When you’re looking for the perfect job whether it’s a new job or within your current company you need to find the right image for you and portray that to everyone around you. It doesn’t matter what everyone else is doing—you have to do what is right for you. It’s something as personal as some people will not wear pants to church while others have no problem. You want to present an image that portrays you in the way you wish to be portrayed. Each person has an individual image and you must create yours to fit within the way you want others to see you.
Keep in mind that your image is not important only when you are looking for a new job but also when you are looking to advance in your current job. Let us look at dress, for example. Even if the company has a policy of casual dress for all employees but you notice that managers and other high level employees wear business attire that is the way you want to dress if you are looking to advance to that level.
You have to show management that you want to be where they are in order to be viewed as someone of that caliber. That does not mean you have to begin the job acting as if you are better than everyone else is or dressing in a management style, but when you know there are openings on higher levels you need to begin showing interest by the way you act and dress. Even if you are not interested in a management position you still have an image to portray in order to find the job that suits you best.
You want to present yourself as someone who is dependable and reliable above all else. Whatever else you wish to portray is of course good as well, but those two assets are the most important. Some of the other assets you may wish to make part of your professional profile include detail oriented, quality conscious, deadline oriented, hard worker, loyal, and confident to name a few.
Before you begin to look for a new job or advancement within your current company, make sure you develop the proper image and present it as you go for interviews. Take the time to perfect any flaws you may have that will place your professional image in a negative light.
