So you are starting your first day of work. You are either a seasoned veteran of the working class or have just embarked on your first real work experience as a young adult. You have thought of everything from what to say to who to impress, but now you are left with a very important decision. What first day of work outfit should you use?
This post may leave a lot of the usual readers of this site perplexed. You may be wondering what fashion has to do with thinking smartly or performing better. Well, it may have more in common with the mind that you give it credit for. Here are two golden tips for choosing your first day of work outfit and why it is important to consider these tips to leave a lasting impression.
You wear your confidence
According to the Washingtonpost, what you wear affects how well you actually work. A study performed by the Kelogg school of management showed that participants performed better in the stroop test when they wore a white lab coat. The phenomena bares a close relation with the term embodied cognition. This is centered around the fact that bodily sensations have the ability to affect the way we think and feel. A further expansion of the study was done by telling a few test participants that the lab coat was actually an artist coat. Can you guess the result?
The results were astounding. It indicated that those who believed that the coat was of an artist and not a scientist performed worse. Thus indicating that the symbolic meaning behind the clothes had a greater effect that the clothes itself. This makes choosing a first day of work outfit a whole lot more tricky. So you want to wear something that makes you feel confident and allow you to fit into your new role. If you are a lawyer for example, wearing a particular fitted suit may give you the feeling that you are of an elite legal stature. Whatever your profession, these studies merely emphasize the point of choosing attire that makes you mentally inclined to perform better.
Don’t overdress or underdress
Okay so this one may be a difficult one to get right. However, if you play your cards right, you can come of as a winner without looking like a dumbass. There is a saying somewhere that says you should dress the part. We have already discussed previously about choosing the correct first day of work outfit for confidence. But beyond just the mental barrage of positive thoughts that comes with dressing well also lies the opportunity for getting a faster promotion at work. Okay so we have made the bold statement that dressing the part may actually get your promoted – but on to facts.
According to a survey by OfficeTeam, 80% of hiring managers indicated that attire could possibly affect a candidates promotion chances. And if that doesn’t convince you, then perhaps consider this study done by the BusinessInsider. It states that attractive people are more likely to be successful than less attractive counterparts. And while you might argue that you are born a certain way, a great deal of attractiveness comes from the way you dress and your demeanor. There is no excuse for not maximizing on these attributes that are within your control.
Thus far, it has been established that choosing your first day of work outfit requires dressing the part. But where does overdressing and underdressing fit it. Consider this scenario: you are in a team of IT programmers, all of them are wearing t-shirts and jeans. You being the showman you are, decide to dress up with a suit to make a good impression. This seems like a good idea – however will result in a host of negative perceptions being thrown your way.
Firstly it gives off the vibe that you are not a team player or are trying to show your distinction from the rest of team. This will eventually result in your being the outcast that no one wants to associate with. The key is balance. Just because everyone is wearing t-shirts doesn’t stop you from wearing the best t-shirts with the best fit. However it does indicate that there is a particular culture within the company or industry.
This marks the end of a very short yet informative post. If you have your first day of work coming up, then hopefully this post can shed some light on the expectation of work attire. Go out there and kick some ass, but don’t get your shoes dirty – it’s all about the look :).
To learn how to fully achieve success in all facets of your life; read: Applying A Growth Mindset To Achieve Success
