Dress code – it’s all about standards!

There’s an old adage often thrown around in business, especially when interviewing or starting a new job: ‘Dress for the job you want, not the job you have.’ The way we are first perceived by peers and employers often comes down to the way we are dressed.

Of course, it’s important to dress well for an interview, even if held online, so a smart blouse or dress or shirt and tie can never go amiss when you wish to make that all important good first impression.

However, workwear has generally become more casual across the board, and it used to be that companies would have ‘dress down Fridays’, but now that kind of informal wear seems to be the everyday choice for many offices. This can cause confusion and uncertainty for people as to how to dress when starting a new job.

You don’t want to be overdressed – ie. in a suit or smart dress when everyone else is wearing t-shirts and jeans – on your first day, as it shows that you don’t understand the business. Equally, being underdressed – ie. in a t-shirt and jeans when everyone wears skirts, dresses and heels, or suits, shirts and ties – can come across to others that you’re lacking enthusiasm and motivation.

Both situations are less than ideal when you want to make a good first and lasting impression in your new role.

Dress for success

Carefully consider how you dress, not just on your first day, but every day. Dressing well and suitably for your place of work can send powerful messages about how you respect and value your job and the business. You are also more likely to be considered for increased responsibility and for promotions, showing that if you take your appearance seriously, you will be taken seriously at work too.

Not only is it important to be dressed well to impress others with influence at work, there have been studies conducted into the psychology of clothes, which have found that the way we dress can also impact our mental and physical performance at work.

There is also a greater acceptance of the fluidity of choice of clothes by an individual, to dress more femininely or masculinely depending on how they identify, and although it’s not necessarily true that ‘clothes maketh the person’, I always find that the more confident you feel in what you’re wearing, the more confident you will be in yourself.

So how you dress really does matter, both to be, and to be perceived, as someone with credibility and therefore someone who matters.

What to wear

Of course, how you might be expected to dress can also depend on your role and industry, and the difference between formal or informal wear might just be part of the territory. Suits and ties are still very much hand-in-hand with the legal and banking industry, whereas for the more creative industries, like web development and game design, jeans and trainers are more the norm.

If you’re looking to climb the career ladder, it’ll do no harm to pay attention to what senior-role people of the business are wearing, and aspire to their level.

However, don’t wear yourself over what to wear. If in doubt, you can never go wrong with smart casual.