Following a Dress Code at Work Can Get You Promoted It Worked For Me

Following a Dress Code at Work Can Get You Promoted It Worked For Me When the Hogwarts Express pulls out of the station, the witches and wizards on board change into school uniform their student robes. Its their school dress code, and every student is expected to wear the saatkorn kind. Otherbeiwise, theyll get in trouble. (And if theres one thing that we can learn from Harry Potter, its that getting in trouble for a school dress code violation isnt the best thing to get in trouble for)Though you may not be in school (and you may not be a wizard), police officers, firefighters, doctors, nurses, chefs and workers across the world put on uniforms every day.Wearing a uniform is not about whether you prefer a polo shirt to wearing black tie attire or whether you hate t-shirts and love dress slacks. Its about using yur Photo via Instagram/rawlyboldRegardless of whether you spend your workday in a button-down shirt or strictly in business casual attire, the clothing you wear has a seriou s impact on your career path. By elevating what you wear to be more than just the official company dress code, you can also command respect, show your authority and easily establish yourself as the recognizable leader you want to be.Like it or not, youre judged by the clothes that you wear. And no matter how many times you complain that people should look at your work, your results, and your accomplishments when its time to promote you, they will also look at your pants, your shirts, and the other items you wear. Its not because theyre factoring your sense of fashion into your work performance. When your supervisor looks at your clothes, theyre actually asking themselves, Can I put this person in front of my boss? Can I send this person out to visit a customer and feel confident that she will represent the company in a way that we want to be seen?Eighty percent of executives surveyed said that what you wear is a factor in promoting you. If clothes have such a major impact, we need t o dress like it To start, wear clothes that mimic the style of the people who have the job you want. Imitating the style, uniform, and dress code of that level of management in your company will make you more promotable.Why does this work?I teach women to negotiate a skill you use every day, all day to get your peers, coworkers, direct employees, customers and vendors to agree. The most successful of these day-to-day agreements help us move forward without damaging our relationships, as well as make our relationships much better.Imagine youre in a meeting with your peers. Youre all wearing jeans and hoodies the standard dress code for your office. In walks a manager from a different group. She looks around the room and sees you, wearing jeans and a nice blazer. Shes also wearing jeans and a nice blazer, because thats the dress code for her level of management in your company. She needs help with something. Who is she likely to be most drawn to? The person who looks like her. Its human nature.Photo via Instagram/sistersinmediaWe trust people who look like us, who are wearing the same uniform.Choosing between wearing skirts and dress pants suddenly seems a lot more important, right? When we match our clothing with other individuals, we are subconsciously establishing a rapport. In general, building rapport is a powerful negotiation skill and a big part of coming to an agreement everyone feels good about. Making a connection can be as simple as finding things in common that we can talk about, shared films we love, or the school we graduated from.And yes, we do subconsciously bond over how we look. At work, this subconscious behavior is called mirroring. Its mostly used to describe when we subtly imitate speech patterns and body language, but can also be applied to your personal dress code.That doesnt mean you should ditch your closet of casual outfits in exchange for the cocktail dress that your boss wore to the holiday party, or the business attire that shes regularly seen in. Im not suggesting you cross the line and dress exactly like your boss, i.e. becoming her mini-me. Definitely avoid wearing the exact same thing, but dress similarly. Mirroring, at the most visible level of consciousness, shows that you are the same, and therefore more trustworthy.Dont believe it? Heres how I used mirroring to get promoted.We women have a complicated relationship with our clothing, especially compared to men. There were days in my past where I stood in front of a jam-packed closet full of navy blue button-down shirts and outfits tied to the companys formal dress code and wailed, I have nothing to wear But all of that changed when I adopted a work uniform.While school uniforms can feel restricting, work uniforms are the opposite. By focusing on already-worn pieces and a smart, casual look, I chose to fit in and to create a uniform that mirrored the culture of the company. This also made everyone comfortable with me, whether I was the highest- or low est-level person in the room. No one ever worried about what Id be wearing when I showed up for a meeting. Thats the beauty of mirroring. No one thought about the way I looked because I looked like them.Photo via Instagram/colleenfinneganAt the end of the day, what you wear to work is just a small part of getting ahead. But if wearing jeans can help you score a point with your boss, the small advantage that clothing provides will definitely help you get ahead.Ideally, youll find a place to work that perfectly fits the way you like to dress and act. Though it takes a lot of work to find and get a job at that place, you have a better chance of moving to that perfect job once you hit the next level in the company youre already at. You can adjust a few things in the way you show up at work for now, with the understanding that its not forever.Use mirroring as one of the tools in your professional toolbox to build rapport and help you get ahead.--What do you do when the unexpected happens ? That moment when the other person interrupts you or says something you werent prepared for? Melissa Hereford will teach you how to Negotiate With Confidence check out her website