Over spring break I was in this strange place that we refer to as our nations capital, Washington DC. As I was there I went to visit my brother and my cousins who live there. On Sunday we went to church and it was very interesting to see the different environment there. It was really interesting to see that everyone was dressed very nicely. Not just like a polo shirt and jeans like many of us see at church in other places but a lot nicer looking. I started to think about how the people who live in that city and the surrounding area are always trying to sell themselves. It is very important for them to dress nicely wherever they go. The reason for this is that they are always trying to sell themselves. It is all about making connections and growing their professional network almost always there.
There was also a time when we just went out to eat at a basic restaurant, nothing special and everyone I saw looked very well put together. I found it very interesting that so many of these young professionals are always dressing nicely and being ready for business always.
I always thought that selling yourself was just about the way that you interacted with people and talked to them in conversation but I realized that it includes the way you present yourself as well. If you present yourself like a professional people will treat you like such. But, if you dress like a schlub then you won’t get as much respect.
BoweryJE22
It’s interesting that you say that because I feel like as a senior, I am constantly looking for jobs to apply to and I have found that I care less about how I look around campus.
I wonder if the reason the people at church were dressed up is many people traditionally dress up for church. For example, everyone at my home church dresses up, and almost everyone at my church here dresses up too. Also, the people dressed up at the restaurant could have just gotten off from work or be on a lunch break. It is plausible that they were trying to impress others, and it is true that people are always getting impressions of you from the way you dress, etc. However, I think there are occasions you dress up for where the main goal isn’t networking or selling yourself, but it is out of tradition, respect, etc.