We’ve all heard how important our appearance is in other people’s assessment of our career potential. What are some words that come to mind when you someone well dressed walking past your cube? Dedicated. Observant. Affluent.
You probably value their attention to detail. In short-professional. All of this is true, after all they must spend countless hours over the weeks and months planning their outfits. This person probably pays careful attention to the styles of the time so as to appear as if they just returned from a Forbes photoshoot. Maintaining a wardrobe to match these needs is no cheap endeavor, and so they must have the prosperity to supply their sense of fashion.
I decided to do some research to try to quantify the value added by these pursuits. The following graph was taken from “Profitable Street Performing.” While it comes from a niche industry, I believe the underlying principle, that attire has a direct correlation to income, can be extrapolated to many professions.
As you can see, there is a direct correlation between one’s apparel and income.
We have yet to discuss people who have an unkempt appearance. You might be wondering, what words describe this subset of office dwellers? Almost the exact opposite of those who are well-dressed! Not Affluent. No attention to detail. This person clearly does NOT spend hours week after week planning their appearance, nor do they spend their money in order to keep in style.
I wanted to learn more about this segment of society, and decided to do some field research. In order to preserve the integrity of the data collected, I went undercover so I could record candid responses from the community. I was waiting in a cube, undetected, for the perfect opportunity when a particularly bum-like person sauntered past. I asked one of my co-workers for his opinion by making a joke in order to disguise my data acquisition. “Amazing he got hired, right?” I asked, poking fun at his homeliness. “Yeah…he must be some sort of genius to get hired looking like THAT in this economy.” I was floored, and demanded further explanation. “What do you mean?” “Well, he definitely didn’t get hired because of his professionalism. Most likely the kids a fucken' genius, and the company picked him up before he was snatched by our competition.”
So today’s advice is this – “you never get a second chance to make a first impression,” so decide what kind of impression YOU want other people to have of you before you first set foot in the office. And remember - dancing monkeys in suits make more.
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