Dress for Staying Alive

Jordan looked good when he showed up for work that morning in 1975. He wore dark blue bell-bottom pants, a fluffy purple shirt, and stacked heel boots. His co-workers complimented him on his modern look. I sent him away.

Jordan’s clothing was perfect for an evening under a disco ball dancing to “Staying Alive.” It would even have been acceptable for a day in the office. However, we were at the dock, about to board small boats for a 12-hour data collection effort in Los Angeles Harbor. His clothes were impractical and even dangerous for the work we were doing.

Yes, this is a “dress for success” discussion. You’ve heard it before. Here’s my version.

Some years ago a group of sociology students ran experiments in which they placed a wallet containing money but no identification in a sidewalk phone booth. They watched until a passerby discovered the wallet, then they sent an accomplice to tell the discoverer that the wallet was theirs. The accomplices got the wallets back 70% more often when they were well-dressed than when they dressed down. Similar experiments have consistently shown that the better dressed stranger is always rated as more intelligent and more honest. Yes, it’s superficial to judge on appearance but the effect is real and if we ignore it, we hurt our career prospects.

You can find lots of books and magazines providing advice on the specifics of dressing for work. I won’t do that. Instead, here are some examples that might help the new engineer.

·       Most work dress decisions affect your career prospects. Some can kill you. Jordan dressed inappropriately for the situation and his clothing could have caused serious injury, even death. Loose clothing can catch in equipment, leather soled shoes slip on wet surfaces, and high heels make balancing difficult. Handling heavy objects? Wear steel-toed work boots with gripping soles.

·       One of my young engineers wore his college ROTC boots, worn at the heels, scuffed and cut, to meetings with clients. Those boots, in combination with a coat and tie business wear, struck a discordant note. Clients noticed. I noticed.

·       At Mississippi State University we instructed engineering seniors in the capstone design course to dress “business formal” when presenting their projects to the review panel. In the 12 years I participated, every female student showed up in perfect dress – business suits with trousers or skirts and sensible shoes. Most of the males wore a sports jacket and tie ensemble. A few of the male students came wearing tees and jeans, work boots, no coat, no tie. Those guys dressed to please themselves, not the reviewers. Their work was usually technically excellent but those few got bad grades for presentation and following instructions. They would do better in their careers if they learned the lesson that day rather than later.

·       My colleague Robert wore a jacket and tie when briefing clients but his shirt and tie choices were a riot of patterns and colors. His ties sometimes bore amusing slogans. He said he was demonstrating his personality. I thought he looked like a circus clown. Given that our bosses and clients were a conservative lot, wearing blues and grays, Robert’s loud ties didn’t inspire confidence. Maybe that’s why he didn’t get promoted as rapidly as his peers.

Lessons: Dress for the situation. Dress to impress your bosses and your clients. Pay attention to details like shoes and ironing. If people thing you’re smarter or more reliable as a result, let them.