Despite, or perhaps in response to our troubled times, employees and firms alike agree that dressing smartly is important at work. In a survey carried out by specialist recruitment company, Pure Resourcing Solutions, over 90% of candidates thought it important to dress smartly at interview and employers agreed.
Some of us will spend up to £300 on new clothes, or even ‘as much as it takes’ to get that job. And it wasn’t just the women who would dig deep. Three quarters of employers said that it is important for men to wear a tie, at interview, although a look around a modern office suggests that this is becoming a rarity for day to day work wear.
Even after that job has been landed, over half of workers felt that dressing smartly impacted positively on their work performance. Many of us have ‘dress down’ days at work, but of those that don’t, most people said they didn’t see the attraction, preferring to stay smart to be most effective. There certainly seem to be huge differences in what is acceptable depending on which sector you work in. For example, many R&D and Technology companies have a much more relaxed dress code, where the ‘norm’ is to wear casual clothes unless you are meeting external customers.
Bridget McIntyre of style consultants Dream On comments: “It’s good to see that people recognise the power of how clothes can affect performance and attitude. Clothing should highlight our best features, and that then makes us feel more confident.” “But”, warns Bridget: “Don’t just make an effort for the interview – carry it through for the day to day job.”
Gill Buchanan, Director of Pure Resourcing Solutions comments: “People clearly see it as an investment to spend a bit extra on interview clothes, and it is an investment in the future, affecting how we carry ourselves, how confident we feel and ultimately, how well we perform.”
Pure Resourcing Solutions carries out regular surveys into employment issues across the East Anglia region. Copies of the full survey findings are available from Anna Hill, Marketing Manager at the company.
