2 ms·

I used to be a T-shirt guy. I actively sabotaged any valuation people might make of me based on appearance to force evaluation only of my technical skills. That

I used to be a T-shirt guy. I actively sabotaged any valuation people might make of me based on appearance to force evaluation only of my technical skills. That worked fine for a couple decades. Now I work hard to maximize the value of the connections I make and the overall value I can provide to others, which is not always entirely technical. I wear a suit and tie to all meetings now. I wear the same to every occasion when I am actually in an office and even sometimes over Zoom. It sets me apart and shows my interlocutor that I value the meeting and respect his or her time. It sets a tone and I find it is well worth the effort. Amusingly, I spent those first two decades working for the DoD and there is definitely a dress code and an aversion to wearing suits for some civilians.

antpls 6y ago
> It sets me apart and shows my interlocutor that I value the meeting and respect his or her time. That sentiment should come from your language and the content of your discussion, not from your appearance...
- CapricornNoble 6y ago
  "A picture is worth a thousand words." The effort that an individual devotes to their appearance does communicate to certain audiences your attention to detail, discipline, etc... in ways that a silver tongue alone won't. We can argue over the accuracy/applicability of any conclusions drawn from that, but in certain domains/problem spaces appearance is a very relevant assessment tool in building trust.