As much as we would like to believe that our physical appearance has no bearing on how qualified we are for a job, that is simply a delusion. The fact of the matter is that most people will rarely take you seriously when your attire does not match their preconceived notion of a person in that role, and undoubtedly some of those people have the power to promote or demote you. Why is this true?

You are a reflection of the company

Every employee is an individual representative of the company, particularly at higher levels of authority and responsibility. Hiring managers want the public to associate the company with professionalism and high standards, attributes which can be visibly modeled by the employees’ attire. When clients and vendors are impressed by how you look, they will likely have the same feelings about the company you represent.

People place more trust in what they view as professional

I have heard others give excellent examples of this fact using industries like medicine, aviation, and law. Whom would you feel more comfortable operating on you in the emergency room: the person in the white coat with gloves and mask or the person in flip flops, board shorts, and a tank top? Would you voluntarily board a plane if the pilot walked on in pajamas and slippers? How confident would you be if your attorney entered the court room in workout gear instead of a suit and tie? Regardless of how capable each of these professionals may be, your confidence in their abilities to do a great job is directly affected by how they appear, especially when compared to a set standard. The same principle holds true for how much faith your hiring managers can place in you, especially when they consider how your clients and subordinates would potentially view you in a higher level position.

Dressing the part shows respect for the work

Regardless of how casual society may have become over the years, a general understanding still remains that dressing up displays a greater respect for the activity or the venue. An employee who takes his work seriously and strives to produce the best that he can is the kind of employee who can be entrusted with greater responsibilities. So if you have aspirations of reaching higher levels in your organization, help your hiring managers be able to visualize you in that role by dressing to fit the part. It will go a long way in aiding your career advancement.