With a pandemic this last year, causing in person schooling to come to a halt, people started to take it as an opportunity to wear their pajamas “to school” everyday.
“If you are at home what is the point of getting ready for the day?” Trevor Crabtree said.
Crabtree is a running start student, or freshman, this year at SFCC.
“It is hard to find the motivation to even brush your hair for an 8 am zoom call these days,” he said. “Especially when you are at home and aren’t even having to leave your house for school.”
SFCC students aren’t the only ones that are feeling this way.
“I used to try and do my makeup for my one Zoom call a day,” said Anya Deakins.
Deakins is a sophomore at Eastern Washington University this year.
“I felt I looked more professional at least showing that I put in some effort. After a couple weeks though, I just felt it didn’t matter for my one 30 min zoom call once everyday. Just wasn’t worth my time.”
School is one thing to not dress for success for, but what about a job interview over zoom?
Harvard Business Review conducted a survey on the best lighting, background, and colors to wear for more professional zoom meetings, back in March and April of 2020.
“Participants were asked to choose which background, clothing color and clothing style helped the speaker appear the most authentic (genuine, actions are in line with beliefs), the most trustworthy (honest, truthful, reliable), the most innovative (original, creative in thinking, willing to depart from the norm), and the most like an expert (highly credible, an authority on the subject matter at hand),” said Noah Zandan.
Zandan is the CEO and Co-Founder of Quantified Communications, a firm that combines data and behavioral analytics to help people measure and strengthen the way they communicate.
“On average, 54% of men (vs 43% of women) voiced having a clear preference about background, clothing color, and type of attire, and 57% of respondents age 18 to 29 stated a clear preference, compared to an overall average of 49%,” he said.
So, might want to think about how your clothes and background look depending on how the person who is interviewing you, identifies themself.
“…survey respondents identified business casual attire and neutral colors as helping the speaker appear authentic and trustworthy,” he said. “Patterns, neutrals, and bright colors were favored almost equally when it came to making the speaker appear innovative.”
What your background should look like is a little different.
“44% of survey respondents prefer to see a wall with books or bookshelves behind the speaker, while 34% prefer framed décor such as art, diplomas, or photographs,” he said. “The majority of men showed a preference for books (50% vs 38% of women), while 40% of women preferred framed décor (vs 28% of men).”
At the end of the day, it might seem acceptable for students to roll out of bed for zoom meetings, however, for more professional zoom meetings, not only do your clothes matter but so does your background.