The Power Playbook: Rules for Independence, Money and Success (Signed Book) by La La Anthony

Author:La La Anthony
Language: eng
Format: mobi
ISBN: 9780147539106
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2015-05-05T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER NINE

The Uniform: Dress for Success

Clothes are never a frivolity: they always mean something.

—James Laver, art and fashion historian

I have never really worked a nine-to-five job in my entire life. Nobody taught me the dos and don’ts of appropriate dress. I learned by watching and listening. Working at the radio station at night, I would always be in baggy jeans and a sweatshirt, sneakers, very casual gear. I remember our first staff meeting during the day. I showed up wearing what I normally wore, but I looked around the room and saw the executives and sales reps that I never got to see because they would all be gone by the time I showed up to work.

It didn’t take me but a minute to realize that I wasn’t dressed appropriately for a staff meeting. Nobody said anything to me but at the next staff meeting I had on a pair of black slacks, a blazer, and shoes. I naturally made the adjustment and I’m sure it was refreshing for people to see my versatility.

I was always a good student of people. I watched and learned and took heed.

When I was interning at the radio station, I would see women show up to interview for advertising, sales, or secretarial positions and many didn’t have a clue about how to present themselves. I would hear the staff talking about the candidate and it wasn’t pretty.

“Look at that chick in the lobby!” someone would say.

I’d go out to the waiting room and see a young woman wearing a way-too-short skirt with a blouse unbuttoned so low that it was exposing all of her breasts. Her outfit was capped off with some thigh-high boots. Now that outfit might be cool for an evening out on the town on a date or hanging with your girls, but it was a no-go for a job interview. Nobody said anything to her. But there would be a lot of comments made about her.

“I wonder what position she’s interviewing for?” another one of our deejays would say. “Missionary? She looks like she came here straight from the club, yo!”

I paid attention to that. These guys would definitely date her or ask her out, but they didn’t take her seriously as a professional. It was no surprise that she did not get the job. She might have been highly qualified, but she didn’t know the first rule: Dress for success.

To some, focusing on your clothing may seem superficial. Of course, we should be judged by the work we do, our talents, gifts, and work ethic. We should be judged by how good we are as people. But our presentation is the very first thing people use to determine our value. It’s the first hurdle we have to cross before it is decided if we’re worthy to go to the next level. It’s just the way it is. It’s one of the unspoken rules of the game. People may never say that the reason you didn’t get that job or

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