Can my clothes and image really hold me back in my career?
Asked by: Anonymous
Answers (3)
Make a LASTing Impression
Look, Act, Speak and Think your best.
Attending to your wardrobe while ignoring your makeup or hair won't get you there. Looking great while using irritating voice tones doesn't cut it. A great ensemble that fit better 10 pounds ago doesn't size up. Great attire with bad hair and makeup won't do it. Having your exterior and voice tone together with a blah attitude is just, well... blah.
But... when you LOOK, ACT, SPEAK & THINK your best, there's nothing that can diminish your effervescence and you leave a positive and LASTing impression for wherever you're headed in any industry.
Yes, image AND your body can hold you back
You have no idea!
When a company is looking to hire you they are generally looking for someone who fits a certain profile. Like it or not, this includes dress, grooming and appearance. All of these are especially important for positions of real power and of course positions of public interaction.
Please don't forget this part of your image: YOUR WEIGHT! Studies done on human attractiveness have shown over and over again that overweight people are perceived as less healthy, less reliable, more of a risk to hire and less able to do their jobs.
Again, I did not make the world, I just live in it and these are the harsh realities of things. Obesity holds people back in all aspects of human interaction including love life and job advancement. Clothes, make-up and image help but don't overlook the obvious.
Remember the fairy tale of the emperor's new clothes! Be honest with yourself and if you really want to succeed in life as well as stay healthy, lose weight if you are heavy! You may get lucky and be an exception to these rules but why risk it? Fix your body and this will do a lot for your self image and the image you portray to others.
If your total image communicates to people differently than who you are, it is a bottleneck in your career.
Everybody is evaluated by perception and you can only have the perception of others’ perception about you. In short, it’s all about communication, either verbal or non-verbal.
In verbal and written communication, what you say is not important; it’s how you say it that matters. Your body language and your facial expressions might mislead people to a wrong perception about yourself.
Most of the time, people don’t like to acknowledge that there are politics in any workplace, but workplace politics always exist. However, are you really affected by these politics or are you just self-sabotaging? Never be in victim mode!
Ask questions to yourself such as: "Are your communication skills as good as your technical skills?" Always try to find areas of yourself that you should improve, and do it for yourself. After all, you will reach to a higher level of your own potential, which is a gain not only for a business situation but also for your whole life.
I truly believe there is always an intention in every perception. If you have positive thinking in your perception to understand others, at one point of a time they will recognize your good approach and their perception about you will be more positive.
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