Audrey A McGee

“Teeth?”

“Good.”

“Ew…”

This brief exchange is CONSTANTLY repeated in my house. It’s a (mis)quote from an episode of The West Wing, where CJ, White House Chief of Staff, is heading into an important meeting and is checking her appearance with two coworkers. The cadence of the quote in itself is hilarious (although I’m pretty sure it got twisted in the repetition somewhere), the situation is supremely human, and the professional advice is universal.

In the practical application of this piece of advice, go into a bathroom and look at yourself before you go into an interview, audition, or important meeting. Check your teeth. Do you feel confident in how you’re presenting yourself?

There’s something about looking right that makes a difference in the professional world. I had an interview recently with Tensie Taylor, an entrepreneur and author, who told me that some of her greatest successes in her career came from dressing the part.

Clothes give confidence.

I see that over and over again every time I put a kid in a costume for the first time. Their acting goes from mild to purposeful, from distracted to in-character.

In the metaphorical application of this piece of advice, take time throughout your internship to reflect on your skills.

Do you have an area that you’d like to brush up a bit? Have you been smiling way too confident in an area before someone points out a poppyseed-like mistake? Where are you finding and enjoying your style?

I learned a lot about myself through my internship. I was finding my weak points — executive functioning in an office setting was a struggle for my ADHD — and I was finding the things that delighted and bolstered me, like studying fundraising and a weird sudden addiction to raisins.

Check yourself in the mirror.

Check with a friend.

And if you have a friend with something in THEIR teeth, PLEASE say something.

There is nothing worse than finding out way too late that you have something stuck in your teeth.