theefficientwoman
• Dressing is a major and delicate factor to take into consideration in an organization or workplace
• Richard Magoma, a Human resource practitioner talks about the appropriate way to dress before showing up at the workplace
• One should invest in a dressing consultant to help get a hang of what to dress in whenever in doubt
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By Akinyi Felisters
How one looks matters substantially, as the old adage ‘clothes maketh a man’ goes; with the concept of man being neutral in this case.
There are numerous inferences that can be drawn from one’s dress sense and general outlook like what job does one want to be associated with.
Opportunities can bypass us based on how we are adorned and it’s important for one to ask themselves a series of questions on how they want to be addressed based on how they choose to dress.
HR practitioner Richard Magoma, talked to theefficientwoman.co.ke concerning dressing and grooming for work.
“Dressing exhibits our personalities. When in doubt, dress conservatively until you learn the nuts and bolts of the dress culture of the organization. People make snap judgments about clothes; recruiters and employers have certain conscious and unconscious prejudices and stereotypes,” he said.
Some dimensions of looking good are indisputable, for instance, neatness, cleanliness and some fragrance communicate very well.
“Have a vision of what you want because you cannot enter somebody’s head and start politicking. Looking very well is part of the communication process that employers and employees are always oozing. To be ahead of the game, get a dressing consultant,” he added.
According to the professional consultant, how one dresses can also affect the way they are treated by their superiors as well as their colleagues at work.
“One’s general outlook can be a very strong predictor of how they are perceived and treated. Can one be a well, respected medical doctor without the usual white coat? certainly not. A badly dressed lawyer cannot stand in a court of law as well,” he explained.
He added that one’s look at work can be a solid reason to get termination from work. Banks for example have a strict way of dressing. It is in their human resource policy manuals.
“When one is being inducted and onboarded, the dress culture is part of the training. Dressing and showing up to work in what contradicts the dressing culture of the organization attracts a disciplinary process whose ramifications may include employee separation,” he said.
When it comes to work outfits, the career coach said dressing etiquette can determine one’s career progression in the corporate world.
“It is therefore imperative that we gauge the organizational culture in connection to dressing choices. When in doubt, dress conservatively to avoid suffering at alter of conscious and unconscious biases. Dress positively; be very neat, absolutely clean, well-groomed, have a good belt, and well-polished shoes,” he further added.
He advised professionals to avoid t-shirts unless they are branded by that particular organization, have properly fitting choices, minimal accessories and invest in a dressing consultant.
“Don’t just buy clothes because you have money since some clothes may be very good but not your type,” he said.
In a related report, career coach Skovia Ouma- Mwenda shared career mistakes most women make in their 30s and gave solutions on how to navigate them.
“The most common mistakes most women in their 30s make when it comes to looking for a job is poor self-branding and or using past experiences as a benchmark thus closing themselves in and locking out other uncharted waters,’’ she said.
