Image is everything
Posted on October 30, 2007
Filed Under Career Development, Cold hard career facts, Boomers, Gen X, Gen Y, Uncategorized
Yes, I know it was a cheesy ad campaign for some camera company, but it also has it’s place in today’s workplace. Recently Brazen Careerist published a piece on this topic albeit from a different perspective than you might think.
If you’ve ever read Penelope Trunk’s Brazen Careerist, you’ll know that she often has a unique approach to workplace issues, but frequently offers career advice that borders on being irresponsible (in this writers opinion…and others). Recently she posted the following on the ‘image‘ question, “So manage your weight, and manage the image you project at work, and you’ll do wonders for your career.” Gee I didn’t realize it was that easy.
She went on to say: “According to a 2005 study by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, good-looking people make more money than average-looking people for doing exactly the same work. ” This just gets better.
And “Before you get up in arms over how unfair it is to discriminate against people who are overweight, consider that there may be some rationale behind it. If you’re overweight, you’re probably not exercising every day. Ahh, the key to career success, just hit the gym everyday.
Finally, “So don’t kid yourself that if you do good work it won’t matter if you’re overweight. It’s sort of like people who have messy desks: The perception is that they’re low-performers, poor time-managers, and not clear thinkers. This might not be true at all, but the only thing they can do to overcome the perceptions of their coworkers is clean their desks.” So now I have to be skinny and have a clean desk?
Now I realize that I’m having a little fun at Ms. Trunks expense (although I should note that by the picture on her blog she appears to one of the skinny ones…damn her to hell), but there’s a method to my madness. People like Ms Trunk are out there and no matter how outlandish and absurd these comments are, some will believe them. And sadly still others will practice them. Sometimes we can control our weight and sometimes we can’t and certainly from a wellness perspective everyone should do what they can to remain healthy. However, those of us in our 30’s, 40’s, and beyond know that keeping weight off gets harder and harder every year. And the busier our lives get, they less time we have to exercise. I for one don’t think my career should be measured by how fit I am. I don’t know about you, but some of the brightest and most talented people I’ve worked with weren’t the skinniest. Good thing they don’t work for Ms Trunk.
Until next time…
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