“I have two words for you: shoe. polish.”

She stood there stunned by her boss’s brutal honesty. Who says something like that? Then she looked down at her black heels that had gotten her through college and realized that maybe her boss was right. Those once glorious black pumps looked terrible. She turned bright red. She had no idea people looked that closely at shoes. To top it all off, she only had 5 minutes before her first meeting with her VP – a meeting invite that took 7 months to get. Panicking was definitely not an option. And that’s when she remembered that she had her office essentials kit in her handbag. Her office essentials kit came with everything one could need at work in case of a mishap, including shoe polish. She quickly ran the sponge over her shoes and felt ready to rule the world. She marched into the meeting with her polished shoes and a wealth of knowledge and ideas to contribute.

One of us did receive that comment from our boss and one of us did turn bright red. But shoe polish in a handbag, who are we kidding? Neither one of us was that prepared on our first job (we recommend everyone keep a Shoe Polish Sponge in their cube). What really happened is that one of us went into a meeting wanting to die and completely disregarded Sheryl Sandberg’s advice to sit at the table. Instead, one of us took a seat as far away from the VP as possible in an attempt to hide the scuffed shoes. The meeting may have been about EBITA, but to be completely candid, one of us was so focused on the shoes we have no idea what happened during the meeting.

There are so many things, in addition to scuffed shoes, that can happen that may leave you flustered and/or distracted. Like, curry on your white shirt, a pant leg with a hem that just came undone, a heel that just broke (yes this really happened and this is when those extra shoes are really important), and so on. Luckily, you can prepare for some of these mishaps (Want to see what’s in our office essentials kit?)!

You can’t be prepared for everything. Well, maybe you can, but we haven’t figured it out yet. What do you do when you’re not prepared and you end up looking a little less professional than you’d like? Well, learn from us and don’t run or hide. Things happen to everyone. Do not try to disappear (unless you know how to successfully do so, in which case please share with us). You should still walk into the meeting as confident as ever (terrible shoes and all). Two minutes before a meeting is not a good time to focus on upgrading your shoes. Refocus your attention. Engage in the meeting – sit at the table, listen, participate.

Oh and another thing – people will be honest and may sound a little mean. Take the feedback and don’t take it personally. Shoe polish was great advice even if it left you feeling vulnerable and defeated at that moment . Appreciate the people who give you honest and valuable feedback. Save it but don’t let it get to you. It’s hard to find people who will be honest – how many people have let you walk around with pepper in your teeth?!

So here it is, from our experience, use shoe polish.

You’ve heard our experience, now let’s hear yours…