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"So, you love your job, right? But, no matter how much you enjoy your work, you&amp;#39;re only human, and office politics can be frustrating, especially when you&amp;#39;re a woman working in a male-dominated field (James Brown wasn&amp;#39;t kidding when he said it&amp;#39;s a man&amp;#39;s man&amp;#39;s man&amp;#39;s world). If you&amp;#39;ve ever been in a situation like this, know you&amp;#39;re not alone&amp;#8212;and know you can make it better.\nPinterestFacebookEnter Alexa Von Tobel, founder and CEO of learnvest.com, a personal finance website for women. She&amp;#39;s dominated the old boys&amp;#39; club that most people know as business and finance, and she knows just what it takes to succeed in a male-dominated field. We asked her for some tips on making it in a man&amp;#39;s (man&amp;#39;s man&amp;#39;s) world, and here&amp;#39;s what she said:\nFocus on your work, not your gender. When it comes down to it, it doesn&amp;#39;t matter who are you or where you come from. &amp;quot;Don&amp;#39;t focus on being a woman in a male-dominated industry&amp;#8212;focus on working harder and smarter. Put in that extra effort to prepare, to come up with great ideas, to be the best you can be at your job,&amp;quot; von Tobel says.\nWhen everyone zigs, you have to zag. Remember that it&amp;#39;s OK to be different and to think outside the box when it comes to your work. &amp;quot;That&amp;#39;s a great path to success, so if everything is being safe, be bold,&amp;quot; says von Tobel. Take it from me&amp;#8212;I dropped out of Harvard Business School during the recession!&amp;quot;\nBe &amp;quot;outsized.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;When I&amp;#39;m hiring, the top skill I look for is people with an outsized amount of passion and belief,&amp;quot; von Tobel says. &amp;quot;These are people who are going to innovate, to be game-changers, to persevere. Make it a goal to embody that in your own career&amp;#8212;no matter your industry!&amp;quot;\nTake risks. Remember, it&amp;#39;s absolutely OK to be nervous at work and to push yourself outside of your comfort zone. In fact, it&amp;#39;s critical that you do so&amp;#8212;be it speaking up in a big meeting or negotiating a higher salary. Go out on a limb to get that extra responsibility and earn trust.\nGet up, dress up, show up. &amp;quot;This is one of my work mottos,&amp;quot; von Tobel says. &amp;quot;It&amp;#39;s simple, I know, but it&amp;#39;s what you need to do every day to succeed. Be ready, arrive on time, and show up raring to go.&amp;quot;\nWhat are your thoughts on Alexa&amp;#39;s advice? What has your professional experience been like?"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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