With so many networking events now going online during the lockdown, your outfit choices can be as tricky (if not even more so) as when you were going face to face. Personal Stylist, Stefania Bartolomei, shares her tips to help you feel confident and professional for your virtual networking sessions:
Add colours to your look – colour plays a key role in your look AND in your mood. So when choosing your outfits for your virtual meetings, try to make sure that you’re wearing colours that help boost your confidence, while enhancing your look and lifting up your mood. Different ways to add colours to your looks, if you’d rather not wear a colourful top, can be make-up (especially lipsticks), jewellery and accessories like scarves or headbands.
Make sure your look represents your brand – even if you’re having a virtual meeting from the comfort of your home, remember that you’re still connecting with potential clients or partners, so you still want to look your best self and try to make the best impression. So, choose items that you’d wear for in-person meetings, where you feel confident in and that represent your personality and your professional role.
Reorganise your wardrobe – think about this, in a video call or video recording, the top part of your figure is often the only part that needs to be seen. So, you can make your life even easier by just updating your top half – no one is going to see your lovely slippers and leggings unless you want them to! I recommend organising your tops into two sections – one for housework, childcare or simply sofa time, and the other for your virtual meetings.
Hair accessories can be your best friend – If you are due to have a work call at a certain time but you didn’t have time for a proper shower and blow-dry, you can make the most of your scrunchies, headbands, or even scarves, to make your hair look prepped and professional in a flash simply by updating your hairstyle.
Consider your backgrounds – When you are lucky enough to have an office, make sure you have everything set up ready to go for your videos and your meetings. This will mean you can ensure you are always ready and set up in advance of your calls, so all you have to do is change your top and your accessories, then sit and get started. If you are someone who is new to working at home or perhaps doesn’t have the luxury of a home office, walk around your house and check your WiFi connections, then your backgrounds.
You want to make sure it is as clear as possible, as well as, if you are like me with a young child, as far away from your sleeping young one as possible so as not to wake them. If you have older children, I recommend a room with a door you can close, and set up a “Mummy’s working” sign, that the kids know means they cannot come in when that door is closed.
What are your tips for getting ready and feeling confident for online networking sessions? Share in the comments!
These tips were shared by Stefania Bartolomei, a personal stylist who provides online personal styling, wardrobe edits, and colour analysis. www.oneofastyle.com