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Debunking The “Dress For The Job You Want, Not The Job You Have” Adage
Much like Gatsby’s Nick Carraway, in my younger and more vulnerable years, I, too, was given advice that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since. Dress for the job you want, not the job you have, boring middle-aged white guys used to say to me. While at the time I wasn’t entirely aware of the advantages bestowed upon these men i.e. going to college for the price of a gallon of milk and the promise of cushy retirement pensions once they turned 60, I took their advice seriously as I matured and did my best to put it into practice. Dress for the job you want, not the job you have, my dad’s on-again-off-again friend Gary had said. Okay, Gary. I’ll try.
As a pubescent middle schooler, I got my first job working as a bag boy at the local grocery. Aged 13, I was still a bit of a dreamer, so when I arrived my first day, I did so dressed in full baseball attire. Glove, cap, high socks, jock strap, and all. You see, I wanted to be a pro ballplayer, and so I had dressed the part. As one might expect, my attire was not well received by the management team. Wearing a ball glove as I worked made bagging the groceries difficult, and during the brief shift I smashed several packages of hot dog buns and at least one carton of eggs. Still, it was not until I put a significant dip of chewing tobacco in my mouth that I was asked to clock…
