Dress for Success

My outplacement agency, DBM, had a session on dressing for success. It was great! I wore the only suit in my closet that still fit, the black number I bought for my dear aunt's funeral two years ago. The unpressed shirt I wore was too tight around my neck; so I left the top button undone and left off a tie. Wore a black belt and unshined burgundy shoes.

I was a model for how not to dress for success :-)! Black is for undertakers. Better to go with a dark gray or blue suit; wool or wool blend. Not a double breasted job, either, like the one above. Nor arm candy, unfortunately. That picture was taken twenty years ago, on a cruise to Bermuda.

Belt should match shined shoes in color. I.e., black. Silk tie should be solid, striped or paisley, and the width of the suit's lapel. Tip of tie should be at top of unflashy belt buckle. Cotton or cotton blend dress shirt should be professionally pressed and starched; white, cream or pale blue, to help brighten ones face.

The whole point basically is to dress in a way that doesn't distract the interviewer from you. You want to be remembered as the applicant with the memorable presence and proven track record. Not the guy with the wrinkled shirt or the gal with the big boots. These points were made by Anita Flagg in her presentation to us. And she made these points as suggestions, giving us license to take what we wanted and leave the rest behind. I'm going for the complete package. Good stuff. Gotta invest in the outfit to show I'm serious. Any suggestions where to go?

I'll finish with a link to a Boston Globe article last Friday on staying positive during the job search. See the reply I made (JCL48) to someone's comments.