dreamtobethin
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Is your image hurting your Career?
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For the click challenged like me 
Is Your Image Hurting Your Career?
by Penelope Trunk
Being overweight or sloppily dressed is worse for your career than being a poor performer.
I'm not saying this is fair, I'm saying it's true. So manage your weight, and manage the image you project at work, and you'll do wonders for your career.
If you doubt that your image can inhibit your career, think about this: According to a 2005 study by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, good-looking people make more money than average-looking people for doing exactly the same work.
Fit in Every Way
Before you get up in arms over how unfair it is to discriminate against people who are overweight, consider that there may be some rationale behind it. If you're overweight, you're probably not exercising every day. But regular exercise increases peoples' ability to cope with difficult situations in the workplace and, according to University of Illinois kinesiology professor Charles Hillman, might even make people smarter.
And the same self-discipline we use to make ourselves exercise regularly and eat in moderation carries over into other aspects of our lives. This is probably why, in a study from Leeds Metropolitan University, people who exercise regularly were found to be better at time-management and more productive than those who don't.
So don't kid yourself that if you do good work it won't matter if you're overweight. It's sort of like people who have messy desks: The perception is that they're low-performers, poor time-managers, and not clear thinkers. This might not be true at all, but the only thing they can do to overcome the perceptions of their coworkers is clean their desks.
Make Image a Priority
What makes this information particularly troubling is that so many people say they can't make time to exercise and eat right because they need to work instead. In fact, if you're overweight, you should probably put aside some of your work, accept that you won't be performing as well at the office, and manage your image more closely by going to the gym.
That's right -- get rid of that perfectionist streak, do a little less work, and use that time to make yourself look better. People will perceive that you're doing better work anyway. So instead of rationalizing why you can put work ahead of taking care of your health, start acting like a healthy person. Go to the gym at lunch, or leave work at 5 to hit the gym. Reorganize your schedule to make health a priority and your coworkers will respect you for it.
Here's something else: Dress like you care. Building a strong brand for yourself is the only way to create a stable career in today's workplace. You'll change jobs often, and what influences your ability to get new jobs most is the image you convey. People judge that before they judge one word that comes out of your mouth.
A Career Constant
I didn't have a weight problem when I owned my first company, but I did have an image problem -- I was younger than almost everyone, and my mentor told me my age was creating problems. So I hired an image consultant to drag me around town and spend lots of money until I looked more grown up.
I still worry about image issues today -- everyone does, no matter where they are in their career. It's just that today I worry less about looking older and more about what shirt is right for an appearance on CNN. The point is that issues of image are ongoing in a career that matters.
So don't be overweight and don't dress carelessly. These are just as detrimental to your career as doing your work poorly. And if my bringing this up makes you angry, consider being more forgiving, because anger is a risk factor for obesity. Besides, forgiveness makes people more resilient to difficulties because it's about seeing the world in a positive light -- which is, of course, also good for your image.
Is Your Image Hurting Your Career?
by Penelope Trunk
Being overweight or sloppily dressed is worse for your career than being a poor performer.
I'm not saying this is fair, I'm saying it's true. So manage your weight, and manage the image you project at work, and you'll do wonders for your career.
If you doubt that your image can inhibit your career, think about this: According to a 2005 study by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, good-looking people make more money than average-looking people for doing exactly the same work.
Fit in Every Way
Before you get up in arms over how unfair it is to discriminate against people who are overweight, consider that there may be some rationale behind it. If you're overweight, you're probably not exercising every day. But regular exercise increases peoples' ability to cope with difficult situations in the workplace and, according to University of Illinois kinesiology professor Charles Hillman, might even make people smarter.
And the same self-discipline we use to make ourselves exercise regularly and eat in moderation carries over into other aspects of our lives. This is probably why, in a study from Leeds Metropolitan University, people who exercise regularly were found to be better at time-management and more productive than those who don't.
So don't kid yourself that if you do good work it won't matter if you're overweight. It's sort of like people who have messy desks: The perception is that they're low-performers, poor time-managers, and not clear thinkers. This might not be true at all, but the only thing they can do to overcome the perceptions of their coworkers is clean their desks.
Make Image a Priority
What makes this information particularly troubling is that so many people say they can't make time to exercise and eat right because they need to work instead. In fact, if you're overweight, you should probably put aside some of your work, accept that you won't be performing as well at the office, and manage your image more closely by going to the gym.
That's right -- get rid of that perfectionist streak, do a little less work, and use that time to make yourself look better. People will perceive that you're doing better work anyway. So instead of rationalizing why you can put work ahead of taking care of your health, start acting like a healthy person. Go to the gym at lunch, or leave work at 5 to hit the gym. Reorganize your schedule to make health a priority and your coworkers will respect you for it.
Here's something else: Dress like you care. Building a strong brand for yourself is the only way to create a stable career in today's workplace. You'll change jobs often, and what influences your ability to get new jobs most is the image you convey. People judge that before they judge one word that comes out of your mouth.
A Career Constant
I didn't have a weight problem when I owned my first company, but I did have an image problem -- I was younger than almost everyone, and my mentor told me my age was creating problems. So I hired an image consultant to drag me around town and spend lots of money until I looked more grown up.
I still worry about image issues today -- everyone does, no matter where they are in their career. It's just that today I worry less about looking older and more about what shirt is right for an appearance on CNN. The point is that issues of image are ongoing in a career that matters.
So don't be overweight and don't dress carelessly. These are just as detrimental to your career as doing your work poorly. And if my bringing this up makes you angry, consider being more forgiving, because anger is a risk factor for obesity. Besides, forgiveness makes people more resilient to difficulties because it's about seeing the world in a positive light -- which is, of course, also good for your image.
There's a big difference between being overweight and being a sloppy dresser.. I've been overweight most of my adult life and have had a pretty good career... I've never ever been accused of being a sloppy dresser..
Even at my heaviest weight - 383+ lbs -my employer had no issues at all putting me front and center in front of 100s of potential customers to do a demo of a product.. I had very good presentation skills, could maintain eye contact, read my audience and change the demo basedon body language feedback i was being given... and basically - (and this is going to sound odd coming from me) but I could wow 'em and dazzle 'em - I had enough personality and confidence in my work ability and the ability to get people to like me it was not a problem what I weighed.
I worked on wall street for a bunch of years - you can't get amore shallow crowd than traders and financial analysts - everything was about image... again, I never dressed sloppy, I was always put together (I never did the makeup thing but my clothes were conservative and polished looking) and oh yeah - I had brains - enough to make up for anything else that might be lacking.
Work wise - my size has never been an issue -because I've always been smart enough and capable enough to make a good impression... it's my personal life that my confidence goes out the window and size matters
How a person dresses, I do believe matters... You don't have to go out and spend 1000s of dollars on clothes, but showing up for work in sloppy tshirts, stained pants, white socks with black shoes, or bad breath, etc - just really isn't appropriate in a professional environment...
Even at my heaviest weight - 383+ lbs -my employer had no issues at all putting me front and center in front of 100s of potential customers to do a demo of a product.. I had very good presentation skills, could maintain eye contact, read my audience and change the demo basedon body language feedback i was being given... and basically - (and this is going to sound odd coming from me) but I could wow 'em and dazzle 'em - I had enough personality and confidence in my work ability and the ability to get people to like me it was not a problem what I weighed.
I worked on wall street for a bunch of years - you can't get amore shallow crowd than traders and financial analysts - everything was about image... again, I never dressed sloppy, I was always put together (I never did the makeup thing but my clothes were conservative and polished looking) and oh yeah - I had brains - enough to make up for anything else that might be lacking.
Work wise - my size has never been an issue -because I've always been smart enough and capable enough to make a good impression... it's my personal life that my confidence goes out the window and size matters
How a person dresses, I do believe matters... You don't have to go out and spend 1000s of dollars on clothes, but showing up for work in sloppy tshirts, stained pants, white socks with black shoes, or bad breath, etc - just really isn't appropriate in a professional environment...
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So this means skinny people are the almighty rulers and successful?
I don't buy it.
In my industry, almost everyone is overweight. I guess it's not applicable across the industry board.
With a vast majority of our population being overweight/obese, I don't think this is much of an issue unless a) there is a physical/performance aspect to your job, or b) your appearance is part of your job (ie., personal trainer, doctor, model, etc.)
I could be way off based and this is simply my opinions based on what I see day in day out where I work.....
Interesting though.
I don't buy it.
In my industry, almost everyone is overweight. I guess it's not applicable across the industry board.
With a vast majority of our population being overweight/obese, I don't think this is much of an issue unless a) there is a physical/performance aspect to your job, or b) your appearance is part of your job (ie., personal trainer, doctor, model, etc.)
I could be way off based and this is simply my opinions based on what I see day in day out where I work.....
Interesting though.
wow finance has changed in the past 10 years or so - when I worked on wall street it was all a bunch of mid 20s low 30s former frat boys who thought they were masters of the universe and had the bodies to match...
wow finance has changed in the past 10 years or so - when I worked on wall street it was all a bunch of mid 20s low 30s former frat boys who thought they were masters of the universe and had the bodies to match...
Private financial advising.... not all of finance.
I'm sure it's still like that on Wall Street.
I was at that conference a few weeks back and it was insane the ratio of fat to skinny. I bet you it was at least 4-5 to 1. And there were a good 2000 people there.