Use What You ve Got

Use What You've Got

The good news is that, while being "good-looking" is a definite plus, many people with average or below-average looks do well in the business world as long as they do the best with what they have. "I'm not looking for beauty," commented Juanita Hinshaw, the sharply dressed and sharp-looking CFO of the multibillion-dollar company Graybar Electric, "but primarily I want just neat, well-groomed people who dress appropriately for the occasion." Hinshaw and her peers at the top of the corporate world agree that you do not have to have movie star looks, but others have to perceive you as someone who makes every effort to look good.

At the other extreme, some employees seem to take pride in dressing down as much as possible. Bad idea. Earl Graves, publisher of Black Enterprise magazine, lamented to me that "I have people in my building who look like they are going to the beach." They will never work for him. "Sometimes there seems to be a competition for who can be the worst dressed and what they can get away with, you know, how sloppy can we be?" notes Juanita Hinshaw. She agrees with Graves that this approach is a very career-limiting move.