I recently conducted a style evaluation from a young gentlemen who claimed he wanted to move his style from junior executive to “C suite”. We talked for a while and he did a good job convincing me he was ready to take the plunge…until we got to the last two questions in our evaluation process. I asked him what ehe typically carries when going to meetings and he replied, “A backpack…but a leather one.” I asked him what message he thought he was conveying and he responded, “Not sure although I’m always prepared for the meeting and I bring my A game.” Problem identified. I asked whether he was open to moving past the backpack to convey business and he responded, “Really? My backpack is leather though.” I explained that backpacks are for students and unless he was ready to back to class, he needed to arrive at a business meeting looking like he was ready to conduct business. Solution provided.
That’s just one mistake professional men commonly make and although Business Insider started it, there are several more that manage to make women weep, send business deals south, and highlight the deficiencies in one’s visual resume.
Read more here…
One Response
Backpacks belong on a child headed to school, a mountain hike or maybe an overnight trip but never on the back of a man wearing a suit!