Could a makeover save your career?

The “her” in question is not a doctor
or psychiatrist, but an image
consultant. The sales executive,
who works for a well-known blue
chip firm, didn’t choose to go—
her male boss told her to.
His advice was that she would sell
more if she looked less like an
accountant or a lawyer and more
like an accomplished salesperson.
The company footed the bill for a
session with a consultant who
advised her on all aspects of her
appearance—including her clothing,
make-up and hair. “Deep inside I
knew something needed to happen,
but I didn’t know what,” she says.
It’s too soon after the session to
report whether the subtle changes
she’s made - a new hairstyle, more
colourful and better fitting clothing
and wearing accessories - have
helped her close more sales, but
she’s pleased with the results.
She is not willing, however, to be
named in this article, and anxiously
assures me that she wasn’t unattractive
before.

Her reticence isn’t surprising.
Despite living in a visually obsessed
world where the appearance of
people in the public eye is routinely
discussed and criticised, in the
workplace there’s a sense that it
shouldn’t matter—that the work that
you do and how well you do it is all
that counts.

Mocked memo
When Swiss bank UBS’s 44-page
dress code, advising client-facing
staff on everything from appropriate
underwear to the importance
of regular haircuts, was leaked in
2010 it was widely mocked.
Similarly, when law firm Clifford
Chance issued a memo to its
US staff titled “Speaking effectively”,
with an entire section devoted to
fashion, many dubbed it patronising
and sexist.

It included tips such as “think
Lauren Bacall, not Marilyn Monroe”
and “no-one heard Hillary [Clinton]
the day she showed cleavage”.
While neither firm got the tone
quite right, they are not alone in
advising staff on their appearance.
Accountancy firm PwC emphasises
the importance of appearance to
graduates when they join the firm. It
tells them that people make up their
mind about them in just 30 seconds,
and asks them what they want to be
remembered for.

It also has an official dress code
for staff, which it defines as “modern
professional”. It says this enables
staff to dress less formally but
emphasises that they still need to
present a business-like image.
Nonetheless, Sarah Churchman,
director of diversity at PwC, says it
is a controversial topic.

“When we touch on appearance in
the context of personal branding it
divides the room. People don’t want
to think it matters but deep down
they know it does. We all make
assumptions about people which can
be based on superficial appearance,”
she adds.

It’s not really about clothes
Karen Pine, a psychology professor
at the University of Hertfordshire,
says her research clearly shows
that what a person wears has a big
impact on others’ impressions of
them and on their subsequent career
opportunities.

She says women whose work-wear
is “slightly provocative” are judged
to be less competent and therefore
less likely to get promoted.
Like-wise, a man in an off-theshelf
suit is judged as less successful
and less flexible than his counterpart
who wears a tailor-made
suit, she says.
There is also growing evidence
to suggest that appearance does
not just affect how a person is perceived,
but even influences how
they perform.

Prof Pine points to a German
study that asked people to
describe their character traits
when they wore either formal or
casual clothing.
She says they were more likely to
describe themselves as neat
and strategic when
in smart attire, and as easygoing
or
clumsy when dressed casually.
Similarly,
she says an airline that
experimented with
casual dress went back to
uniforms because the employees
felt more confident when they
dressed formally.
“People unconsciously take on
some of the characteristics and
attributes associated with the clothing.
Just this year my research
found that wearing a Superman
t-shirt affected how physically
strong people thought they were
and how superior they felt to
others,” she says.

Authoritative enough?
Juliet Hughes-Hallett, chair of
Smart Works, a charity that provides
high-quality clothes and styling
advice to out-of-work women on low
incomes, says it focuses on appearance
for this reason. “Of course it’s
about clothes but it’s not really about
clothes. It is often really emotional.
They literally can’t believe what
they look like. They are viewing a
possibility where there wasn’t one
before. The people who are dressing
them are feeding their self-esteem,”
she says.

Image consultant Jennifer Aston
says typically her corporate clients
are people on the cusp of a big promotion.
She recently worked with a
man in line for a chief executive
role, helping him to look “authoritative
enough” to represent the firm
both on TV and to clients.
Changes she helped him make
included better-fitting suits, a new
haircut and glasses.

“People say it’s superficial but the
way that you present yourself at
work can make a huge difference to
the outcome of your success.”
by Katie Hope
Source = BBC