Mean Girls and Bitter Women

We've all seen the Lindsay Lohan film Mean Girls, which takes place in a high school setting, but most females know that means girls don't go away after high school. We continue to encounter them all throughout our lives. You may even be that mean girl without even knowing it.

I've been fortunate enough that "mean girls" in the workplace has never been too much of a problem with me. However, after a certain age, I prefer to use the term "bitter women" instead. There are two women I know that are perfect examples of "bitter women". One is full blown bitter, and the other is bitter-in-training.

The older women, is someone I deal with with, but not (thankfully) work directly with. After two years and ten months, she still doesn't remember my name or what my job is. Or so she claims, probably only to be condescending. I know for a fact she knows both, because I have met with her one-on-one plenty of times,  and I am one in a staff of five people. From what I can tell she is over worked at a job she does not love, but has been stuck at for years. She complains about her job, the people she works with and the company she works for. That is why she seems so bitter to me. Of course, I could be entirely wrong and she may love her job. But if so, it would show in her attitude and she'd be a positive person to be around. Unfortunately that is not the case.

The bitter woman "in-training" is somone who is much younger but reminds me a lot of my first example. Fortunately there is hope for her; since she is younger, she can flip her attitude around. I see promises of that sometimes. However, if she gets stuck in the industry (by choice) and continues to shove and put others down in order to outshine them, she will end up in the exact same spot as my first example 10 years from now. There is nothing wrong with trying to work your way to the top. There are just two ways to do it: taking the high road and moving up with class, or by ditching moral and ethics in order to have your ego stroked.

Kelly Cutrone

Both of these women are what I fear I will become. So, I am being proactive. I have been reading books and articles on how to get ahead in life and in your career without resorting to being a bitch to others. One of my favorite women in PR is Kelly Cutrone, who is known for her cut throat personality ( I am currently reading her book "If you have to go cry, go outside"). I admire her but I know very well I just do not have the personality to be like her. That works for her, but I argue that who I am works for me.

 I guess I am on the right track because I recently got a new job! I am very excited about it, and I didn't have to be mean to anyone to get there. One of the mean girls congratulated me, and quickly followed up with two negative comments about how she "did not envy me". A backhanded compliment - classic mean girl jab. I smiled and laughed it off; I am moving on to where I want to be. Guess who is not?