OK! Advice: Kelly Cutrone Sets You Straight

You've seen fashion-industry power-publicist Kelly Cutrone dishing out her unflinching advice to her famous protégés, Lauren Conrad and Whitney Port. But last week OK! asked you what guidance you'd like to hear from Kelly, whose show Kell on Earth premieres tonight on Bravo at 10 p.m. ET/PT and whose book If You Have To Cry, Go Outside And Other Things Your Mother Never Told You hits stores tomorrow.

Here are her answers. Did she answer your question?

Dear Kelly,

I’d like to know your opinion on how to handle a manager who is a two-faced moron. He compliments co-workers one minute, and the next minute he says really mean things about their appearance and abilities to employers in another HQ. I’m looking forward for your opinion, because so far I’ve noticed you really give good advice!

Greetings from Europe,

Kate

Dear Kate,

Get over the emotions and into the work. This is not a glee club — it's not important that we respect and like everyone we work with.

Speak to the person and say, "I don't know if you know that when you do X, Y and Z, it makes me very uncomfortable,” or, "Are you trying to communicate with me by leaving your screen on?"

If you like your job, try putting your feelings aside and stick it out. But don't do so to the extent that you humiliate yourself or lose your self-respect.

Ultimately, if you find it to be an overwhelmingly abusive relationship, leave it.

Yours,

Kelly

Hey Kelly,

I was wondering what you would tell someone who wants to enter the fashion industry. I am currently still in university and want to get as much experience as I can now, but I am finding it hard to find opportunities as I am not near a central fashion location. What would you suggest I do now to potentially help my future job chances in the fashion/PR world?

Emily

Dear Emily,

If you want to work in the fashion industry, your choice of internships becomes key. That's where you start making yourself into a brand.

Select which companies to approach according to where you want your career to go. If you want to work for a luxury fashion brand, you should do all the research you can on the luxury brands, from Louis Vuitton to Dior to Givenchy to even more cutting edge brands like Rick Owens.  Or if you want to be a contemporary, fun girl who does lots of trade shows then you should find out about companies like Betsey Johnson and Steve Madden.

Associate accordingly with brands that represent where you want to be five years from now.

Yours,

Kelly

Dear Kelly,

What characteristics and qualities do you look for in fellow employees? For example what does the ideal candidate for a job at your company People’s Revolution look like?

Kirsten

Dear Kirsten,

First of all, they're not my fellow employees: they're my employees. But I always say that I'm looking for the village girl who will change the world: someone who's authentic and unique and has their own point of view, who isn't going to recite my own quotes back to try and convince me to let them work here.

People should get to the heart of why they really want to do this job and express that. That may not be the best advice across the board, but if you want to work here you should try and figure why you really love fashion and why you want to know about it, and then be honest with me.

If you're from the royal family of Spain, don't pretend you're not, and if you're from the Bronx don't pretend you're not.

Don't try to figure out what the employer wants, because most of the time when a 21-year-old tries to figure out what a 45-year-old wants to hear, they kind of miss it.

Yours,

Kelly

Log on to okmagazine.com next week for more advice from Kelly Cutrone next week, and be sure to catch the fashion PR maven in all her glory as Kell on Earth premieres tonight on Bravo at 10pm ET/PT.