There once was a time when men looked good. We dressed well, groomed regularly, and took pride in it. It wasn't so long ago that suits, vests, and fedoras dotted the metropolitan landscape. We styled our hair, shined our shoes, had straight razor shaves, and invested in signature accessories such as watches, belts, cufflinks, and ties. Somewhere along the way though, we went from looking like this:
to looking like this:
Nowadays, we men just do not seem to be taking the time and effort to look our best, and for some reason many of us are proud of it. "Look good without looking like you tried", has become the ideal to which we aspire (i.e. Brad Pitt or Johnny Depp). Many of today's popular haircuts result in a rolled out of bed look. Looking sharp for a night out on the town often consists of jeans, an untucked dress shirt, and a jacket. With such a low standard of excellence, it's no wonder people waltz into work looking like slobs.
So, what does this have to do with software developers? Well, despite the fact that most of us work in a stereotypical, isolated Dilbert/Office Space cubicle, I argue that there is still value in being well -groomed. Although the benefits of looking good may not be quite as obvious as they are for more socially interactive positions (i.e. model or sales), they do, indeed, exist.
Career advancement
I've known developers who could code circles around their colleagues at their respective workplaces but were passed by for promotions time and time again. Why? Because they looked like garbage. And because they looked like garbage,
nobody spoke with them outside of work. And since nobody spoke with them outside of work, they lacked people skills. And since they lacked people skills, they had trouble
interacting with clients.
This terrible chain of cause and effect is something you see a disproportional amount of in our field. The simple fact is this: in order to advance in your career, whatever it may be, you need to add value to your company. True, there is value in being a great developer, but there is more value in being a great developer who can also interact with existing clients and make presentations to potential clients. Now, if all you want in life is to code in the same cubicle until you retire, then I suppose this does not apply to you.
Management
Management is not for everyone, but it is if you are interested in earning more money and advancing your career. Like it or not, management is the next logical step for a software developer. Once you have hit the point of senior software architect or whatever your company labels its highest ranking developer, there is nowhere else to go if all you bring to the table are your mad programming skills (unless you go solo in which case you become management by default). In order to advance, you are going to have to join management. Managers need to be presentable because their main duties revolve around dealing with people. And fair or not, people make assumptions about you based on your appearance. If you can't handle taking care of yourself, what is the logical conclusion a client is going to make about how well you are going to take care of them?
Unless you are Steve Jobs, you are going to have a hard time being a good manager if you look like a slob. Your employer understands this. It does not matter how talented you are; management is more about people skills than technical skills.
Disposition
Looking good gives you confidence. When you feel like a million bucks you tend to stand up straighter, look people in the eyes more frequently, and smile more often. As a result people listen to you more intently, give more weight to your opinions, and are generally easier to work with. Developers tend to have a reputation for being snarky, condescending, and sometimes outright rude when dealing with others. Remember the saying "you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar"? If nothing else, look good for this reason. You will find that you are much happier at work when people are friendly to you and you to them.
What can I do?
It doesn't take much to look presentable. You don't need to look like Gene Kelly and you don't need to wear Italian suits to the office in order to reap the benefits. A little bit goes a long way. Here's a short list of things you can do to improve your overall appearance.
- Look yourself over in a mirror before you head off to work. There's no excuse for having boogers hanging out of your nose, rheum in your eyes, or a piece of your breakfast stuck in between your teeth. You owe it to yourself to at least do this.
- Shave. If you have facial hair, groom it.
- Shower.
- Get a hair cut. This isn't the 60s and you are not Paul McCartney.
- Style your hair. Buy an actual comb. Buy some product and learn how to use it. Ask your barber if you're confused about what to buy and how to use it.
- Wax your eyebrows. The unibrow is not a style. Never has been, never will be. This procedure costs next to nothing, takes all of 10 minutes of your time, and drastically improves the look of your face. Get over the social stigma associated with doing this. David Beckham did not get his man license revoked by getting his brows done. Neither did every other man who has ever appeared on tv or in films.
- Get a facial. You will be surprised how much better your face looks with all the dirt, residue, and blackheads properly removed. Plus it is a very relaxing process. Schedule your appointment with an attractive aesthetician if you need to justify this cost of time and money to yourself.
- Keep your nails trimmed and clean. No, you don't need to get a manicure/pedicure (although they certainly help), but people notice if your nails are growing out of control or if there's a line of black dirt under them.
- Smell nice but do not overdo it. It is just as bad to reek of deoderant/aftershave/cologne as it is to reek of body odor.
- Update your wardrobe. Get the basics (dress shirts, chinos, dress pants, sports jackets, polos, etc.) in solid colors and don't be afraid to splurge on quality for these items. They don't go out of style and you can wear them anywhere. Mark Twain put it best when he said "clothes make the man". Keep your clothes clean and pressed. Get them tailored if they don't fit well. You don't want to look like you're wearing hand-me-downs from your pop's closet. Match your outfits. If you are incapable of doing so, find someone who is.
- Don't be afraid to buy accessories. Purchase a good looking watch at the very least (e.g. not a Shark and not a calculator watch or a remote control watch). Do not underestimate the importance of a good pair of dress shoes and a nice belt. Learn how to tie a tie and don't be afraid to wear it.
- Eat in moderation and exercise. Sitting at a keyboard 8 hours a day doesn't do much for your physical physique. And if not for appearance's sake, at least for health's sake.
Most important of all, make it look like you at least put a modicum of thought into your appearance. It may feel awkward as it runs counter to everything society tells you men should do, but trust me, Brad Pitt looks great shaggy because he has stylists and wardrobe people who specialize in making him look great shaggy. You don't. You just look shaggy.
Give some of these a shot. You may be surprised to find that you enjoy the results. And although we may never be able to bring back men's fashion, we certainly can find a happy medium between the dressiness of the past and the laid-backness of today. At the very least, the women of the world will be thankful.
Note: This isn't meant to be a man-bashing post and I fully realize the same rant and advice could easily be made for women. But, seeing as how I don't understand women, writing about them seems ill-advised.
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