Working Girl is one of my favorite movies. Like, it’s in Joyce’s Top 5 All Time Favorite Movies. It’s my favorite for many reasons: the big-ass hair, the over-the-top ’80s looks, the bodacious quotes, and the familiar characters.

But the biggest reason it made my Top 5 is because of its insightful examples on navigating the complexities of the work environment. The main character, Tess McGill, played by Melanie Griffith, faces the typical obstacles we encounter at work and finds a way to rise to the top.

Tess McGill Gives A Master Class In Navigating The Work Place

For starters, Tess McGill’s energy is bold, smart, persuasive, and unapologetic. This is your starting point: be confident and authentic in who you are. Be like Tess.

Dress For Success

You’ve probably heard this before: dress for the job you want. Look the part.

Why? Because your appearance matters.

Tess, with the help of her BFF, Cin, starts her transformative journey when she cuts her fab ’80s coif. I loved her phat poof and was sad to see it go, but I understand why she made the choice.

Even Cin is hesitant to cut Tess’s mega-platinum flairdo and asks “Are you sure???”

Tess responds decidedly:

And with that, we say bye-bye to her big-big do.

In addition to cutting her mondo-beyondo hair, Tess follows the advice of her back-stabbing boss (more on her later), who quotes the words of Coco Chanel:

This corporate cosplay of Lieutenant Ripley was on to something here. And she’s kinda serving big-ass hair too.

In olden yuppie times, power dressing was all the rage. It allowed women to assert Spiegel-catalog-dominance in a professional environment over their male co-workers.

Tess follows Power Suit Ripley’s advice about women dressing in the work place as she picks an outfit for a work event:

Your appearance matters. When you dress with confidence, it shows – often from across a room. And in a world where perception shapes opportunity, confidence doesn’t just make an impression, it creates influence.

Shift Your Voice

In the film, while at her barfy boss’s apartment, Tess listens to her boss’s voice memos and mimics them. She swaps her New Jersey accent for a clearer, more confident tone, while exercising on this rad 1980s version of Peloton:

I have always said this is important: exercise an assertive voice, with a steady tempo. Set the pace, and like runners in a pack, others will follow your lead.

Do The Research

Research is fundamental to ideas, providing the core that fuels innovation and validates concepts. Research provides the foundation of knowledge. And as Tess knows, research can spark ideas and open up opportunities.

Tess McGill is an avid reader. In Working Girl, she admits to her superiors that she engages in frequent reading:

Make time to read and observe. I’d also take this a step further: jot down quotes, notes, sketches, and ideas in a notebook or note-taking app.

Be Resourceful

In the movie, Tess shows how reading and resourcefulness led to an opportunity. Her research found out the CEO of the company, Oren Trask, would be at his daughter’s wedding that weekend. Tess crashes the wedding reception and captures the full attention of the FOB (Father of the Bride):

Sooooo, Tess did her homework and this led to her stalking a company’s CEO. Stalking a CEO today raises red flags. (Luigi, anyone?) But in the carefree-it’s-a-me-eighties, this was not considered sus behavior. And neither was riding in cars without seatbelts. Or smoking in public. Times have changed. It’s easier these days to find anyone because of the internets, but don’t be sus.

My point is this: be resourceful, but don’t be creepy.

Find Your Ally

While she was researching and schmoozing with the cool kids at work, Tess found her ally in the film’s studmuffin: Harrison Ford, er… Jack Trainer, who eventually got her in front of the big boss at Trask Industries.

The office ladies thought he was quite a beefcake:

They think he’s a righteous dude. 

Oops… I referenced the wrong ’80s movies…

Anyways, the point is: find your allies. We all need alliances at work – these are our peers and people above and below – who can be our advocates and champions. Find them because they will present opportunities, talk you up and the work that you do.

For Tess, Han Solo, Jack Trainer was a righteous ally and he was OMG-so-dreamy.

Whoops… I referenced the wrong ’80s movie. Again.

Sidenote: That dreamboat gets a lot of work.

Moving on.

The Bad Boss

I can’t finish this post without mentioning the film’s bad guy, er… gal. The bad boss in Working Girl is Katherine Parker, seen here giving “Get away from her you bitch” vibes.

Seriously, what’s her damage?

In the film, Tess pitches a profitable idea, only to have her jerk boss, Katharine, claim it as her own and attempt to take credit. With the help of her hubba-hubba ally, Jack Trainer, Tess successfully presents her idea to that CEO guy, and Jerkarine is fired.

And There Was This Guy

This tip of the hat has nothing to do with Tess’s Playbook. I only want to give the producers kudos for having the spot-on foresight to perfectly cast this Hollywood douchebag as a sleazy, sexual harasser.

Something tells me this role was not a stretch for him.

Let’s Wrap This Up

Working Girl is an illuminating case study in how to make it in the working world.

I have given talks and written blog posts that address navigating the work place, but Working Girl was ahead of its time. Even though the movie is from the Reagan era, it delivers very relevant pointers for succeeding in today’s office culture. It worked back then and still applies today.

In the end, we get our feminist rom-com Hollywood ending. Our heroine got the job, got the office with a view, and got the guy. If you haven’t seen it, give your hair a good blow out, down a tequila shot (the valium antihistamine chaser is optional), and have a good watch.

While watching, take note of Tess’s how-to’s and use them as your starter framework. Continue to find what works for you. Or as Tess would say: