We have all been stressing about it (or at least thinking about it): transitioning from college into the workforce. This leap into adulthood is a source of anxiety for many young women. How do I appropriately advocate for myself in the workplace? How do I share my personality at work? How do I move into positions of power at my job? These are some of the many questions I anxiously ponder when thinking about my future career.
Worry no longer! I introduce to you: Adriane Devereux, founder and CEO of In Confidence. Devereux decided to quit her day job as a nonprofit marketing director in Dallas and move to New York City.
“I didn’t know where I was going to live when I moved up here but I needed to make a big change in my life and I’m so glad I did,” she recalls.
She started out in the city as a part time hostess at an Italian restaurant in Soho. Devereux then made her way to working for a marketing agency in brand experience. After being there for almost six years, she said she had, “a little bit of a mini career crisis.” Coronavirus was in full swing and she left her job.
This led her to where she is now, the vice president at a hybrid venture firm and marketing agency. Devereux reflects on her journey of careers and reminds us, “Your career is not going to be linear and it’s not going to always be an upward line.” She says it is natural to have missteps along the way, which is extremely comforting to hear.
While taking time off during COVID, she created In Confidence. Devereux explains In Confidence as being an opportunity to empower women in high school, college, or their early careers with knowledge that is not often taught in a school setting.
“There are also soft skills around emotional intelligence and just really understanding and navigating your environment that you don’t necessarily get exposed to until you’re in your first internship or your first job,” she explains.
Soft skills were our main focus in our In Confidence Zoom session. Before getting into the details, Her Campus at Buffalo wants to give a huge thank you to Adriane Devereux for taking the time to host a session with us! We all learned so much and definitely feel better prepared to go into the workforce. If your chapter is interested in having an In Confidence session (I highly recommend you do), I listed their socials at the end!
Devereux started out by discussing the gender pay gap. For every 100 men, only 72 women are promoted and hired to manager-level jobs. For every dollar a man earns, women on average are paid 82 cents for every dollar. This drops to 62 cents for Black women and 54 cents for Latinas.
“It’s really infuriating and this is the type of thing that really gets me excited about being able to talk to women like you and give you at least a glimmer of a chance to kind of change that in the way that you start your career,” she says.
These statistics are staggering and the pay gap is expected to close in the United States by 2059. Hopefully we will reach this way sooner.
For our session we focused on how to share our personalities at work. This was very informative for me because having not entered the workforce yet, I am not too confident in how to appropriately conduct myself in the workplace. These are not the types of skills you necessarily learn in college.
Devereux started out by sharing the phrase, “Perception is reality.”
“Especially in a business setting and especially when it comes to working with clients, perception is reality and their perception is your reality,” she emphasizes.
Devereux reminds us that as hard as this is, it is just something you have to deal with. Over the course of your career, you will encounter many different types of people. When talking about difficult people, she says, “You can’t avoid them.” You have to be prepared for them and we can only control the way we react to them.
Moving onto clothing and appearance choices, Devereux says she gets asked this question a lot. What is appropriate to wear to work? What is appropriate to wear to my first day on the job? She says that every company has different guidelines and different ideas of what appropriate means.
“Conservative over sexy,” she recommends, “You can always look trendy and still be tasteful without showing too much.”
She goes on to show us two images side-by-side to see which outfit would be more appropriate for a work setting. Devereux wanted to stress the point that you can still be trendy and professional! This is comforting to know because you always want to feel and look your best at work.
There is a lot of variation when it comes to the dress code at work. For example, Devereux says that she has worked at places where jeans have been totally appropriate. Then there have been places where she could only wear jeans on Friday’s. It really boils down to the specific company. You can always ask for the dress code when you first start, she says.
We then went on to talk about social media. Devereux says, “You need to consider who you’re following and who you’re letting follow you.” Potential employers may look at your social media during the hiring process.
Then there is the potential of your coworkers wanting to follow you. Devereux says that if you have things on your social media that you do not necessarily want coworkers to see, it is ok to set a boundary. It is ok to say no! She recommends thinking about whether you want your account to be public or private when searching for jobs. “If you need to go private, go private,” she says.
She gave us some tips on sensitive topics to think about before posting on social media:
- Partying
- Politics
- Provocative pictures
- Pettiness
Consider who is seeing these types of things, especially if you have a public profile.
Devereux then talked about LinkedIn. “This is your place to shine professionally,” she says. She reminds us that it is ok to not have a million things on your profile. It can be discouraging to see other peoples’ LinkedIn profiles, just like on any social site. Devereux says not to get caught up in this. For your profile picture, she says, “Keep it classy and up-to-date.”
Lastly, we talked about socializing in the office. She says it is totally fine to have friends in the office! Just make sure to be cognizant of the time you spend together and make sure others do not feel excluded. Managers notice these types of things.
If you have a work chat, for example on Slack, do not gossip on there! Devereux says those conversations can be accessed and to keep this fact in mind. Talking trash about your company online can also get back to you.
As for work parties, she says if you are of age, it is appropriate to drink alcohol if it is served. However, do not get drunk! Devereux said this seems obvious, but it is easy to get carried away if you are nervous and if it is your first time in that type of setting.
“I like the rule of one drink, one water, one drink, one water,” she suggests.
Lastly, when it comes to dating coworkers, it depends on your work environment. Some companies may allow it and some may not. “Proceed with caution,” she says, “Think about the long term ramifications if it doesn’t go super well.”
To wrap up our meeting, we had a Q&A session:
“With the transition from Zoom interviews to in-person interviews, do you have any tips on how to go about not showing that I am freaking out during it?”
“It is always good to go in with a water bottle because when I get nervous, I tend to get dry mouth. This is also a nice way to pause too as they’re asking a question. Don’t underestimate the power of deep breaths. That will help you so much. One thing that I like to do is take some deep breaths before I get into the space. Make sure you get there with plenty of time and know where you’re going. One thing that I like to do when I’m in a restroom is put my hands on my chest or stomach in a power stance and breathe. Say whatever type of mantra to help remind yourself that you are prepared and fully capable.”
“I get really nervous talking to my bosses. Sometimes when I go up and try to speak to them, my words get all jumbled. Do you have any advice for that?”
“I used to be that way as well. So much of that is just being comfortable in your environment and also having the knowledge of several years of experience. My recommendation is to maybe write down what it is that you need to say. If you can’t write it down, think through what that list is and what the points are that you need and want to say. What’s the goal of the conversation? What are the questions I need answered? What do I need them to see or hear or know about me?”
Thank you so much to Adriane Devereux for having this session with our chapter! I am so grateful for In Confidence and all of the resources they provide. It is comforting to know that for women looking to go into the workforce, In Confidence will always be there with answers and advice. If you want to keep the conversation going or want your chapter to have an In Confidence session, their Instagram is linked here! There is also an app called Geneva where In Confidence has their own channel. It’s kind of like Slack but more about community building. There are different channels such as career questions/advice, resume help, etc. You can find the link here.