Dressing to impress is more than a fashion tip
When I had just got my job, I must admit that I didn’t take dress code (my appearance) as an important thing to go by. As long as I showed up at office and did what was expected of me in my T-shirts, jeans and open shoes, the rest was history.
Journalism being a profession where I meet quite a number of respectable and important people, I had to undergo a sort of “transition” to appear presentable in public. From T-shirts, jeans and crafts to a more respectable way of a shirt with a tie. Before I knew it, I got used and it became part of my life; not because it was a must, but because I realised I needed to, if anyone I talked to was to take me serious. I’m not bragging around or whichever way someone may perceive it but it’s actually reality in any kind of professional work.
The tutorial from all this is that unless you change the way you present yourself before people, chances are that they may not take you that serious even if you have thousands of points to make. Someone out there might be wondering why they have a first class degree and have applied for jobs in the biggest companies or organisations in this country, even with the required papers and right job title, but have still failed to get that job. It could be, without your knowledge, because of your appearance that negatively or positively affects the first impression you give.
You might be smart in the mind but the first impression lets you into the game. By wearing a cap, your potential employer might be biased simply because you entered his office with a cap on.
It hurts so much that such simple matters most people especially youths (dot.com generation) take lightly, actually come to cost them a fortune resulting from either their negligence or sheer ignorance, all in the name of wearing upto date designer clothes.
If you’re lucky enough while looking for a job and you are smartly dressed, someone may offer you a job simply because of the way you appeared before them.
The first impression counts. I’m not saying that decent dressing is a sure way to earning yourself a job, but just one of the things some companies and organisations emphasise among their policies.
In the corporate world, the kind of dressing I’m talking about is one where one dresses to represent the workplace or profession they come from and practice respectively.
Otherwise, lawyers would wear overalls and helmets and go to their offices. I for one don’t find it convenient wearing a T-shirt and jeans and open shoes on a working day like Monday or Tuesday.
If it’s a Friday, it’s understandable the weekend mood is kicking in. Don’t wait for change to change you. For the better, change slowly but steadily and with time, you’ll get there one day.
