@bethbookworm you may be interested to in this http://t.co/Fz6zJvgy1H

— Emma Langley (@DrEmmaLangley) July 28, 2014

Employability v Individuality: A bitter pill to swallow?

As we’re looking at individuality vs. ‘fitting in’ in our project, this is relevant to us. The article states: “The notion of a pill as a way to correct and enhance is really just an extreme variance of how society at large attempts to normalise and encourage selected behaviours. But I would like to think there is a place in the world for everyone’s uniqueness and individuality to thrive.” Couldn’t agree more.

Careerschap | The musings of a careers professional working in higher education

First off this isn’t a rant against the employability agenda sweeping through higher education in the pursuit of making graduates more employable graduates. In principle that’s a good thing and is hard to argue against. In fact since the rise in tuition fees in England many institutions have received an increase in complaints from students regarding value for money which is a very commodity driven, market reaction.

So if students quite rightly pay (or shift debt) into their name they can quite legitimately expect or hope for a return on their investment. So does this represent a cultural shift amongst students, staff and institutions? I think so but I wanted to focus on one particular aspect. This is the drive to creating the employable graduate or super grad. Employers can quite easily and rightly reel off a list of attributes and attitudes they require of a graduate in order to

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Colbie Caillat and the pressure of “looking the part”

In view of the discussions I’ve had with students over how to look the part in a graduate role, Colbie Caillat’s video for her song “Try” is pretty interesting. She addresses the pressure that many young female students have been talking about. Perhaps the relevance of this became more evident as a result of the Celeb Youth conference I attended last Friday. Celeb Youth discussed the discourses brought into effect as a result of celebrity, and the influence this has on young people. Colbie Caillat certainly addresses a current issue which young people face in her video, where women (Caillat included) remove all artificial elements of their appearance.

Learning and Teaching Conference, Buxton

The project so far was really well received at the Learning and Teaching Conference at Buxton. There was a lot of interest in the topic and it provoked considerable discussion. A few aspects seemed to be of particular interest to the staff I spoke with. One such was the extent to which employers judge employees on their appearance, and another was whether or not dress codes at work are becoming more relaxed.

I discussed student anxieties surrounding interview dress with several individuals. Students have generally placed particular emphasis on appearance in an interview as being as important as other factors, if not the most important factor. However, several staff indicated that employers are in fact looking beyond appearance from the outset. I spoke with one individual about the fashion industry, and stated the opinion that appearance in these jobs must be of the foremost importance. However, the member of staff highlighted that often candidates who make fewer fashion conscious statements through their own appearance have the most knowledge of the industry and are better suited to the job. It would certainly be interesting to interview a fashion student and hear their views on this.

Furthermore, another lecturer emphasized that he did not see the need for ‘power dressing’ or the ‘professional’ dress codes that students have been discussing. He completely disagreed with one student’s statement about professionalism being linked to wearing a suit. The lecturer emphasized that, in the computer industry, many ‘professionals’ are very casual. This lecturer discussed his interest in where these ideas about ‘power dressing’ come from and indicated that, from his experience, such dress codes were unnecessary.

Whilst these ideas seem to be more relaxed than those which have predominantly been expressed by students, the opposite viewpoint was also given. Several individuals negated the idea that dress codes in the workplace are becoming more tolerant. One individual said that certain aspects of appearance, such as tattoos and piercings, are still unacceptable in any given workplace. Others tended to agree that those in managerial positions in most industries would frown upon these expressions of individuality.

Overall, the poster and my discussions generated more controversy than I expected, and emphasized that there is no overall consensus regarding graduate dress codes.

Are Good-Looking People More Likely to Get Away With Murder?

Are Good-Looking People More Likely to Get Away With Murder?

“People who are physically attractive are assumed to be clever, successful and have more friends”.

Graduate Dress Code Poster for Annual Learning & Teaching Conference

Identifying key themes…Individuality and Professionalism

I’m putting together a poster for a conference to illustrate the project and highlight any results so far. For this purpose, I’ve been considering some key themes which are coming out in the interviews.

One concept which all students are considering is the extent to which individuality should be expressed in the workplace. I commented on this briefly in my first post about the interviews, but it is gradually becoming a key theme. Each student has deliberated over the reasons behind self-expression through tattoos, piercings, hairstyles and clothes in general. They have also weighed up the importance of such means of expression over the importance of appearing ‘professional’ in a job. Furthermore, the question of whether tattoos, piercings or ‘extreme’ hairstyles actually matter in a twenty-first century workplace has been raised repeatedly.

Students from a science background seem to place less emphasis on individual expression at work. Perhaps this is due to the prospect of their clothing being hidden behind a white lab coat. Whether this is the case or not, a preference for eliminating aspects of individual expression at work has certainly surfaced. One student said “A lot of people, if they’ve got tattoos, they do it sensibly. They understand that other people might look at them differently if they’ve got them, so they can cover them up if they need to.” Similarly, one student emphasized the importance of “minimising” piercings, “or using clear ones”. The overall impression, therefore, from many students, is that tattoos and piercings are fine, but they should not be visible in a working environment.

However, the opposite view has also been expressed, albeit a little more tentatively. The idea that tattoos, piercings or certain hairstyles are unacceptable at work has been repeatedly described as outdated. For example, one student stated that “There’s an old-fashioned notion that people who have got blue hair are going to be a bad influence. That’s the old belief, but in modern society, it’s good because it promotes individuality. You don’t want everyone to be the same.” A further student emphasized a similar point, highlighting that, although tattoos may have been frowned on previously, “times have moved on a bit (…). So long as they’re not vulgar, like, rude or anything then I don’t see the problem with them anymore.” One student took the middle line, as they thought “the barriers are slowly being pushed a bit more” and “you can add a bit more personality to it than you probably could”.

Evidently, therefore, we have a mixed review on the import of certain aspects of self-presentation. In addition to individual means of expression in appearance, students have discussed the concept of ‘professionalism’. Certain individuals connected the term ‘professional’ to certain dress codes. One stated that “Professionalism is linked directly to being in a suit” and another simply defined the idea of being professional as “wearing something that’s ironed”. The emphasis here, as another student clarified, is on being “seen as professional”.

However, a further student described the idea of being professional as a behavioural concept: It’s not just what you look like, but how you act as well. They defined professionalism as “The way you hold yourself in a job, the way you speak to people” and went on to emphasize the importance of the way you speak about other people. Professionalism incorporates a range of factors for students, involving dress, inter-personal skills, and various behavioural elements.

In conclusion, I think two themes have surfaced here: 1) Individuality and 2) Professionalism. These themes have frequently been discussed in opposition of one another, in terms of whether one can be an individual and a professional. Whether one can have tattoos and still be seen as professional, for example, is a question many students have addressed, and few feel able to answer conclusively. Is this purely down to individual taste, or are there, in fact, some unspoken rules we need to know about?

Cameron Russell: Looks aren’t everything. Believe me, I’m a model.

Cameron Russell discusses the genetic lottery of modelling, highlighting the discrimination of the modelling business. This is interesting if only for the way she changes our perceptions just through a single outfit change.

How to Make the Perfect First Impression (According to Science)

How to Make the Perfect First Impression (According to Science)

Carolyn Gregoire discusses the importance of first impressions in all aspects of life, including interviews.

Apparently, we make more positive impressions when we meet people in the flesh, rather than online.  Presumably, this is partly down to factors such as hand-shake, smile, eye-contact etc., things which cannot be conveyed in the same way on a screen.  How does this influence a workforce that increasingly communicates online, or over the phone?  Will the way we form impressions change as online identities become more influential?

The start of something…

#graduatedresscode will contemplate the relevance of self-presentation (dress, looks, communication skills, behaviour, glasses, tattoos, and basically anything from make-up to mono-brows) in the workplace. The media provides a continuous commentary on the way people present themselves. From renowned celebrity to local school girl, no-one is safe… This blog is a place to discuss current opinion on appearance, particularly at work, with the aim of cracking some of the ‘codes’ surrounding graduate employability. Is the way we present ourselves in the workplace as important as our ability to do the job? Should it be? Is it better to look the business or have experience in the business? Tell us what you think…