Why you should still wear a suit (even if your colleagues don't)
Michael Price
IT Sales recruiter with 194 recommendations. Grown up who will tell you truth. 25 years experience. I only work on roles I'd take myself.
Is wearing a suit old-fashioned?
"Yeah Mike, I only wear a suit when I’m visiting a client." What an utter load of rubbish.
For those who know me well, you'll know that I always wear a suit, shirt and tie whilst I'm working be that at home or sat in front of a client. Here's why:
- If I go to pitch a client for their business I'll wear a suit. If they choose to use IRC they put their trust in me. Whether then can see me or not, I’m their agent and I represent their brand.
All of the work you do whilst working for your client on behalf of your employer is important and equal. If it's not, don't do it or get someone else to do it.
2. If I went to see my doctor and they were in their jeans, I'd be worried. Same goes for a lawyer, dentist, accountant, etc. But don't worry you're only in sales so it doesn't matter - well it does!
3. How do you separate your day? How do you walk out of home life, into work life? How do you put a screen between socialising and working? If you don't, then you're doing neither justice and not concentrating. You're the person on the sun lounger answering emails with your family on holiday and the person finishing that 'vital' report with the kids knocking around in the background. Concentrate and give whatever you’re doing your full attention or don't bother doing it.
Clearly, there are some environments where suits just aren’t applicable such as selling in the creative market but if you’d wear a suit for any occasion in your working day, then wear one every day.
It’s an excuse for laziness and a little part of you that’s rebelling against the system and you know it is.
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My business partner and I run a weekly podcast show 'IRC Book Club' for salespeople who want to improve their sales game. We take apart influential sales text, discuss the relevance of the advice and share some banter with the authors. Tune in on iTunes or Spotify
Economist at Self Emplyed
5 年Reminds me of a hypothetical I read in a book. You need brain surgery. You see two surgeons. One is wearing a designer suit, tidy office, posh accent and cleanly shaved. The other is scruffy, jeans and trainers, unkempt beard and papers all over the place and barely understandable accent. Who do you choose for the surgery? Now most people choose the posh guy but the book says we should turn our preconceptions on the head. Given the scruffy guy must come across badly to everyone he must be a hell of a surgeon to have got his position and so we should choose him. What the book doesn’t comment on further is that most would choose the posh guy. Doesn’t matter how good you are - if you present yourself badly you can lose out to people who now how to play the game. I never wear a suit though and turn up to meetings in jeans. I was challenged about it once and said do you want to pay for what is in my head or on my body? I am happy with either. But then that is because I am a lazy git.
MI and Data Officer at Greater Manchester Combined Authority
5 年I totally disagree with this. For me self-comfort and productivity go hand in hand. I believe that free choice in what you wear is key. If that's a suit, then great. Surely we must champion great ideas from people instead of what they wear. A decision about what I wear on my own body has to rest with me.
(Views are my own) Chair of Wells Cathedral Chorister Trust, musician, Liveryman and City of London Freeman
5 年There are many occasions when only a suit and tie will do, but increasingly that is not the case. It’s certainly not ‘dinosauric ’ to wear a suit - silly comment - it’s about what is appropriate for you and your workplace. It’s easy to remove a tie if appropriate. No right or wrong answer
HR Director at Play Sports Network
5 年I have seen fantastic dentists, lawyers, accountants and CEOs in jeans and seen hopelessly bad sales people in suits. Can’t agree.
Executive Assistant @ 3Vision | Pilates Instructor
5 年Jack Thomas