Its called thin slicing, or the psychological tendency for people to make almost instantaneous assumptions about you. It happens all the time, including at work.Research suggests that colleagues and would-be clients make snap assessments about your earning potential, chance of getting promoted, and level of success.
For example, in a 2011 Canadian study, 87 university students were shown photos of a man in professional or casual dress, and were asked what they expected his workplace outcomes to be. Not only were the well-dressed men expected to make more money, they were expected to be promoted more rapidly.
The differences were obvious. Not only were the well-dressed men expected to make more money, they were expected to be promoted more rapidly. Meanwhile, the sloppily dressed guys were expected to receive more verbal harassment at work.
What can we do to sidestep negative judgments and instantly appear successful? Scroll down to see what the experts advise.
“Carelessness seems to signal that you don’t respect your coworkers or yourself,” says Sylvia Ann Hewlett, author of “Executive Presence.” “You certainly don’t respect the client if you show up with soup on your tie or bitten nails, anything to make you look unkempt.”
Tailor your look to the situation.
“If it’s Microsoft, it’s one outfit; in the US Army, it’s another,” says longtime executive recruiter Russell Reynolds. “You have to look like you belong to the group, [and] you have to look a little better than the group.” To do that, Hewlett says to “pattern yourself” after someone who’s particularly good at dressing a bit better than the rest of the group.
Stay away from the suggestive.
“For women, a major blunder is sexually provocative clothing,” Hewlett says. “It’s tremendously undermining of your gravitas, because it’s either distracting or threatening. No matter your projection of your capabilities, if your skirt is too short or your neckline too plunging, you get struck off the list for a big client meeting or a promotion.”
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