No one at work wants to “meet the girls”

Here’s a fool-proof way to hold your career back. Remember that great shirt you got at Forever XXI? The one with the sparkly sequins and plunging neckline? “The girls” never looked so good. Well here’s what…don’t wear it to work unless you are employed in an LA tanning salon, a massage parlour, or as a bikini barista. Because in corporate America, no one really wants to see the girls.

I see so many 20-something gals come to work with the low necklines, and then wonder why they aren’t considered for promotions and/or taken seriously. I know, I know…you are getting all steamed up reading this. You’re thinking I must be some middle-aged prude with a bad figure who is jealous. Not so. I’m the HR person that the guys in the office come to saying how awkward they feel trying to look you in the eyes instead of at your neckline. I’m the HR person to whom your manager says “will I get sued for sexual harassment if I tell her to button up a bit?” I’m the HR person who hears comments about you like “My God, what was she thinking?” and “Does she have absolutely no sense of appropriateness?” And I’m the HR person who sees the CEO roll his or her eyes when your name comes up.

Listen gals, you are lucky to have a great figure. I’m not saying you can’t be proud and show that off. Just remember that you have no control over how others perceive you, only over how you present yourself. You may feel it’s fine to lean over and offer full exposure to others in the office. But you don’t really wish for your co-workers to be uncomfortable do you? You aren’t really wanting folks to talk about you behind your back in a derogatory way, are you? Of course not. So please, put the girls away during the day and then if you are so inclined, show them to the world outside of work.

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