You’ve been the top performer in your office month on month and are working over your contracted hours yet your colleague bagged the promotion you were hoping for? Does this sound familiar? If so, it might be time to have a long, hard look in the mirror and analyse your work attire because it could be what you are wearing, rather than how you are working that is holding you back. According to a recent study conducted by corporate uniform provider Simon Jersey, almost four in ten employers have admitted to overlooking an employee for a pay rise for being inappropriately dressed during an interview or day-to-day in the office.
Obviously every work place is different and depending on the nature of the company that you work for you might be able to get away with more. When working in a corporate environment however the rules seem pretty standard across the board.
So what is deemed as ‘inappropriate clothing’? It emerged from the survey that Crop Tops are a complete no go for woman and baseball caps should be left at home for the men. Other items included flip-flops, mini-skirts, shorts, ripped jeans and heavily branded t-shirts or jumpers.
Body piercing and tattoos do seem to be more acceptable than ever before with 6 in 10 employers believing them to be ok, however it would still be advisable to cover them up where possible. Inked or pierced faces could still cause you issues.
So what could the repercussions of being poorly dressed or unkempt be for you as a current employee of a business or as a job seeker attending an interview? The survey revealed that while 42 per cent of bosses simply have a quiet word with someone they think needs to improve their appearance and 1 in 5 has had a formal conversation or warned them about it. 1 in 50 managers actually admitted to sacking an employee over the way they presented themselves whilst at work.
Although somewhat controversial, it appears that appearance really does play a huge part in the work place. Therefore, next time you’re running late and you drag your hair up into a messy bun or reach for your comfy trainers, think “do I look like a professional that a client would want to do business with?’ if the answer is no, it’s time for a wardrobe overhaul.
At Selective Recruitment we like to meet all candidates before putting them forward for job interviews and this is one of the reason why. As well as offering advice on what to say at an interview we can also steer you in the right direction on what is appropriate to wear.
This is a great info graphic created by Simon Jersey after conducting the poll of 2,000 workers.
