Why ‘Hair Twirling’ Could Halt Your Career Progression

In my previous career, I worked with a ‘hair twirler’. The majority of women in our office thought she was the world’s biggest flirt. And fair enough, according to them she sat vacantly twirling her long pretty locks around her perfectly polished forefinger, whilst starring dreamily at our handsome male boss. As a result, these women weren’t prepared to listen to what she had to say. They didn’t want to take her or her excellent work seriously, and so they didn’t. In fact, they wrote her off as a bimbo who was simply after their men folk.

Little did these women know that ‘hair twirler’ was hugely intimidated by these older, higher ranking ladies running the show. To her, they were everything she aspired to be in her career. And actually, the infamous twirling was a mindless habit, unbeknownst to her, exhibited when she felt nervous or overawed and in need of comforting.

The harsh reality of a first impression is that whatever industry or environment you work in — you are, have been and will be judged on how you present yourself. As human beings we naturally judge others very quickly, it’s instinctive and we just can’t help it!

55 percent of those important first few seconds are based purely on visual perception. So it’s definitely worth paying some serious attention not only to your body language and facial expressions but also to what you’re wearing. Especially as a survey revealed that a whopping 80 percent of executives are influenced by a person’s style of dress when they’re considering them for promotions.

We all know how crucial it is to look your best for an interview, salary review or client meeting. But actually it’s what you wear on a daily basis that communicates to others your personality, your career aspirations and how you wish to be treated. So whatever your chosen career path, it’s worth taking your image and style more seriously. It has the power to communicate to the world who you are and what others can expect from you.

Study the female leaders in your working world, try and understand their style and general vibe. I’m not saying that you should magically transform yourself into a different person for the office, or go out and buy three identical trousers to your boss. But it’s definitely worth having a clear divide between work outfits and the rest of your wardrobe. Ideally what you wear to your workplace should convey professionalism, credibility and work style.

Here are three little mistakes you think people don’t notice, but they do…

1. If you tend to cross your legs in meetings or work in an environment where you’re not hidden behind a desk all day, then don’t think that what you have on your feet goes undetected. Shoes are more obvious than you might think. If yours have heels that are worn down to the nail (so that they make that god awful clackety-clack-clack every time you walk across the room) or are scuffed beyond recognition, invest in a new pair or at least get yourself to the cobblers for some replacement heel caps.
2. Wet hair basically says to the world that you woke up late and rolled out of bed into work or you just couldn’t be bothered. Even if you’re rocking out your most impressive outfit and your face is perfectly made up — wet hair still tends to imply that you’re a bit of a mess. Try to make extra time to either dry and style your tresses or master a killer up-do so that you don’t have to wrestle with the hairdryer day in day out.
3. Accessories are a great way to bring out your personality at work as they let you share a little bit about who you are and your personal style. However, don’t go too crazy. If you’re giving a presentation or attending a major client meeting, you need to retain your audiences full attention and you don’t want the jingly jangly rainbow colour bangles up to your elbow to steal the show. So keep it simple and opt for just one or two simple pieces of jewellery with each outfit.

And just remember, if your visual image doesn’t match with what you stand for and represent, it doesn’t matter because people have already formed an opinion of you before you’ve even started to speak.

Oh and if you’re wondering what ever happened to ‘hair twirler’… with some friendly guidance she moved offices, learnt to keep the twirling out of the boardroom and now lives in Brazil leading one of the world’s biggest brands in their 2014 FIFA World Cup efforts.