Lindsey Pollak is a consultant, coach and author who specializes in advice to – and about – millennials. She helps corporations understand and manage this large cohort, which now makes up more than a third of the U.S. workforce. She also offers advice to millennials who want to succeed and perhaps shed their image as entitled nomads.
In a 2015 article, she helps millennials understand why dress matters in the workplace. “The bottom line is that the old adage rings true: Dress for the job you want, not the job you have,” she writes. She also advises young workers to emulate the successful people in the company. Don’t “fixate on the one guy in accounting with the funky jeans and decide if it’s OK for him, it’s OK for you.”
She suggests creating a uniform that makes it easy to decide what to wear. Steve Jobs famously wore the same thing every day: black mock turtleneck, jeans, and New Balance sneakers. President Obama wore only blue or gray suits; he wanted to save his brain power for more important decisions than what to wear each day.
Pollak writes: “What I mean by uniform is finding a professional look that will be your go-to. For example, a rotation of shift dresses, blazers and statement necklaces. (Seriously, I wear nothing else on stage.)”
While you’re considering how to dress, here’s a graphic that might be helpful.
Caleb Wells is a Visual Consultant for T.M.Lewin, a London-based heritage brand. As experts in dressing smart, they have taken it upon themselves to help individuals understand the standards of dress for different interview and office settings.
They offered my readers this exclusive graphic on Cracking the Workplace Dress Code, designed to help professionals navigate what to wear & when. Enjoy.
