Published July 2002

In workplace, make your appearance
work for you

By Kimberly Hilden
Herald Business Journal Assistant Editor

Whether you’re on a job interview or speaking in front of an audience, you don’t have much time to make a first impression, said Marlee Huber, an independent fashion coordinator and sales manager for Weekenders USA Inc., a direct-sales women’s fashion company.

What you do have is about six seconds. Six seconds in which a person sizes you up, determining your gender, ethnicity, age, socioeconomic status, education level, and self-esteem.

“Isn’t it amazing what we can do in six seconds without even realizing we do it?” Huber told a group of women attending her workshop, “Presenting a Positive Image,” at the Women on the Move conference held in May at the Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel in Everett.

“Within three to six seconds you cast that initial impression,” she said. “Seventy percent of your initial impression is image — it’s what you see.”

The trick is to master your appearance, enabling it to work for you.

“Your life can be out of control, but your image and how you appear can be very much under your control. You send a message of what you want to communicate,” Huber said.

In the business world, that means conveying a message of professionalism.

“A professional appearance — it helps you get the job; it helps you keep the job; and it helps you earn the responsibilities and promotions,” said Huber, who also teaches women to build their own fashion business and conducts business development training classes.

But what is a professional appearance? The advent of business casual has caused more than a few women to shake their heads in bewilderment.

Are khaki pants OK for a meeting? Are rubber-soled shoes too casual for a business lunch? Are jeans and a well-pressed blouse appropriate for the more “casual Fridays”?

Business casual is a benefit in the marketplace, Huber said, but if it’s applied inappropriately, it becomes a liability that creates “business casualties” — those people who apply the notion of “casual” too liberally to their work attire.

So knowing the company culture and working within that is important, Huber said.

“Dress should convey company values, culture and industry. You really have to know the culture of where you are,” she said, and that takes research, whether you’re applying for a job or working toward a promotion.

Before going in for a job interview, Huber suggests that you get a handle on the company’s dress policy.

You can do this by asking either the person who calls to set up the interview or someone in the company’s human resources department. If you know someone who works at the company, pump them for information. Or, you could always drive by the company during lunchtime and try to get a sense of how they dress.

Then, use this rule of thumb: Dress as if you already worked at the company, only a little bit better, Huber said.

If you are vying for a promotion, dress the part, she said. Note how the person already in that position dresses — that’s how you should dress.

“And then the best-kept secret: If you want to look professional, add a jacket. It’s amazing what a jacket can do,” Huber said, adding that surveys show that both men and women perceive a woman who wears a jacket as having more authority and knowledge than one who does not.

If you are called upon to give a presentation, think monochromatic, said Huber, who took her own advice for her seminar, dressing in a red skirt suit.

“Monochromatic dressing sets the backdrop for your message when you are the presenter,” she said, adding that accessories should be used to define the focal point, not to “decorate” and create distraction.

For example, wearing four or five rings on your fingers will cause people to focus on the rings rather than your face and your message.

That’s not to say that jewelry is taboo. In fact, Huber suggests the jewelry you do wear be a little more substantial than you’d normally wear to the office — jewelry that can be seen from the back of the room as well as the front.

For example, instead of the thin gold-chain necklace you usually wear, try a thicker chain. Instead of the tiny gold earrings, maybe a pair of hoops would be more effective.

Keep in mind, though, that your outfit should not be so loud that the audience can’t hear what you are saying, Huber said.

And whether you’re going on a job interview, looking at a promotion or talking to a crowd, make sure your clothing conveys a consistent message, Huber said, one that fits your values, reflects who you are as a person and where you want to go.

“Your dress is essentially your business communication tool, much like your business card,” Huber said. “So, would you hand out a business card that was kind of wrinkled and tattered or marked on? No, because we always want our business cards to look really great. It should be the same way with your dress. This is your appearance; this is how you are going to be identified.”

To contact Huber, call 425-267-0604 or send e-mail to Marlee.Huber@verizon.net.

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