The Real Reason You Are Stuck in Your Current Job
She had been a Senior Director and felt stuck. She had the skills, the experience, but didn’t believe her appearance represented the next level.
After working as a Senior Director for five years, my client was ready for a Vice President role. She had been leading teams, and complex, projects. She felt that our outer appearance didn’t scream I am a Vice President. She also felt her confidence was hurting from this.
Discovery Call
During the discovery call I learned that my client often felt like when she was in meetings with her peers and senior leadership, she was dressed like a child going to dinner with adults. She had tried to find clothes that in her mind made her feel like she belonged to be sitting at the adult table.
Feeling like she wasn’t dressing the part took a toll on her confidence and she felt that would affect her getting a new job.
Designed Around Her Professional Presence
It was time for my client to figure out how she wanted to present herself for this new role.
- What was the message she wanted to send to peers, senior leadership, and future employers?
- A variety of items needed to be purchased to fit different work setting
- What did she feel comfortable wearing?
The Urgency No One Wants to Admit
It’s easy to underestimate the power of your wardrobe. But what you wear shapes how you show up, and how you show up shapes your career. Confidence and clothing go hand in hand.
- After five years in a Senior Director role, her presence and appearance needed to evolve to reflect the level she had grown into.
- Promotions and new career opportunities were at stake.
- Feeling self-conscious about what you’re wearing can undermine your confidence.
Takeaway
Updating my client’s work wardrobe wasn’t just about finding styles that looked good on her. It was about clarifying the message she wanted to send every time she walked into the room.
She wanted her colleagues and managers to see that she was ready for the next step, fully capable of stepping into a Vice President role. At the same time, she wanted her direct reports to feel comfortable approaching her, not intimidated, not distant.
We built a wardrobe that balanced authority with approachability, presence with warmth.
Two months after working together, she was promoted.
Because when your image aligns with your ambition, people start to see you the way you’re ready to be seen.
If you are ready to elevate your wardrobe reach out to me today!
