Personal brand: Rethinking the dress code

Express your personal style without sacrificing your personal brand

Imagine you’re a hiring manager. You have two candidates: one is decked out in a stylish, freshly pressed business suit, with a snappy tie and shiny, professional shoes. The other is wearing fashionable blue jeans, a light sweater and a sport jacket.

Which would you rather work with?

It doesn’t matter. Because regardless of which of those styles appeals to you more, the fact is that you probably have a preference. One of those styles will feel more familiar, more professional, more appropriate for your workplace — whatever. No matter what or why, image has an impact.

So lets think about some common things that we might wear every day on a critical level for a moment.

What do you think about a business suit? Some might think it’s polished and professional, and that it indicates success. Others might think it’s stuffy, “corporate,” and old-fashioned.

How about a string of pearls? Depending on your age and fashion sense, they can be either classic or prim.

Open-toe stiletto heels? May be seen as a confident step towards fashion-forward. Also may be seen as impractical or attracting the wrong kind of attention.

Last, how about a t-shirt with a slogan printed on it? Some people will find that clearly work inappropriate. Others will see it as a sign of the times, or reflective of a certain culture. It may be assumed that you’re working for a tech startup.

So for any of these items, there’s an upside and a downside. Plus, you’ll dress a little differently for an evening networking event over cocktails than you would for coffee on a Saturday morning. What’s a fashionable professional to do?

The traditional advice on how to dress for business isn’t always true anymore. It’s still better to be overdressed than underdressed, but the growing trend of casual workplaces makes suits in certain situations seem quaint. You can make a positive impression without giving up your personality. After you get dressed for wherever you’re going — be it interview, networking, etc. — check out the mirror then check your gut.

• How do you feel about how you look? Your gut feeling is trying to tell you something. If your first thought is too short, too tight, too casual, too sloppy or whatever…  listen.
• If you were to meet the CEO of your dream company, how would you feel? You’d hate to be wishing you’d played it differently.
• If you asked your mom/best friend, what would they say about it?
• What’s the worst thing someone could think about you based only on the way you dress?
• What’s the best thing someone could think on the same basis?

If you’re comfortable with the answers to all of these, and confident that your look will move you forward rather than get in your way, then go ahead. Make your best judgment call based on what you know of the company culture, and the guidelines above. Then, when you get there, make how you dress (almost) irrelevant by dazzling people with what you say, not what you wear.

photo credit: Martin Kingsley

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