Kick-ass Career Guide for Women

Dress sense

Make sure that you dress in accordance with any dress code policy that your company may have.

If you are working in a workshop or factory, or any other kind of industrial environment, make sure to wear the correct protective clothing - it may save your life or body part. This includes a hard helmet, gloves, steel-toed hard boots, protective uniform, reflex vest, or protective eye-wear.

In previous jobs, there had been some near misses, where the people working on the job were smart enough to wear protective clothing that saved them their eyesight, any brain damage, not to mention body parts, like fingers.

If you are working in an office environment, dress for comfort and professionalism. You are not dressing to go to a night club or vacation cruise.

I once flew to a country to visit a regional office for a company I worked with. It was the first time I met and greeted the staff, who were all lovely and pleasant. The workplace exuded professionalism and most people were dressed in business attire, especially since customers came frequently to the office for meetings.

However, I noticed one woman in skintight jeans, hobbling and stumbling around in a pair of bright-red exotic dancer shoes that had at least seven inch, sharp heels and a thick platform bottom under the toes. I felt sorry for her, because she was a fish out of water in this busy work environment. She looked as if she was ready for a big night out on a Friday night. It was a Monday morning at eight a.m.

By the afternoon, she was complaining about her feet. I offered her a suggestion: flat shoes.

It is also important to know your rights with regard to your company's dress code policy, as well as the law in your country about dress codes in the workplace.

Here's a useful YouTube video about advice on dress codes. The video was made by a friend of mine, a great guy with a big heart, Matt Gingell, who is a solicitor in the UK:

Note: Permission has been granted to use the video for this purpose.