Lean In

Sasha describes her style as “a little bit fancy, a little bit sexy”, and how she dresses is a reflection of herself and her mood. She makes it a point to pick out clothes with interesting shapes and textures, or classic pieces with a twist, which can be seen in her outfit today. Although she pays attention to the details, Sasha is not fussy over brands; her only concern is having clothes that fit her body well. “I like clothes that tell a story about a person. Confidence is also very important!” She says that one should always buy basic pieces that can be easily paired for work. “You can create a new combination every day by mixing and matching one or two statement pieces with something basic.” Working in Finance, Sasha meets people from different backgrounds who are knowledgable and well-connected, and while she admits that it can be intimidating at times, she sees it as an opportunity to learn every day. “Bosses don’t expect you to know all the answers most of the time, but they do expect a can-do attitude, the willingness to admit that you don’t know, and the desire to find out.” She also believes that successful time management is an extremely important trait to have, and looks to her current favourite read — Sheryl Sandberg’s book, Lean In — for tips on preventing obstacles from happening at the workplace. “Use Google calendar, or keep a notebook at hand to schedule your appointments and tasks,” she says. “Sometimes it’s not possible to entertain everyone or attend every gathering, but this forces you to prioritise and choose the most important few.” If she wasn’t in Finance, Sasha sees herself traveling the world with her friends and exploring new places with beautifully-styled and tasty dishes; she would also love to go back to school if she could find her dream university, one that has an environment like Google’s. On other days, she is a movie junkie, taking inspiration from Julia Stiles’ character from the movie 10 Things I Hate About You. “She dares to love and hate. Plus I love how her hair looks!”