Dress for Success Choosing the Right Work Clothing - Margaret Buj - Interview Coach

Dress for Success Choosing the Right Work Clothing Choosing the right clothing for work is a potential minefield which you want to be able to navigate successfully. What you wear has a natural knock-on effect to how you come across to your colleagues, bosses and clients. But style isn’t the only thing you should be considering. You also need to consider practicality as well. So, let’s look at a bit of general advice that can help you out when you are deciding what to wear for work. Understand What is Industry Appropriate Every company draws the line somewhere different. While some insist on you being particularly formal, others are much more happy with you taking a laid-back approach. Increasingly, companies are falling into the second camp, but you still may want to have some differentiation between what you wear at home and what you wear at work. If your company has a specific dress code, this takes a lot of the hassle of choosing away from you. Consider Practicality Practicality is especially important if you have a job that involves working outdoors, so make sure you are wearing clothes that give you the mobility and protection from the elements that you require. Make sure you check the weather forecast before deciding on clothing. Take a look at Dickies work pants for some good options. Even if you work in an office, practicality is still an important issue. For example, if the air conditioning is constantly blasting out, not having something to cover up with could be a big mistake. Choose the Right Bag You need a bag that is the appropriate size so you can store all your personal and work-related items. A good option is to go for one which has specific compartments so you can separate out your things and access them easily when you need to. And there is something that seems especially symbolic in upgrading your old backpack for a brand new shiny briefcase! Pay Attention to the Details There are a number of details which can help to finish off your look. To start off with, if you need to wear glasses, make sure that they fit properly and aren’t sliding down your nose all the time as this can become instantly distracting. Avoid wearing perfume or cologne which is too strong as this gets you noticed for the wrong reasons by the people around you. If you are going to wear a single accessory a watch is a good option as it is both stylish and practical. Think About Your Personal Colour Scheme Darker colours tend to give off a stronger impression to lighter ones, and are a popular choice for a lot of people. If you are going to be giving a presentation, make sure that you aren’t wearing anything which is going to cause you to blend in with the background! Be careful with anything overly flashy unless you are comfortable with the attention that you will naturally receive by wearing these things.