Coming back from my summer holiday offline break and I am giving you totally not a summery topic contrary to popular trendy holiday posts majority of bloggers post on their sites. Yep, this is me not going with the flow LOL.
How to look professional is an universal and classic question that comes up regardless the season, trends and moods.
So do you know what it really means?
I have carried a little research amongst my friends, family and colleagues willy-nilly popping the question. The group represents individuals working for big corporates, medium and small size enterprises and some of them own and manage their companies.
Almost straightaway I have been given a quick nod and a smile stressing the reply:
Yes, of course that I know. It is obvious.
However when I asked:
Ok, then. Please give me some examples of what a professional look. How would you define professional look.
Now I have had a mix of reactions. Some answers were like:
Oh, well I think that it means to look nice…
The rest of the feedback I got contained no feedback as after a few minutes of hard-thinking an individual’s answer was:
You know what I have no idea what it really means and I cannot define that for you.
That little research confirmed what I have noticed for some time now that in general we do not really know. And to be able to admit that it does nothing to do with a shame.
So let’s shed more light.
The expression: professional look appears very often in our working lives.
Just take any job advert and go through its description. Almost every time one of the requirements would mention your appearance. Big companies are after professional looks as well. The aim of one’s company dress-code is about defining the look of the staff the company are trying to pursue.
If you are a business woman owning a small or medium size enterprise that targets specific customer group or you might be a freelancer or a lecturer at uni or an admin person in each example the professional look is obligatory.
Why?
Because it helps to produce the fundamental fruit that makes your business thriving.
It is TRUST.
So let’s try to define what looking professional really means.
As we Google everything nowadays I am not the exception also. Straightaway you are given a definition of a professional:
relating to or belonging to a profession.
worthy of or appropriate to a professional person; competent, skilful, or assured.
competent or skilled in a particular activity.
Partially we have an answer here. The word professional clearly indicates or more specifically gives us direction to the look we are after.
First of all the professional look we want and need to create is to belong to a profession you are in.
Regardless of your area of expertise you are expected to convey the same message to your customer.
THE MESSAGE IS THAT YOU ARE A COMPETENT, EXPERIENCED, EFFICIENT, SKILLFUL EXPERT THAT CAN BE TRUSTED.
In the Image Consulting mentality there is strongly rooted the following idea:
Today dress for the job you want tomorrow.
And it is NOT about buying endlessly new clothes. It is about internalizing your goals and dreams.
When you internalize something, it means that you believe in it absolutely and pursue it relentlessly. Internalizing and making personal your goals, starts and ends with dressing for the career you want. That means dressing, talking, behaving and crafting a résumé and brand image consistent with your ultimate aspirations. In essence, you have to be the whole package if you’re going to get where you want to go*.
I sense that you might not believe in it at all. I see that lots of women and men do not believe in it at all.
The thing is that it does really works.
It has worked for me numerous times.
One of the examples of mine:
Back in 2004 just a week after I graduated the uni and got my master degree I left for England to work as a waitress in one of the chain pub and restaurant inns in Warwickshire.
Few months later we moved within the same branch to Cambridgeshire so my husband could start his English classes. At that time both of us were working at a hotel as waiting staff.
If you have ever tried to work as a waitress you would have known that it is a hard and demanding job. Shifts at odd times of the day did not allow us to pursue proper job hunting. Having no access to the internet and PC (the only way to connect with the outside online world was an internet café).
I have found it really daunting and have been struggling with the hope that we would ever find a new job. The office job I mean.
Every morning we prayed for a new job. It was a tricky prayer as we asked for a job to come to us as physically and mentally we were so drained out and with no possibilities to look for a new job. We were desperate.
At the same time I was very conscious to maintain the most professional look as possible regardless my tiredness and overwhelming thoughts that nothing will change for us.
Working as a first point of contact for a customer it was my priority to maintain the highest professional standards as possible.
We did not have uniforms as such. The only requirement was to wear a white shirt and black skirt or trousers. It has given me a lot of flexibility. I made sure that my shirts are always clean and well ironed. The cut and style is flattering for my body shape and frame and appropriate to the place I work in. My skirts were of proper length i.e. just below the knee matched with black tights and shoes. The hair, make-up and natural looking manicure were creating the polished look.
The manners and way of interacting with customers were the most important factors. Building good rapports with customers was the goal of a company I was working for. And mine.
As you never know who is the person you serve.
Later on it turned out that I and my husband were observed for some time by our future bosses. They used to come for a drink after the work and spend some time at the hotel pub often chatting with us. Chatting about everything.
After few weeks they have offered us a job! Really good and well-paid job.
A job at the customer service department at their telecom company. We were to be responsible for a worldwide VoiP customer. And it was us they have asked to build and develop the department.
So you can see that it does work!
HOW TO DO THAT – IN PRACTICE
Prepare a piece of paper and a pen or pencil.
Ask yourself following questions and pencil down your answers.
Write down a name of a role or a career you want to have.
What job do you have or you would like to have?
What skills are required in my current role (if you want a promotion) or in my desired role/company (if you want to change your career path or a company)?
How my prospect employer/customers shall perceive me? What message I want to convey?
If at your company there is a dress-code policy that is clear and straightforward to be followed by you are in a lucky position. You know what style you are after (or your company is after).
However it may not always be a case as I have met lots (and I mean loads of) women and men that in spite of having a dress-code policy in place they got it so wrong. And to make things worse their line managers were following the same suit. The overall impression was that they all look quite lost and misplaced.
The image was not coherent with the mission and objectives of a company they have worked for.
Anyway, ad rem.
THE POINT IS THAT DEPENDING ON WHAT TYPE OF JOB OR A CAREER YOU HAVE, YOUR PROFESSIONAL LOOK WILL DIFFER.
EXAMPLE:
You work as a customer consultant at a department or a shop/small boutique that sells clothes for women.
Before you start filling your wardrobe with clothes that are in fashion and reflect latest trends however not always they are in line with your Unique Personal Style or in line with a company mission you work for or the one you own, ask yourself following questions:
Who is my target (ideal) customer?
What does she expect from me and from the clothes/accessories I sell?
If your target customer is a woman aged between 30 and 50 who has an active career (it means that she has an income that allows her to shop for herself), is a mother (it means that her body has changed after giving births and she might struggle with some complexes she wants to hide or ideally get rid of) dreaming of looking and feeling attractive and gorgeous the way she used to before becoming a mother and hitting the 40s.
What does she may expect?
First of all she does expect TO BE UNDERSTOOD.
Understanding her current struggles, fears and needs is the key. She wants someone who would be able to relate with her. That means she would not be able to relate with a teenage shop assistant who might be very eager and really helpful and enthusiastic but she will not be able to help to make a right decision regarding the choice of outfits or influence our customer in a way she really needs.
Harsh. But this is the reality.
Our target customer i.e. our lady she wants to regain the feeling of looking fabulous at her current age and shape. Just looking at a customer consultant it shall start giving her a desire and motivation that will plant a seed in her soul and mind: Yes, I do want to look attractive and fab like her (a customer consultant i.e. you).
Your target customer is to be inspired by looking and interacting with you.
And once the understanding takes place it produces TRUST. Trust is a rudiment of any thriving business.
And this is the point of your looking professional at what you do.
You should be wearing clothes that show the best version of yourself. Clothes that are in your best colours, styles and cuts that flatter your figure that express your Personal Style and Taste. Because your role is associated with creativity your accessories shall reflect current trends in fashion.
In your case you have a wide variety of choosing colours for your outfits. Lucky you! Easily you can avoid so called corporate colours (navy blues, greys).
Personally I would suggest avoiding wearing blacks as numerous studies based on psychology of colours proved that this very colour has a negative impact on a customer and does make it difficult to create and maintain a good rapport.
Check out whether you look best wearing your colours in blocks creating dramatic contrast or whether you look best wearing the colours in gentle toning mixtures.
STYLE
Style and cuts are to flatter best your shape and your age. Think over (at least 100 times) what is the most appropriate length of your dress or a skirt to your role.
Personally I am convinced that the hem that finishes 10 cm above the knee is almost never a flattering length for a mature woman regardless how slim she is.
In addition to that it gives away a wrong message to a customer you are after. Reserve shorter styles for a date with your husband or a social occasions with your friends.
One of the most effective techniques that help to build UNDERSTANDING & TRUST with the customer is that you would wear the very clothes that are available in your department or a boutique you run.
Choosing this technique you give your customer ideas and inspirations how to create various outfits and wear them in real life (as mannequins do not always sell your clothes the way you want).
ACCESSORIES
Your choice of accessories shall be wide and varied. Go for high quality fashion jewellery.
You do not have to wear bijoux made of gold and silver all the time. Colourful fashion jewellery keeps your looks fresh and trendy.
If you love wearing necklaces, get a few statement ones in different colours. Go for something that would make you look unique and creative.
COHERENT LOOK
HAIR
Do not forget about your hairstyle and your manicure/pedicure.
Perfect haircut and colour are your business card especially for a woman who is 40plus.
Oily and dirty hair that well passed its colouring session deadline will destroy your professional look even though you would follow the above steps and your clothes are expensive designer ones.
MANICURE
Coherence in your overall look is achieved by taking correct care with your nails.
If you love those coloured, you shall think over the colours you are after.
Going for vivid eye-catching colours does not always agree with the rest of the look you want to achieve.
One of the trends that I personally dislike, speaking diplomatically, is that you have your nails done in different colours. Unless you are a manicure/nail stylist you can go for this look as in this case it will perfectly be in line with the job you have and what skills you represent.
Other than that it is very unprofessional to have your nails done in 5 different colours and going to a business meeting with a prospect customer.
My personal choice is going for nude and natural looking options. It is always a classy and ageless choice.
Always put yourself in a customer’s shoes. This rule is applicable to almost every field of our professional life. As you never know what may discourage a person you try to make a business with.
Your customer is to be inspired and aspired to look the most attractive and beautiful as it is possible by looking at you.
NOT COPING THE WAY YOU LOOK LIKE BUT BE INSPIRED BY THE WAY YOU LOOK LIKE.
The decisions are made within a few seconds in the heart and head of a customer.
Going to your shop or a department you work for, quickly checking the stock and the way it is displayed and the way you present yourself gives her a red or green light i.e. whether to stay and shop around or leave the place as quickly as possible. This is the power of first impressions.
Below you find a few pictures of examples how to look professional. I have picked out very simple outfits that are all about looking professional, classy and creative at the same time. These outfits are perfect for a customer consultant who works for a ladies fashion department or boutique (and not for a teenage fashion store).
Below inspirations are taken from www.asos.com.
The next ones are taken from www.debenhams.co.uk.
And the following batch of inspirations I have taken from www.marisota.co.uk.
And it is a last batch of inspirations LOL taken from www.pepperberry.co.uk.
The same process of building professional image is applicable to every other job role or career you may have or go for.
Whether you are a solicitor, legal rep, uni lecturer, teacher, head accountant, auditor, admin manager, customer advisor, hair stylist, business manager/owner, secretary in order to look professional you are required to go through the same steps as described above.
If you want you and your business to thrive you cannot disregard the power of non-verbal communication.
If you do that, I say it is simply not a wise decision you make.
If you are still stuck to the way you have been presenting yourself since your secondary school or uni times seriously you have to re-think what and why you do that and what makes you stuck in the past that NEVER comes back.
Get to know better and make friends with Esther and Judith* the women that are the great examples of coherence in their looks.
I speak from my heart as I desire you become the best version of yourself. To become the woman that mirrors the Beauty of her Creator.
And you will make it Sooner or later.
Because you are a woman fearfully and wonderfully made! (Psalm 139:14)
*R.Kay Green, Dress for the Career You Want, Not the One You Have, Huffington Post
*Refer to Book of Judith and Book of Esther in the Old Testament.
