My friend, Liza's husband, Declan, was up for an interview. He was nervous, but because of his leadership positions in the past and experience he figured he had a good chance of landing the position. He previously had interviewed for 2 or 3 other positions and wasn't promoted, so he figured he would be more likely to be in the running for this one.
Once again, Declan was proven wrong. He was completely mystified as to why this had happened again. In the past he'd been promoted several times and aced every quarterly review. It isn't like he works for some mediocre company. He works for a well known corporation in its customer care division. When he went to his manager to ask for feedback, he was told that his interview was good. The reason that he wasn't hired for that position and for the others was that he was too well dressed. Declan wears slacks, a tie, and an oxford shirt to work. The upper level managers dress down considerably and felt that Declan was out dressing them. As you might imagine, he was stunned. Declan, like most people, had always been told to dress for the job he wanted. Apparently, to do this he would need to wear jeans and a t-shirt with a small stain. His workplace has become a "workplace of choice". What this means is the workplace tries to suit the wants of the employee and does away with a more traditional business culture. In theory, this sounds good, but it isn't. This workplace of choice model may work for Facebook or Google, but it isn't conducive for other companies. It causes workers to be overlooked. I've said it once and I'll say it again: Dress codes are necessary.
The way a person dresses sends a message. Your standards and dress codes should never lower to meet someone else's. Your dress and appearance are a source of personal pride. Give yourself a reason to be proud.
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