What You Wear Will Impact Your Professional Career
Who would hire a guy that only wears t-shirts and gym shorts to the office every day? Nobody, that's who. They certainly wouldn't promote an individual like that to an important position in the company, that would be foolish. We all know that clothes are so much more important than talent, intuition, compassion, and innovation when it comes to corporate success.
That's why I was so pleased to read that corporate America still values wardrobe and fashion in such high regard when it comes to promoting individuals within a company. This way a totally inane and ignorant individual with a good sense of fashion can make everyone look great while he or she is driving the company into the ground.
A recent study indicated that 80% of managers and 86% of employees felt that wardrobe played a key role in potential promotion within a company. The good news for people like me, the fashionably challenged, is that the definition of dressing up has certainly changed through the years.
Outfits made up of jeans, leggings, and even tennis shoes are more in vogue in the eyes of corporate America. Still, there are some no-no's like tank tops, shorts, and tube tops that are looked on with disfavor.
I guess the bottom line in all of this is to dress for the job you want and not the job you have. That old axiom still applies on many levels. You can take the shorts and t-shirt route to the top if you want but you'd better be willing to work harder and smarter than anyone else if you're looking to climb the corporate ladder.