Don't Wear Out Your Welcome

By: Randy Dotinga Talk to anyone who's ever been a boss at a newspaper, and you're bound to hear about the times he or she wanted to call in the fashion police.

Arlene Morgan, former assistant managing editor at The Philadelphia Inquirer, still remembers the reporter applicant who almost wore purple velour to his job interview and the 1970s-era newsroom staffer whose miniskirts were so short that the composing room staff made a point of lingering around the newsroom to enjoy the view. Nancy Manes, human resources director at The Anchorage (Alaska) Daily News, can't forget the job applicant whose skimpy top exposed a tattoo on a private area of her anatomy.

"Get over yourself!" Manes thought at the time. "I don't want to see that."

On the other hand, Manes doesn't blink an eye at male employees who have bushy or even braided beards. Alaskans are an iconoclastic lot, "and we try to be tolerant of that," she said. "But we still have a dress code, and we still expect people to be neat and tidy."

Whether you work just south of the Arctic Circle or just north of the Mason-Dixon Line, the same fashion rule applies: use common sense when you dress for work. Be neat, be clean, and set yourself apart at your own risk.

Dressing like others in a newsroom "shows that you belong, shows that you understand the norms and values and fit in," said Neil Lewis, a management psychologist based in Atlanta.

The right outfit and appearance are especially important the first time you meet a potential employer. But a fair number of young applicants at job fairs fail to understand that, according to Carol Y. Dudley, head of career development at the Howard University School of Communications in Washington.

"I'm not saying that students have to be 'suited' down, but they have to provide as little distraction as possible to what's on paper and who they are," she said. "A recruiter shouldn't be busy looking at the clothes the student wears or distracted by the hair cut or the color of dye that's in the student's hair. I can't emphasize the distraction thing enough because I see it so often."

For a man, shirt, tie and slacks is appropriate; sport jackets are optional but encouraged. "A jacket is nice so they know that you have one," Dudley said.

Women tend to be a problem area, but not because they dress down. Instead, recruiters report that many young women appear at job fairs dressed to the nines in a decidedly non-professional way, wearing short skirts, low-cut tops, and sassy hairstyles as though they're heading out for a night on the town.

"Maybe they think that's how they look their best, but it's not appropriate for a job interview," said Julio Moran, executive director of the California Chicano News Media Association, which helps aspiring journalists get jobs. "This is a profession, and they need to dress professionally."

Big no-no's for both sexes include jeans, sneakers or tennis shoes, large facial piercings (a small stud on the nose might be acceptable) and big, obvious tattoos. "If someone comes in heavily tattooed and makes a point of wearing short sleeves, I might question their judgment on that," said Manes of the Anchorage newspaper.

Not every applicant, however, can get away by simply looking neat and professional. "I have a certain expectation for a manager versus someone who's coming in as a customer service representative in classifieds," Manes said. "I always expect a candidate at the middle management level or above to wear a suit in the interview process. The organization would be put off if you didn't."

Applicants have a bit more fashion freedom once they land a job, but it depends on the position. Supervisors, for example, may want to devote more attention to their appearance than their underlings, said Lewis, the management psychologist.

Along those lines, some firms advise their salespeople to "dress like the client, but about half a click better," Lewis said. "You look right, you fit in, but you're a little bit sharper to set yourself off from them a bit."

Other employees may find themselves with more leeway. Copy editors can often get away with dressing down, while no one would expect some kinds of writers to show up in a tie and wing tips.

Consider the free-spirited job applicant at The Philadelphia Inquirer who has stuck in Morgan's memory. He traded in his velour for a blue pinstriped suit before his job interview, thanks to a helpful hint from Morgan, but his conservative conversion didn't last long. After a while, he moved into the fashion section, where he knew that he could be a "little more flamboyant," she recalled.

Regardless of how you dress at work, there's one final lesson to remember: Appearance isn't everything. "If you're not a very good reporter," said Lewis, "it doesn't matter how you look."