Four levels of the workplace Four styles of dress code

Training participants often ask how to dress for work to look formal, and I always ask them: What is your company's dress code? What kind of dress style do you want to be in the workplace?

A person's dress should match the dress style of the whole company, and then choose the right style for themselves on this basis.

First, Bill Gates dress code story

In August 1980, several IBM executives dressed in suits, in Seattle to see Bill? Gates, we know that Silicon Valley programmers are dressed casually, when Bill? Gates was very unkempt, not only a baby face, but also wearing a pullover, jeans, IBM executives at the time did not think that this young man will be the future of the entire computer industry, have a critical impact. So, the first day of business did not negotiate.

However, the two sides agreed to meet the next day, in order to show sincerity and solemnity, Bill? Gates deliberately wore a three-piece suit and tie. Just did not expect, this time changed to IBM's supervisor dressed particularly casual, not only wear loose pants, but also with a cotton shirt, it turned out that they in order to cater to Bill? Gates, changed out of the suit. The meeting was opened in a very relaxed atmosphere, behind the negotiation became smooth.

In fact, in the workplace, understanding each other's dress habits and deliberately adjusting one's own dress is a strong signal release. This signaling indicates a person's traits or even a company's traits.

Second, four levels of the workplace, four styles of dress

Level 1: authoritative workplace

Keywords: uniform

These industries are closely related to the power of the state and the lives of people, requiring that everyone must appear in a uniformed image, uniforms play a role in the identity of the markers, but also a sense of authority that can always be recognized later.

You can't imagine someone in a tracksuit flying an airplane, and you'd be more accustomed to being seen by someone in a white coat.

Level 2: professional workplace

Keywords: conservative

This tier of careers includes accountants, lawyers, investment banking, finance, professional consultants, etc. It's the most conservative industry in terms of what you wear, but the recognition of these professions is also universally multi-golden. I myself am fighting in this in the training and consulting industry. These industries basically follow a rule: the closer to the money to wear the more conservative.

Why do these professions commonly wear suits or suits? Because they are professionals. The so-called professionals, that is, to have "professional skills", and these skills should be in line with scientific principles, but also after a long period of study and training, and some have to take the test, to obtain professional qualifications.

Professionals earn money by professional authority. The authority of accountants is reflected in the need to comment on financial figures from the perspective of an independent third party; lawyers have to elaborate on and interpret legal terms, so that the client trusts them; the financial sector, investment banking or professional consultants need to establish their authority even more so that others can listen to them on large sums of money.

The outstanding among professionals must be experts in the relevant fields. But it's hard for an outsider to see something like professional quality at a glance. You can't just turn out your professional credentials and show them to people whenever you want, can you? The unspoken rule in this type of industry is: wear a sense of professional authority first, and this type of clothing requires a more formal and often the most conservative approach.

The third level: the traditional workplace

Keywords: decent

This level of work, in China, generally include enterprises, institutions, civil servants, such as government agencies, clerks, state-owned enterprises employees, teachers and so on. This kind of unit is generally very little detail within the strict rules of dress, as long as it is not strange clothing, dressed decently.

In this type of workplace there is a survival point, is "integration" - into the collective, into the business code of conduct, into the rules.

If most of your coworkers wear shirts and jackets to work, and you wear a suit and tie every day, you'll give people an inexplicable sense of distance. But even if there are no explicit rules, you can't go to work in a halter dress or clip-on flip-flops when you work in this type of organization.

Fourth level: creative workplace

Keywords: free

This type of workplace such as Internet companies, media, advertising, fashion industry, work wear freedom is relatively high.

Internet companies, influenced by the U.S. Silicon Valley, usually more casual, T-shirts, plaid shirts, jeans are very common. And advertising, fashion, media industry, all belong to the creative industry. In this type of industry, clothes reveal a person's aesthetic taste and creative ability, this type of industry, the tolerance of strange clothes is very large, but the tolerance of bad taste is very small.

Three, master the benefits of the four levels of difference in the dress

1 , to help you wear the right direction in their own industry or business

This is especially useful for young people entering the workplace. In the professional crowd dressed casually, is not on the road, the same, in the creative industry, people in favor of dressing like professionals as serious, around the colleagues will certainly also feel you strange.

2, to help you quickly judge others

Because of the different styles of dress, a lot of people stand together, even if you do not pull out business cards, you should be able to quickly distinguish who is an accountant, who is an entrepreneur, who is a fashionable person. The people who have a good eye can even tell who is a local law firm, who is a joint venture law firm, and who is a foreign law firm in a room full of lawyers.

If you can pay attention, the accuracy of recognizing people by their clothes can hit more than 70%. A lawyer who dresses formally is also more trustworthy in terms of professionalism, or at least, he shows that he takes your case seriously. On the contrary, an accountant wearing jeans T-shirt, auditor, may you have to seriously observe him again.

3, to help you adjust their own dress strategy

As in the beginning of the Bill? Gates example, the clothes themselves are also a form of communication, when you deal with people of different professions, if you can skillfully use clothing to show friendly, or even better, without saying a word to express your strong, you have one more aang think about other people's secret weapon.