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life lately

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Welcome to Lipstick & Ink®, your home for everything career and wellness inspired. I’m Kelly, a Chicago-based marketing tech professional, writer, career coach, speaker, and events host.

Whether we’re working together on your career aspirations, refreshing your professional documents, or keeping your mental health in check, I encourage you to own your power and make your mark – one lipstick stain at a time.

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Latest Posts

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Jan 22, 2023

Life Lately: Listening to Your Inner Voice

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Jan 9, 2023

Reflections of 2022

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Dec 31, 2022

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I had a coffee chat a few weeks ago with someone n

I had a coffee chat a few weeks ago with someone new in my network. I shared my background and career experiences, specifically about my 8+ years and 6 roles at Salesforce and how I've seen the company grow, evolve, and change. He then asked me, “𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘺?” I took a moment to think about my response and said what came to mind first: “𝙄’𝙫𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙖𝙙𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚.”

I went on to explain that I’ve learned to be accepting of change, even when it feels uncomfortable, nerve wracking, or frustrating. I’ve learned that change is not the enemy - everything happens to be in a constant state of flux. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗳𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲.

There's been a lot of recent change in the corporate workplace. Mass layoffs, hiring slowdowns, return to office mandates, fast moves to high performance cultures. While the pandemic forced companies to pivot and change the way we worked, we’re settling in a new era of this post-pandemic working world, for better or for worse.

One thing is clear: we’re all going through some level of change at work. What strikes me though is that those who accept the change they’re facing, who pivot their mindsets, who adapt to their circumstances, who look at change as an opportunity, rather than a blocker - they are the ones seeing the universe respond in beautiful ways. (I’m a firm believer in the Law of Attraction, where the universe responds to our frequency and the vibrations we project are the ones that return to us.)

If you too are going through periods of change in your career or in life, hang in there. I won't downplay that change is hard. But after you’ve given yourself time to process, try your best to settle into the flow. Take things as slow as you need to and trust you will get through it. Know that the universe has your back. You’ve experienced change in the past and you got through it - you will this time around too 💋

Happy #IWD2023! What an incredible day to celebrat

Happy #IWD2023! What an incredible day to celebrate the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women across the globe. Women of all colors, religions, upbringings, career paths, and skill sets continue to inspire me every day. What inspires me the most is when women own the power of their voice.

So often, we as women quiet our voices out of fear or worse - our voices are silenced by others. I can relate - I have had moments in my life where I lost my voice. I grew up in a household where I was told to bite my tongue and not speak my opinion. My voice went unheard when I brought up poor working conditions to HR early in my career. I was sexually harassed in the workplace and persuaded to keep my mouth shut about it. My voice has been talked over and diminished in meetings by men. My writing was ridiculed to the point that I stopped sharing my creative voice for over 6 years.

Somewhere along the way though, I stopped letting my fear and others take over my voice. My voice mattered and it needed to be heard. I made a conscious choice to use the power of my voice to speak my mind, to advocate for myself, to call out bad behavior, and to express myself, with the hope of inspiring others to do the same. And that's my goal here today.

Wherever you are in life, ask yourself: are you using the power of your voice? Let this be your reminder.

Ask for what you deserve. Speak up for what you believe in. Advocate for what you need. Call out micro-aggressions and inequities. Push for change and never settle. Express yourself in ways that show your authentic self. Look out for and lift other women up. Inspire other women to use the power of their voices.

Feeling empowered to use our individual voices is the start. The real magic happens when we use the power of our collective voices together to make our mark and enact change in this world 💋

5 𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙨. 5 years since I used a spa

5 𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙨. 5 years since I used a spark of envy to reignite my passion for writing. 5 years since I followed my intuition to guide others in their careers. 5 years since I took a chance to launch something of my own. 5 years today since I pushed 𝘗𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩 💻 on my career blog, Lipstick & Ink.

It's wild to think L&I may not even exist today had I not scrolled on FB one random day and noticed a post from an acquaintance of mine announcing she had started a blog. I remember the anger that surfaced in that moment - anger not directed at her, but at myself.

I had pushed away my writing for years and didn't pursue the things I wanted, like starting a blog or writing a book. I talked myself out of it and made excuses. I got caught up in pleasing others and caring what others thought of me. I compared myself to others, wondering if I’d ever feel good enough. I focused on chasing "success," all while losing myself in the process. Instead of being the writer of my own life, I willingly gave my pen away to let others write it for me.

But that all changed 5 years ago.

I didn’t want other women to make the same mistakes that I did. I aimed to build something meaningful to remind women to pick up their pen and write their own story. To feel empowered in who they are. To stay true to themselves. To be curious about what they could contribute to the world. To courageously take risks and bet on themselves. To seek out ways they could challenge themselves and grow. 𝗧𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸.

With each year, L&I organically grew so I could fulfill that vision. In 5 years time, I've gone from starting a hobby to building a side hustle to now growing a business. More than that, starting L&I gave me purpose and showed me how to fully embrace the woman that I am. 5 years may have passed, but I feel it in my bones that this is only the beginning. As JLO said last year, "𝙸'𝚖 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚐𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚎𝚍."

[continued in comments]

I officially hit month 1 in my new role at work! I

I officially hit month 1 in my new role at work! I've grown accustomed to "starting over" with a new manager & team given this is now my 6th role at the company, so you can say I've learned a thing or two on how to be successful in the first 30 days on the job. If you too are in a new role this year (or planning to be), take a read below and save this post!

⓵ Prepare a bio/intro
You'll meet a lot of new people in your first month. Have an elevator pitch ready for when you have to introduce yourself to make a good impression. Express who you are, what you do, and why you're excited about the role.

⓶ Listen & take notes
In the first 30 days, you may do more listening vs. talking/contributing. Listen attentively for things like names, upcoming projects and timelines, customer/leadership priorities. Jot these things down in a doc to reference when needed. This goes a long way to instill trust and impress others - especially when you remember a name or something important someone said!

⓷ Ask questions
Asking questions early on shows your interest and that you're getting up to speed, so don't worry about annoying anyone. Be curious! Ask open-ended questions to allow others to elaborate and provide you more detail.

⓸ Be proactive
• Ask how your performance is being measured & what your manager/leadership cares most about. Focus on being proactive in those areas.
• Don't wait to be told to do something - take initiative and demonstrate your value! As soon as you've finished assigned tasks, ask for more and contribute what you can. The team may be looking to you to provide some new, fresh ideas!
• Ask for feedback on your performance. Understand if you're on the right track and identify where you can improve.

⓹ Schedule 1:1s
The first month on the job is typically less busy so use that downtime to learn as much as you can. Meet with your manager/team members to get to know their responsibilities, how you'll be working with them, and any advice they have. Ask about their working styles to know how best to work with them. Be genuine and ask personal questions to get to know who they are outside of work!

Good luck, you got this!💋

I know, I know, but hear me out….6 𝙤𝙪𝙩

I know, I know, but hear me out….6 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙤𝙛 10 𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙡𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙙𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙡𝙪𝙙𝙚 𝙖 𝙘𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧, 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙙. Not surprising since cover letters tend to be the last thing job seekers want to do but I share this because simply including a cover letter can give you an advantage over your competition!!

Even if a cover letter isn’t required, it’s a good idea to include one. When you are intentional about what’s in your cover letter, not only does it help you stand out, it provides you a chance to use keywords from the job description that appeal to applicant tracking systems. This helps move your application from the ATS to an actual human - the first step to securing that first initial interview.

ꜱᴏᴍᴇ ᴄᴏᴠᴇʀ ʟᴇᴛᴛᴇʀ ᴛɪᴘꜱ:
𝟭) 𝗧𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆
Use the power of storytelling to draw the recruiter/hiring manager in. The last thing you want to do is have their eyes glaze over with you starting: “I’m applying to X role because....” Use a story to creatively highlight a specific skill or experience of yours that reaffirms why you’re the best candidate for the job. Have fun with it!

𝟮) 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗷𝗼𝗯/𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆
Expand upon your resume and offer additional detail to what you bring to the role and what makes you an ideal candidate. Analyze the job description to identify the best keywords and phrases to use that describe the most important qualifications for the job.

𝟯) 𝗨𝘀𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴
Make your cover letter stand out by calling attention to main points. You can do this with visual tools like bolding/italicizing certain words or bulleting out a hefty paragraph.

𝟰) 𝗞𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗶𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁
Keep it to 5 or less short paragraphs following this format:
- Paragraph 1: Personal tidbit/story (applicable to the role/company)
- Paragraphs 2-3: Experience/skills/lessons gained
- Paragraph 4: How you’ll be an asset to the team/company (bullets work great here!)
- Paragraph 5: Closing and thank you

Have I convinced you yet? 💋

One of the chapters of my book I'm writing is tent

One of the chapters of my book I'm writing is tentatively titled "Quit the People-Pleasin.'" Throughout my teens and 20s, I made it a priority to be well-liked. I went above and beyond for others to ensure I wasn't talked bad about. I molded myself to fit in even when it didn't feel right. I bended my morals to make others comfortable. I quieted my voice to accommodate the loud opinions around me. I pushed away a fundamental part of myself to avoid being picked on.

I didn't realize it then, but in trying to please everyone, I failed in pleasing the person that mattered most — myself. And despite it all, I still ran into people who didn't like me, who ridiculed me, who talked shit behind my back. That's the thing - no matter what you do or how hard you try, people will always have an opinion about you and what you do with your life. It’s impossible to please everyone and be liked by everyone.

What I've learned is to quit the people-pleasin' - focus on yourself and your needs. Know that it's okay to say 'no.' Speak up for yourself. Embrace who you are. Don't let opinions of others influence your decisions. Be unapologetically yourself and own it 💋

Can we not??? More #corporateicks that get me fire

Can we not??? More #corporateicks that get me fired up 😤:
🙅🏻‍♀️ When someone doesn’t respond to my emails and then is all over me the second they need something (yeah, bye)
✋🏼 When there’s no agenda in the meeting invite (tell me what you want to discuss or I’m declining)
🙅🏻‍♀️ When someone calls me before/after work (it better be real important)
✋🏼 When someone puts a meeting on my calendar when I clearly have a conflict (like, hello??)
🙅🏻‍♀️ When people don’t check their work and leave it up to me to catch their mistakes (that’s a no for me)
✋🏼 When someone puts a meeting on the calendar outside of my working hours (sorry not sorry I have work boundaries)
🙅🏻‍♀️ When someone says “hey” on Slack/Teams/Google Chat without any additional context (I love anxiously wondering what kind of inconvenient question you’re going to ask me or task you’re going to give me…not)

What is your top #corporate ick? 💋

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