I am a flamboyant dresser, will this cost me a new job?

A money changer poses for a portrait on a street corner in Goma in eastern Congo. Organisations differ in character, with some setting stringent standards of dressing and appearance, driven by their cultures or the nature of their businesses. PHOTO | FILE

What you need to know:

  • Some HR pundits believe that the freedom to bring a fuller self to work may contribute to employee engagement. A growing preference for informality is common in organisations that aspire to shun bureaucracy and its potential to suffocate creativity in the workplace.
  • Certain positions within organisations may also influence the dress code of their holders, such as client facing officers who may be expected to dress formally.

Q. I am naturally creative and very expressive.

One of the ways this manifests itself is in how I style my hair, how I dress, and the kind of shoes I wear.

I work in a casual environment, and my current employer has never had a problem with my dressing. I have been invited for a job interview in a bigger organisation, and worry that my appearance might hurt my chances of getting a job. In this case, should I tone down my personality?

 

You seem to appreciate your current working environment, where you are free to lend your personality full expression in appearance and attire.

Some HR pundits believe that the freedom to bring a fuller self to work may contribute to employee engagement. A growing preference for informality is common in organisations that aspire to shun bureaucracy and its potential to suffocate creativity in the workplace. Your concern about the prospect of sacrificing your flair for a career opportunity with a larger organisation demonstrates the value you attach to your uniqueness. Thankfully, many organisations recognise the benefits of embracing diversity, including the availability of varied perspectives and higher odds of mooting better approaches to their challenges.

Organisations differ in character, with some setting stringent standards of dressing and appearance, driven by their cultures or the nature of their businesses. Certain positions within organisations may also influence the dress code of their holders, such as client facing officers who may be expected to dress formally. For such positions, organisations may be reluctant to indulge employees with a penchant for glitter or luminous apparel.

To determine whether you would be at home in the organisation, it would be useful to find out more about it and its culture. To what extent are its employees free to express their manner and style? Is it an environment where you can thrive professionally whilst retaining your uniqueness? The degree to which the career opportunity matches your aspirations should inform your willingness to tweak your style.

Bear in mind that personality is an integral part of your constitution and therefore there is a limit to which you can successfully adjust it to fit some environments or positions. You will retire from your career, not your personality.