Personal Picture Plus the Dress Code: Why It Matters
Your professional image is truly a critical aspect of the military-to-civilian transition job search—and your subsequent career. Even in an era of largely informal business settings—coffee shop meetings and video conferences—and casual business dress codes—"business casual" and casual Friday—an experienced image is still expected. So if it's not the dress code, what forms the concept of the professional image?
Harvard Business School professor, Laura Morgan Roberts, defines professional image as: the collection of characteristics and attributes that define perceptions of your competence and character as judged by your key constituents (i.e., customers, superiors, subordinates, colleagues). Simply put, Ms. Roberts is describing an ability to exceed expectations, hit deadlines, and be an overall valuable contribution to your office.
In some ways, it’s more challenging to create and maintain a professional image today, but there are also more opportunities to shape your image. In fact, your professional image is the entire set of impressions that people in the workplace have of you, so you can handle most interactions as an opportunity to build your reputation.
In a world of billionaires in blue jeans, is it still important to dress for success? It might all seem a little bit outdated. After all, we’ve all seen pictures of CEOs in "business casual" or just blue jeans. And if it's good enough for them, why not for you?
Here’s a rule of thumb: when your net worth exceeds the combined worth of about two hundred of the wealthiest people you know personally, you probably can rest easy about whatever you wear. In other words, regular mortals need to dress appropriately.
But what is it really: to dress for success? Well, it depends—but it doesn’t count entirely—on the culture and requirements of your workplace, or, if you're changing careers, those of the company or firm you hope will hire you. However, there’s more to it than meets the eye, and for every authentic mover and shaker who looks like they fix trucks for a living, there are twelve types of well-dressed losers.
It’s About You, Not the Clothes
When you dress for success, you make a powerful statement about who you are and where you’re going. Putting together this part of your professional image is crucial. Give it some thought carefully and judge everything you should start doing, stop doing, or do differently to put your best foot forward.
There’s a famous story about Carol Burnett, the renowned comedienne, who could never get into character until she found the right shoes. The way you dress affects the way you feel and the way you conduct yourself. For that reason, it also has a significant impact on how others treat you. It's human nature that we tend to respect people who clearly respect themselves.
Dress for Where You’re Going, Not Where You Are
So much of dressing for success has to do with "state of mind." It's about how you think and feel about yourself and (let’s be honest) manipulating how others do the same. Help them see you as someone who’s obviously on the move, ready for new and broader responsibilities. Clearly, you can’t do that with clothes alone, but stellar on-the-job performance blended with a winning professional style positively invites opportunity and success.
Always Be Slightly Better Dressed Than Anyone Else in the Room
With the possible exception of the boss, try to dress with a little more class than those around you. Don't go crazy or you may cause resentment, but someone needs to look sharper than anyone else, and it might as well be you.
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