This past summer, I interned at an industrial real estate firm in Orange County, California. Going into the internship, I was proud of myself, curious, and most importantly… terrified. I think starting a new position is intimidating for almost anyone because we fear the unknown.
However, I think you can imagine the pit in my stomach when I walked in and noticed one particular detail — I was the only young woman in the office. For all my girl bosses who have felt the same way (or may someday), here’s how I held my own in a male-dominated industry.Â
Confidence, confidence, confidence
It’s hard to be confident in yourself when you don’t “fit in.” From the first time I walked in the door, the one thing that ensured my confidence was my outfit. Yes, I know work is not about your clothes, but hear me out. I strutted into the building in my wedges, my formal slacks, and a button up, and I felt like a million bucks. The way I carried myself determined my performance at my job. If I were to walk in without confidence, it would have been an immediate decision to fit a standard of mediocrity. The longer I kept up my confidence, the more real it became, until I was truly just comfortable in my workspace without trying to be.Â
get to know your co-workers
This office ranged from brokers aged 21 to 70 years old, so I felt overwhelmed by the variety of coworkers I needed to get acquainted with. At my previous job, everyone had been my age, so this was quite a new atmosphere. But after coming out of this internship, I’ve learned to approach everyone with a blank-slate mindset.
The younger guys in the office reminisced about their college days with me, I even made friends with a UCSB alumni (shoutout to my Zeta Psi men). They also made the job feel less serious, despite the fact that our work was always requiring our sharpest selves. As for the older men, they took me under their wing, treated me as an equal, and gave me advice I will use for years to come. Now, I actually prefer working with people older than me: I learned something new everyday, and was treated with a sense of respect that our generation tends to lack.Â
stand out with pride
Working in an office of men threw me off at first. I could not walk down a hall without hearing about the fantasy league picks of the week. I felt as though there was some kind of qualification that I did not meet since I did not have the same interests as my coworkers. But, I learned to take advantage of the fact that I was a little different. Clients remembered my name from only one appointment, simply because they knew I was the woman of the office. I had coworkers coming to me for advice about their girlfriends or daughters, and this was how I truly bonded with them.
If you’re going to stand out, do it with pride.Â