Dressing for the modern workplace can be a minefield and, with more offices adopting casual dress codes, it is only likely to get more difficult. Do you know how to dress to impress at work?
The greatest challenge of all is getting it right when you start a new job and all you have to go on before dressing for your first day is some vague guidelines in the employee handbook.
But fear not, a recent survey from Original Penguin sought to explore the changing attitudes to office wear to help workers navigate the tricky terrain of modern-day work wear. The survey looked at not only what workers are currently allowed to wear in the office, but also what they felt they should be allowed to wear.
Perhaps one of the less surprising findings was that younger office workers take a more relaxed approach to work wear than their older counterparts.
On average, 57 percent of 18 to 24 year-olds say shorts should be permitted in the office, compared to under 30 percent of over 55's.
Overall, almost two-thirds of over 55's said they felt shorts, flip-flops, baseball caps or vest tops were not appropriate work wear, compared to under a quarter of 18 to 24 year-olds.
The generation gap was also clear to see in current office dress codes, with just 41 percent of younger workers claiming they’re not allowed to wear the items at work, compared with 62 percent of older workers.
What Respondents Can Wear In The Office
Shorts 26%
Flip flops 25%
Vest tops 25%
Baseball caps 12%
What Respondents Think They Should Be Able To Wear In The Office
Shorts 37%
Flip flops 23%
Vest tops 19%
Baseball caps 12%
What sector you work in will obviously have a profound impact on what is considered to be appropriate office attire. The survey found that workers in financial services still adopt a conservative attitude to work wear, while those in education were the most liberally minded when dressing for the office.
The dividing lines were also drawn between the sexes with women in general being permitted more freedom with what they wear in the office, with 35 percent of women saying they were allowed to wear flip flops, compared to 15 percent of men. Three times as many women than men were allowed to wear vest tops.
Men were also keen for shorts to make it into the office dress code and the survey showed they were more likely to say women should be able to wear shorts in the office than women themselves!
Three Key Takeaways
Women often have more relaxed dress codes than men, but still have relatively conservative attitudes to work wear.
The younger generation thinks office wear should be more relaxed, whereas the older generation are fans of the traditional office dress code.
Your industry will likely define what is acceptable to wear to work. The traditional office dress code will likely still apply in more corporate environments.
If you’re unsure, play it safe. As a rule, it is generally better to be too professional rather than too casual, particularly if you work in a client-facing environment. Your clothes are there to make a statement. Just ensure that they’re making the right one.
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Is your job search turning into a grind with no end in sight? It may be time to take a step back and reevaluate your entire approach.
In cold weather climates, the beginning of spring is a time to clean the house and get organized—a practice known as spring cleaning. Through the years, spring cleaning has taken on a larger meaning with people using the time to organize and declutter things in their lives.
For professionals on the job hunt, a little spring cleaning (metaphorically speaking) could be a great way to reinvigorate your job search. Here are a few strategies your job search spring cleaning should include.
Reevaluate Your Job Search Approach
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Make a list of the last handful of jobs you applied for and see if you can identify any positive or negative trends. Consider things like:
How did I learn about this job?
How did I apply for the job?
Did I earn an interview?
What was the ultimate result?
A lot can be learned about your job search approach just by answering these questions and identifying patterns. For example:
Negative Trends
You discovered five jobs through job boards, applied to all of them via the job boards, and never heard back from any of them.
The common pattern here is applying through job boards. This isn't to say that job boards don't serve a purpose in the job search process, but they have their limitations, and you can't run your job search entirely off of them. When you apply through a job board, there's a good chance that your materials will never get past the applicant tracking system (ATS) and never be seen by an actual person.
One simple fix is to research who the hiring manager or recruiter is that posted the position and email your materials to them directly.
The more efficient fix would be to take a proactive approach by putting together a bucket list of companies that you want to work for and start making connections on LinkedIn with people who work at those companies. You may already know some people who work there or have connections that can refer you to some individuals.
This is a great way to network your way onto a company's radar.
Positive Trends
You applied to three jobs via referral, were invited to two job interviews, and made it through multiple rounds of interviews for one of the jobs before being passed over for someone with a little more experience.
The pattern here is that getting referred to a job by a professional acquaintance is a great way to land a job interview. This indicates that you're leveraging your network well and you should continue to focus on your networking efforts.
The next step is to review the interview process and determine what went well and what needs to be improved. Sometimes the interviewer will provide feedback, and that feedback can be valuable. However, not everyone is comfortable with giving feedback.
Chances are you probably have a good idea about areas of improvement and the skills you need to gain. Put together a plan for addressing those shortfalls.
The good news in making it deep into any interview process is that it indicates that the company likes you as a potential employee (even if the timing just wasn't right) and the experience could be a roadmap to a job with that company at a later date, or another similar opportunity elsewhere.
Give Your Resume & Cover Letter Some Much-Needed Attention
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Are you continuously sending similar resumes and cover letters to each job opening with only minor adjustments? If so, your strategy needs some serious spring cleaning.
The reason why it's so important to tailor your resume is that throughout your career, you acquire numerous skills, but the job you're applying for may only be focusing on 6-8 of those skills. In that case, those skills must rise to the top of the resume with quantifiable examples of how you successfully used those skills at previous jobs.
Remember, recruiters go through hundreds of resumes. They need to be able to tell from a quick glance whether or not you're a potential candidate for the position.
While updating your resume, you could also spruce up your LinkedIn profile by highlighting the skill sets that you want to be noticed for by recruiters.
As for writing a good cover letter, the key to success is writing a disruptive cover letter. When you write a disruptive cover letter, you're basically telling a story. The story should focus on how you connect with the particular company and job position. The story could also focus on your personal journey, and how you got to where you currently are in your career.
If your resumes and cover letters aren't unique, now is the time to clean things up and get on track.
Build Your Personal Brand
Just because you're looking for work doesn't mean that you don't have anything to offer. Use previous career experiences and passions to build your personal brand.
Ask yourself, "How do I want other professionals to view me?"
Pick an area of expertise and start sharing your knowledge and experience with your professional network by pushing out content on your LinkedIn and social media accounts. Good content can include blogs, social media posts, and videos.
By sharing content about your experiences and passions, you slowly build your personal brand, and others will start to notice. The content could lead to good discussions with others in your network. It could also lead to reconnecting with connections that you haven't spoken to in years, or making new connections.
You never know when one of these connections could turn into a job lead or referral. The trick is to get on people's radars. So, when you're cleaning up your job search, be sure to build a plan for personal branding.
Maintain Healthy Habits During Your Job Search
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Your job search is important, but it's even more important to know when to pull back and focus on personal health and spending time with family and friends.
There are actually things that you can do for your own enjoyment that could help your job search in the long run, such as:
Grab coffee with a friend - It's good to engage in light conversation with friends during challenging times. And if your job search does come up, remember that most people have been through it themselves and you never know when a friend may provide you with a good idea or lead on a job.
Volunteer - Volunteering is a great way to get involved in the community and help others. In addition, if you develop a little bit of a career gap while looking for a job, you can always talk about how you filled that time volunteering, if you're asked about it during a job interview.
Continue to focus on other passions - Are you a fitness nut? Blogger? Crafter? Continue to do the things that bring you happiness. And if you're in a position to profit from your passion through a freelance job or side hustle, even better!
Spring is the perfect time to clean up and improve your job search so you can land the job you want. If you're struggling to find a job, follow the tips above to reinvigorate your job search—and watch your career blossom!
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This article was originally published at an earlier date.
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