My good friend the carpenter, who has worked on building crews for more than 20 years, swears that he can tell a construction worker's function on a job site by looking at his or her general shape.
The roofers are lanky and slim, he says, while the plumbers are all muscle on the top half of their bodies - sometimes with a generous helping of spare tire. Sheetrockers are strong but compact, and tilers walk a little funny, probably because their work keeps them on their hands and knees so much of the day.
And carpenters? Well, with only a hint of pride, he assures me they are the good-looking ones.
I suspect that these observations would hold about as much water as a stocking cap, but it's not their veracity that caught my attention. Rather, I'm interested in the much-noted phenomenon of how people come to look like the people around them. If we are prone to looking like our companions, and most of us spend most of our time at work, will we start resembling our co-workers?Stay with me. Don't drop the paper in horror, rushing to erase the image of morphing into your boss. I'm not suggesting that time spent together makes us start walking and talking alike ... or am I?
There might be a downside to looking like our jobs, or at least like the ones in our past. As a job-search strategist, I'm especially interested in how our looks shape our opinions about ourselves or, more to the point, how they influence someone else's opinion of us.
If this wasn't a deeply held belief, by the way, none of us would dress up for interviews.
We know we'll feel better about ourselves and also that we'll make a better impression.
But do we interview in a new field looking like someone who works in the old field? Do our clothes - not to mention our hairstyles, gestures and speech patterns - reflect our past work lives, when we should be mirroring our future workplace?
One of my clients is seen at work more as a mom than as a professional. She cuts deals worth millions of dollars annually, but she's being treated like someone who will be bringing the cookies to the next meeting. Although she looks perfectly fine, we agreed it was time for a makeover. She has not changed her image substantially in two decades; now it's time to look like the professional she has become.
Another person is being perceived as shy and introverted, which is not untrue. But he needs to come off as more forthright in upcoming interviews. One idea is to change his eyeglasses. When chosen for impact, eyeglasses can "speak" without our doing anything more than peering out of them. Thus, a person who really is shy can give the initial impression of boldness, which can help set the tone for an interview.
The new year is coming, bringing a wonderful opportunity for a fresh start with your image. If you've had the same look for a number of years, why not consider a few adjustments? Even if you're not planning to change jobs, the effort could provide some interesting results.
And if you are planning to change jobs - especially if you're going to a new field - now's the time to do some reconnaissance. How do people in the new discipline dress? What kinds of gestures and speech patterns do they use?
The idea is not to abandon your own style. Rather, the hope is that some of this knowledge - especially if it comes from being around people in the new field - will translate into subtle changes in your persona when you're seeking work.
If that happens, the interviewer might tell you later that you were chosen because you fit in better than the other candidates. That's worth the price of a haircut.
- Amy Lindgren owns Prototype Career Service, a career consulting firm in St. Paul, Minn. She can be reached at alindgren@prototypecareerservice.com or 1071 W. Seventh St., St. Paul, MN 55102.