Corporate vs Non-Corporate…Moving Your Box
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What NOT to Wear!
This is a tough one.
When you go from working in corporate banking for 25 plus years, to being a homemaker and Yogi for over 7 years, to back into the workforce, what to wear can get a bit complicated. Add to this dilemma being an AARP recipient with a fashion police teenage daughter and you are a fashion disaster waiting to happen!
Well, are yoga pants acceptable? After all, there are such things as the “nice:” yoga pants. When are jeans okay? How about shirts with no sleeves? And what is this “nice” ripped jeans thing?
Should I wear heels with those? Consider for a moment, that banking requirements 25 years ago included mandatory panty hose for women and ties/jackets for men. Tattoos were non-issues because they were not the norm and piercings were only things we read about in National Geographic publications.
The answer for me today is “middle of the road” and what makes you feel confortable. The casual attire I see in the workplace today even in the corporate sector sometimes I think is just generational and surprises even me.
Make sure to follow the company policy (if there is one) and stay true to yourself is what I suggest.
Stay Open to Change…Be willing to MOVE YOUR BOX
Of all the things I have learned about leaving corporate and surrounding myself in something different, it is that as much as we want, there are no set boxes we call our own.
We can move our box anytime we want. Over time it is easy to identify as something based on what we come to know as “ours”, yet through this experience, I have realized, we also have the power to move the identification around as we please.
So whether you once called yourself an engineer and midstream moved into the design world the creative aspect of who you are now was always there. Make the change and own it… Start from the inside, read about it, and learn what “designers” do and “BECOME ONE”. MOVE YOUR BOX.
It will feel uncomfortable for a while, but in time you will slowly find yourself in a new place with others thinking and relating like you and eventually your “new box” will just become your box.
The differences between corporate and non-corporate are many but so are the similarities. Find the common denominators and you will find your place in both worlds.
Be willing to move your box, change with the times and always know that yoga pants are usually a good start!
Related articles:
Thinking About Shifting Your Career? It’s Never Too Late
Women and Men, Career, Life and Their Choices
