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You’ve probably heard the saying, “Dress for the job you want, not the job you have” a thousand times. Just in case it’s the first time you’re hearing this, the idea is something like this; lower level workers should dress as formally as their management to show off your potential and project a confidence appearance. While there is a lot of truth in this, there’s also a major flaw to this logic particular in this working era. Let’s look at this idea in more detail, is it time we ditch this old adage or does this truth stand strong even today? 

First Impressions Still Mean Everything

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Science tells us we form a first impression of someone within a tenth of a second. That’s a fraction of a second, before you’ve even said hello. Before you’ve had a chance to explain about your wrinkled pants, the fight you had with your hair that morning or apologize for the soy sauce you spilt down your white top at lunch, the stranger you’re about to meet has already formed an opinion of you. And if you’ve ever misjudged someone before you got to know them, you’ll know exactly how long it took for that first impression to dissipate...too long! Like it or not, it’s in our nature to form an initial opinion on someone and it may or may not be accurate. That’s why it’s so important in the workplace to always look your best and present your best self in order to nail that first impression with a high score. Of course, with certain professions, specific details of your appearance and mannerisms can be more important than others, nobody wants to buy food from someone with dirty fingernails and you’re not likely to go to a hair dresser who themselves has terrible hair right? It’s safe to say that making a good first impression is still as important as it was decades ago and let’s be honest, if you’re working in fashion, it’s hard to take style advice from someone wearing four day old sweatpants. 

You Want To Appear Capable 

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Ultimately, you want your boss and co workers to see you as a leader with potential to progress to management and your dress code has a lot to do with that. Subliminally, even if your boss knows you’re good at your job, if you can’t sort out the small things like dressing yourself well, they’ll never believe you’ll be able to handle the big stuff associated with getting a promotion. Many people start to panic when they know an appraisal is coming up but really, we’re being evaluated every single day. Not just by bosses either, but by clients and co workers too. By dressing for the job you want, you’re sending a clear signal of how you respect your job, in what way you identify and even how you read the work place environment. If putting yourself in the best possible position for promotional isn’t reason enough to dress your best at the office, we’re not sure what is. 

The Psychology of Getting Dressed

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Many people who are facing a phone interview are advised to get dressed for the call as they would if the interview was in person. This is because the physical act of dressing for the event has been psychologically proven to enhance your performance in the interview. It’s all about confidence, you wouldn’t give a seriously important speech wearing a dress you feel doesn’t flatter you and makes you feel self conscious right? So it’s the same for an interview, in fact it’s the same for every day at work, the better you look, the more confident you’ll feel and therefore you’ll do your best work too. In some ways it’s like tricking your brain with confidence and is a version of giving yourself a pep talk and a motivational speech before doing something you’re nervous about. 

The Flaw In the Theory

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Of course, there’s definitely a chink in the armour and is something that has evolved from a relatively new concept in the work place. A couple of decades ago, even just a decade ago, work places were more strict on appearance and dress code and it was very few places that would be liberal enough to even allow dark denim. These days, it’s a completely different story, particularly if you work in fashion. Co workers and even management will still most likely look put together but in a completely different way to the traditional office uniform. Personal style comes in to the mix in a big way and fashion is all about breaking boundaries so you might find it hard to define the dress code of your co workers and bosses when it looks like anything goes.

Furthermore, these days it’s not uncommon to even see the boss of the boss wearing sweatpants and sneakers on tough mornings and we don’t advise you to start looking to their outfit for dressing for the job you want. They’ve paid their dues and realistically, if they own the company, they can wear whatever they want but we’re sure they won’t be too pleased to see you in your Sunday sweats at the office. Just because they can get away with it, doesn’t mean you can, meaning dressing for the job you want could actually be a bad choice if your boss doesn’t dress formally. 

Overall, dressing for the job you want not the job you have does still have merit these days however it may not be the blanket statement, one size fits all work places advice it once was. Definitely work this idea into your office outfit if you feel it would work for your workplace but look at it with a critical eye in case your work has a more new age structure.