Dressing for Your ‘Ultimate Role’

This may sound old hat, but the fact is we are all judged by our ‘packaging’, just as a book by its cover. The old adage of ‘dress for success’ still holds true today, and I suspect, always will. In my opinion, this fact flies in the face of offices that have changed over to a ‘business casual’ atmosphere. I personally believe that the psychology behind this ‘casual’ kind of workplace was intended to put employees, and interviewees, at immediate ease, while at the same time, elicit the perception, true or false, of an open and friendly workplace. Therefore, I think it is an excellent marketing tool used to draw potential candidates to a firm’s door.

As an interesting and playful exercise, please put yourself in the mindset of one who is responsible for interviewing and hiring Senior Executive and/or Management level personnel for your firm.

As a ‘dramatically exaggerated’ scenario, suppose that you find yourself conducting an interview with a woman who is professionally dressed and ‘presents well’ during the course of the interview. This candidate has an excellent background and leaves you feeling most impressed and intrigued. As it turns out, your next interviewee is an individual dressed in a way that is reminiscent of Polyester Sally, chewing gum or sucking on a candy. Which individual would you instinctively spend your valuable time with during and following the course of the interview? Naturally, we all know which candidate would be placed on the shortlist. This is a most unfortunate scenario that is too often seen. The second interviewee may have had a superb background, however, she did not make the effort to package herself professionally, and did not ‘present well’ in her interview.

I would like to point out here that ‘dressing for success’ does not necessarily mean spending a good portion of your salary on very expensive suits. You can achieve the same look of ‘professionalism’ with a well-coordinated outfit that will ‘finish’ as a suit, and serve you well since you can mix and match. Work within your budget, and I am sure you will be pleased with the choices available to you without spending hundreds, or even thousands, of your hard-earned dollars. It will take a little more of your time to find the right pieces, but it is definitely worth the time and effort.

Personally, as long as the term ‘casual’ is not taken out of its intended context, or tested to the extreme, such as jogging suits, which I have witnessed, I think business casual would be acceptable. We all love our ‘jeans days’ and attending casual functions. However, the bottom line remains that if you want to get ahead and move up the ‘proverbial corporate ladder’ you must dress the part for the ultimate role you wish to play.