designer.

I hope you all are having a wonderful day! I’m back with the fifth installment of this working girls week. I wanted today to give you all some inspiration for your office, be it at the office or at home. I’m sharing with you today some of my dream office designs. All of these images came from a wonderful little obsession of mine (Pinterest). If you haven’t checked out my Pinterest, be sure and do so to check out what other neat ideas I’ve stumbled upon!

I know what you’re thinking, “Wow, another dark and dramatic space! How original! Didn’t see that coming.” But hey, I know what I like. I’m just here to share it with all of you. 🙂

Dark, dark, dark. For all the work I do at home, I’m hardly ever doing anything besides typing away on my laptop. There’s no need for a light and airy space since I’m just staring into a bright screen all day/night. I love the dark tones, bold pops of metals & colors, and striking patterns. I think built-in shelving adds a great wow factor and allows for lots of storage (or in my case, lots of shelves to accessorize). It’ll definitely be my little sanctuary and truly inspiring space to create in. A girl can dream right? 😉

Leave me a comment below and tell me how you envision your dream home office!
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Job Search Tips & Tricks

Hello you, and welcome to inside the mind of an Obsessive Compulsive Designer.

You didn’t think I would leave this topic out, did you? It’s not fun to talk about, let alone have to go through it. One of the most stressful tasks is finding and applying for a new job. It’s definitely not a fun task but I think this list will help ease the stress of job searching! I think all you graduates looking for your first job will benefit from some of these tips.

Trial & Error

The first cover letter or resume you make, will be far from your last. You’ll discover a constant cycle of doing and redoing these documents for every place you apply. Not every job you apply for will want, or require, the same set of skills or background so you’ll find yourself needing to constantly customize your documents. Spending the time to personalize your documents to the specific company you’re applying for will earn you major points. Showing them that you took the time to look into their company and you understand exactly what they are looking for is a great way to lock in an interview.

Organization

I have an Excel document from past job searches that I found EXTREMELY helpful. I would type in the company, person’s information in charge of hiring, the date I sent in my resume, a date to follow up with them, the interview dates, and a date to send thank you’s, etc. It was my life-line while job searching. I highly recommend going the extra mile to keep yourself organized. That way you make sure you don’t miss any steps along the way.

Thank you

This is a great way to lock in some extra points. Consider sending a thank you email immediately following your interview (because odds are, you are one of many interviews that day), mail a handwritten thank you, or even dropping of some thank you goodies. All are great options and will definitely help you to stand out from the rest of the applicants.

Persistence

This is key. Persistence shows dedication to their company and will keep you somewhat near the top of their inbox. This is why I make sure to keep some columns in my organizational chart to make sure I’m following up every week or two with potential employers. The difference between persistence and annoyance is often a fine line but when done successfully, will increase your odds.

Be Bold

If you receive the dreaded rejection email saying something basic like “we are going in another direction”, this opens the door to one last opportunity you have with that company. Be bold and ask them what you can do better for next time. Even if you aren’t going to apply for any more positions within that company, it’s great information to better yourself and help you lock down the next job!

Leave me a comment below and tell us if you use any of these tips yourself!
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TGIF Work Feelings

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8 AM – Okay I got this.

9 AM – There’s no stopping me!

10 AM – This is when I’d just be waking up tomorrow…

11 AM – I wonder how much trouble I’d get in if I just left now?

12 PM – Half way there!

1 PM – Is this the longest day of the year?

2 PM – How many people can I distract before my boss yells at me?

3 PM – The wine in the company fridge is calling my name…

4 PM – 3,600 seconds, 60 minutes, 1 hour left…

5 PM – I’M FREE!

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Working Girl Outfits x Mallory Mileham

Hello you, and welcome to inside the mind of an Obsessive Compulsive Designer.

I’m so happy to announce my first collab ever on my blog today! I’ve teamed up with Mallory Mileham to show you a few working girl outfits that are perfect to transition us into the warmer seasons. I’m showing you three looks here today and Mallory will show you her three outfits over on her YouTube channel. Be sure to click here and watch her video afterwards. That girl has some serious style! While you’re on her channel, make sure to check out some of her other fashion, fitness, and lifestyle videos as well!

Before we get into the outfits, I just wanted to announce that today will kick off a week-long series I’m going to be doing all centered around the working girl! With graduation season upon us, I thought it would be the perfect time to offer some tips and tricks to landing your dream job and everything along the way. All you working girls be sure to subscribe to be updated with the next installment!

|  Skirt  : New York & Company  |  Tank Top  : Nordstrom Rack  |

| Heels  : Qupid  |

I wanted to start off with your typical corporate outfit except with a giant pop of color. When working in a corporate environment, I found myself struggling to incorporate my own personality to my fashion. Fashion is a large part of my life and personal expression so I like to add twists on the usual formal corporate attire!

|  Joggers  : Walmart  |  Tank Top  : Forever 21  |  Blazer  : Charlotte Russe  |

|  Heels  : Forever 21  |  Necklace  : Old Navy  |  Purse  : Target  |

| Sunglasses  : Ray-Ban  |

I love this outfit because it can really be used in a corporate environment to break up the monotony of the basic black trouser. One of the troubles I found when working in a corporate setting, was the boring wardrobe that goes along with the job. I really had to stretch my imagination as to other outfits that could work within the corporate dress code. I love these pants for their fun pattern and shape. Definitely one of my more favorite pieces in my wardrobe!

|  Blouse  : Forever 21  |  Jeans  : Charlotte Russe  |  Heels  : Macy’s  |

|  Necklace  : Target  |

This is a great options for you girls who don’t quite work in a corporate attire. This outfit can be super casual or dressed up a bit with a nice pair of heels and formal jacket, which is what I did here. I love the simplicity of this look. It really doesn’t take any effort to put together and yet looks like you really put the time into it.

Leave me a comment below and tell me which outfit was your favorite. Also, be sure to jump on over to Mallory’s channel and tell her which of her outfits you love best!
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My Morning Routine – For The Working Girl

Hello you, and welcome to inside the mind of an Obsessive Compulsive Designer

Today I wanted to share my morning routine for all you working girls out there who know my struggle. The eternal conflict of getting in as much sleep as possible while also having enough time to make myself look presentable. It’s not glamorous by any means but that’s reality!

6:00 am – Alarm

The worst part of the day…

6:00 am to 7:00 am – YouTube Videos

I take a long time to wake up, longer than I’d like to admit. YouTube helps 🙂 It’s the part of my morning that I look forward to and what actually keeps my eyes open!

7:00 am – Morning Drink – hot water and lemon

I’ve been trying to incorporate a new habit in my morning routine. I juiced a quarter of a lemon and combine it with some hot water. The benefits of starting your morning with this drink are many, I’ll leave a link here explaining a few.

7:00 am to 7:20 am – Make-up & Hair

I’ve got this down to a science and can conquer my look in twenty minutes. I was the type of girl who definitely took an hour to get ready in high school. College taught me many things, including sleep is better than a long morning routine.

7:20 am to 7:25 am – Outfit

I normally plan out my outfits in my head the night before so I know exactly what to throw on in the morning. I prefer sleeping in more than trying on a million different outfits.

7:25 am to 7:30 am – Smoothie & Tea

My new ninja makes this process so easy! I’ll link a couple different smoothie recipes here that I like to bounce back and forth with. I always brew some of my green tea for a natural (much needed) caffeine boost.

7:30 am to 7:35 am – Lunch

Nothing extravagant, normally a wrap or a pita with plenty of fruits and veggies!

7:35 am – Out the Door

Buh-bye!

I hope you all enjoyed a little sneak peek into my weekday mornings. I’ll never be a morning person but I have gotten better over the years. You can now actually speak to me before 8 am without receiving a snarky comeback. (All progress is good progress!) Comment below and let me know what your favorite part of your morning routine is!

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