This quote reminds me of how important it is to dress in a way that is an appropriate representation of what you want people to think or remember about you. First impressions are a very powerful thing. Social psychologists say it takes less than 60 seconds for someone to make an initial impression of a person. It then takes several hours to confirm or deny that initial impression. I have been discussing office and business dress codes this week, but this information applies to students on campus as well. How we look, what we wear, what we say and how we carry ourselves is all part of that first impression. As a professional, or soon to be professional, you are always managing impressions and your professional brand.
I remember several years ago a student walked into my office to ask for assistance in finding a summer internship. She was a Fashion Marketing major and wanted to secure an internship in NYC for the summer. From my knowledge of the Fashion Marketing program at Virginia Tech I knew the department had strong ties to their alumni base and I encouraged her to tap into that. She told me that the alumni advisory panel had presented to her class the past week and she had missed the opportunity to speak with them at that time. I must have had a very puzzled look on my face when I asked her, “Why didn’t you talk to them when they were here for your class?”
That’s when she broke down into tears and told me the embarrassing story of not paying attention to her syllabus and arriving to class that morning in sweats, no make-up and dirty hair in a ponytail. Much to her surprise, her entire class was dressed to impress (after all, they are fashion majors) and that’s when she noticed the distinguished alumni panel of fashion industry professionals sitting at the front of the room. She sat in the back, didn’t ask a single question and left as soon as class was over. Meanwhile, her classmates spent the next hour networking and chatting with these fashion insiders learning more about the industry and how to find internships in the fashion world. She called and scheduled an appointment to meet with me. Although I like to think I am a wealth of important career-related information we both knew that a 30 minute appointment with me could never replace that opportunity she missed after class because she did not dress in a way that represented who she was and what she was all about.
Don’t let that happen to you. You never know when you are going to run into someone you want to impress!
