If you were ever a tennis fan in the early 1990s, you’ll for sure remember Canon’s “Image is Everything” campaign (Andre Agassi was one of my tennis idols growing up). Well, that famous saying, Image is Everything, is most certainly true! More seriously though, the image that you share with others can impact your impression on others. We’ve all heard the “first impressions happen in a few quick seconds” (possibly the blink of an eye). It’s imporant to make sure you know what you want to share with others – and what you don’t! Things to consider are: Your overall style and professional attire: does your style say that you are “competent, trustworthy, and reliable” or are you projecting a personal style that say you’re a hot mess? This is no superficial things folks. Developing an appearance that is professional is vital to success in business. Your presence on social media: it’s becoming more and more common for employers and university admissions offices to scour social media in order to learn more about you. This can impact your chances of being recruited or promoted (or even fired… yikes). Be smart about this and use common sense. If you’re not sure what’s acceptable, do some reading on the topic. There’s a lot of available information. Your posture and body language: does your body language let people know you are open to new ideas, collaborating, or feedback? The way you stand. your use of gestures, and your facial expressions can communicate a lot about you. Be aware of what others are picking up from you. If you’re not sure, ask someone you trust for feedback and help. You should be the one to get that promotion, gain entrance to graduate school, meet that special someone… right? Make sure you consider the image you’re projecting because it’s true – Image is Everything.
Dress for the body you have, not the body you want…
Far too often, you’ve caught yourself wearing that “trend of the moment” item that looked, at best, ok on you. Why do you continue to do that? Why do you continue to pick garments that look AMAZING on the model, at the stores, or in the magazines but look pretty average… ok, less than average, on you? We’ve all done the “I’ll dress better when I lose a few pounds,” right? STOP IT! You deserve better…. and you deserve it now. These simple, easy to do tips will help you choose pieces that flatter, enhance, and highlight your beautiful and unique shape. Know your body type: Knowing your body shape will help you choose garments with cuts, colours, patterns and textures that are right for YOU. Be aware that you, like many women, are probably not the same size on the top and bottom half of your body. Know these size differences BEFORE heading into the dressing room so you can avoid the frustration or end up feeling sorry for yourself (that’s no good). Not all trends were created for you: Accept it. It`s just a fact of life. You might really like a metallic this or neon-coloured that but plastering it all over your body may not highlight YOU in the right way. Instead, take that trend of the moment that you love so much and make it work for your body type and style preferences. For example, bold colours (if that’s your thing), could be incorporated into your outfit with a feminine blouse, funky high heel, or skinny belt. Trendy items can be incorporated into your look in a fun, personalized way that doesn’t break the bank! Highlight your favourite features: You know “the areas” that make you feel self-conscious? Well, who cares about that! Let’s celebrate and focus on the things that you love about yourself. Maybe you have beautiful eyes, legs that go on forever, curves that would make a certain Kardashian jealous, or creamy and youthful skin. You can certainly play up these features with the right clothing choices. Start experimenting now… with the wonderful body you have NOW. These things may seem common sense but to be honest, they’re not. Take a walk around your downtown and do some people watching… clearly not so common sense or you wouldn’t have gasped and, silently, judged the last 5 people that walked by you.
New Grads – Don’t let this be you!
I’ve seen this way too often… a young, female intern or new grad wearing the most inappropriate, provocative outfit to work. The worst part is that this inexperienced, optimistic student thinks that her sexy, tight outfit looks good for a professional office environment. It’s sad… tragic actually. I was recently at a client site and noticed that there was a new assistant working at the front desk of this professional office. Guess what she was wearing? She had on a tight pencil skirt (it actually looked like a piece of elastic dressed up as a skirt), a spaghetti-strap tank top, and peep toe pumps (in black lace). Terrible. Later on that day, I noticed that she had a shawl wrapped tightly around her shoulders… I assume that someone had said something to her about her “bar star” outfit. Don’t misunderstand what I’m saying here. That outfit was perfectly fine for other situations (a bar, club, dinner out, etc) but had NO place in a professional environment. Unfortunately, skimpy attire in the workplace isn’t all that uncommon. Scary, isn’t it? To be totally fair, I don’t completely blame the young lady for her clothing mishap. It was pretty obvious to me that she just didn’t know her attire was inappropriate (rather than knowing it was inappropriate and purposely wearing it). I’d like to think that she probably would have chosen a different outfit had she known she looked so ridiculous in an office setting. Early last year, I was talking to a friend of mine, who works in career services for a local college. She told me a crazy story about a young lady who came to the career center for a practice interview with a real HR professional. What a great opportunity, right? She showed up for the interview well-prepared to answer anticipated questions but much less prepared with how she wanted to present herself. According to my friend, the student came to the interview wearing a party dress and strappy sandals. Yikes! To try and manage the reaction from the HR professional, my friend said that she ended up lending her suit jacket to the student for the duration of the interview. Now, I’m certainly not saying that it’s ONLY young female interns/new grads who are prone to making inappropriate style choices in a new workplace. What I do want to say though is that if you are not sure what do wear to work, or to an interview, ASK! Ask your new employer, a trusted mentor, a career advisor, etc. Nobody is going to fault you for asking. What you will be faulted for is going to work in an itty-bitty little number… talk about hitting the breaks on your career!!! Don’t let this be you.