Find Your Dream Job: Insider Tips for Finding Work, Advancing your Career, and Loving Your Job

Ep. 095: Do’s and Don’ts for Dress in the Workplace, with Karla Miller

Jul 12, 2017

Karla Miller, career advice columnist for The Washington Post Magazine, delves into the complexities of workplace fashion. She emphasizes the importance of dressing for the company culture and shares tips for acing interviews by analyzing employee attire. Karla highlights the generational divide in dress expectations and discusses clothing taboos, including tattoos and gender discrepancies. She also introduces the Pregnancy Pause initiative, which aids women re-entering the workforce, stressing the significance of professional appearance in achieving career success.

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ANECDOTE

Flip-Flop Interview Story

Ben once attended an interview wearing flip-flops and got the job despite it.
The hiring manager informed him afterward about the closed-toe shoe policy at the YMCA.

ADVICE

Interview Dress Research Tips

Research dress norms for interviews by viewing company websites and LinkedIn profiles.
Dress slightly more formally than the company's daily norm to make a strong impression.

ADVICE

Dress Code Baseline Strategy

Begin by reviewing your employer's dress code for baseline guidelines.
If unclear, mimic the dress style of workers a level or two above you to fit company culture.

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Business casual means dressing for business, but in a casual way. Wait, is that a trick question? Clothing choices in the workplace can be frighteningly complex. In this episode of Find Your Dream Job, we tackle office fashion.

Karla Miller writes about dress in the workplace for the Washington Post Magazine. In the episode, Karla shares tips for preparing your outfit for an interview or first day of work. Ask yourself these two questions, then build your outfit:

What does the ideal worker at this company look like?
What kind of clothes would they be wearing and how would they be groomed?

Baby boomers and millennials may have a different idea of what dressing for work means. Always check out the company guidelines or employee dress code to get a baseline for what you should wear to work. If there are no specifics, look at how the people who are a level or two above you are dressing.

Karla and the Mac’s List team also get into clothing taboos, including gender discrepancies, tattoos, and more.

About This Week’s Guest: Karla Miller

Since 2011, Karla Miller has offered advice on workplace dramas and traumas as the at @Work Advice columnist for The Washington Post Magazine. Billing herself as “the smart-aleck down the hall,” Karla tackles questions on annoying officemates, bullying bosses, and getting by in today’s job market. Karla also works full-time at an accounting firm in Washington, DC. And, she volunteers as a wife and mother.

Be sure to check out Karla’s weekly column for the upcoming feature, “Are Dress Codes Unevenly Enforced?” in the June 18th edition. You can follow Karla on Twitter @KarlaAtWork.

Ben’s Job Search Resource: Tools for Moms

Ben’s resource this week is The Pregnancy Pause. Maternity leave is a full time job. So, on resumes and on LinkedIn mothers can cite the Pregnancy Pause as their employer. This tool educates others about the important work parents do when they take time off to raise children.

Find Your Dream Job Listener Question: Recent Grad Advice

Becky, Ben, Jessica, and Mac offer advice to Amber Tyus from Chicago, Illinois. Amber asks,

“How does someone who is a recent graduate with limited experience quantify their experiences?”

These segments are sponsored by Mac’s new book, Land Your Dream Job Anywhere. The book offers practical, actionable, and proven tools to help you get clear about your career goals, find hidden jobs, and ace your next interview. Get the first chapter of this useful resource free.

Be a part of the Find Your Dream Job podcast! Join in:

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Opening and closing music for Find Your Dream Job provided by Freddy Trujillo, www.freddytrujillo.com.

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