Brian Tracy recounts rising from poverty and learning how professional dress transformed his sales career. He advises candidates to "dress for the job you want," recommending women wear dresses and men wear jackets or suits; always dress upward. He emphasizes first impressions—people form an initial judgment in about four seconds and finalize it within 30 seconds, with roughly 95% of that judgment based on appearance—and warns of selective bias (first impressions rarely change). He frames dressing as "making it easy for the person to hire you" and urges candidates to consider how a manager will present them to peers and superiors.
Questions this video answers
About four seconds.
About 30 seconds.
Approximately 95%.
Chapters
Hello there. I came from a poor family, and when it came to high school graduation, I didn't even graduate. But I was allowed to go through the ceremonies. I had to rent a suit to go to the ceremonies, and I had to give the suit back afterwards. I never had a jacket. I never had a tie, and I never had a suit until I was into my twenties. And then finally I got a job selling from door to door. And I had a wash and wear rayon shirt. I had a clip on brown tie. I had no jacket. I had a pair of cotton pants, and I had shoes that didn't fit very well. So when I walked, they went flop, flop. So one of the questions that people ask is, what is the right clothes to wear for an interview? Well, once upon a time, a man took me aside and said, bryant, can I give you some advice about dress? And I said, sure, I don't know anything about dress. Well, well, I still remember he sat down and he was an expert and he told me all about everything I had to do to look proper when I called on a customer. So I began to read book after book on the subject. I began to visit tailors and men's clothing stores. I began to study shoes and ties and suits and shirts. I became an expert on dress, and it changed my life. It changed my life. It was the most amazing thing. I went from basically struggling on the street, cold calling to being a senior executive within a year of starting to dress like senior executives. So the question, what is the appropriate clothing to wear for an interview? The answer is, wear the clothes that you would wear if you got the job. Always dress upward rather than downward. It's always better for a woman to wear a dress and look professional. For a man to wear a jacket and or a suit and look professional. You see, people judge you in the first four seconds, and they finalize their judgment in the next 30 seconds. And afterwards, they don't change their opinion. And 95% of their first impression is the way you look. You see, human beings have what is called selective bias. In other words, once they've decided to think a particular way about you, they don't change their mind. So if they look at you and you look really good, then they think this person is smarter, more creative, more intelligent, better educated, more attractive, more desirable. Everything is made in an instant flash photograph of looking at a person who is appropriately turned out. On the other hand, if you're dressed casually or inappropriately, their first impression, even if they are dressed inappropriately, their first impression is that you're not credible, you're not particularly smart, you're not particularly competent, you can't be trusted, and it would be too dangerous to hire you. So the rule is, in selling, you say, make it easy for the customer to buy. In dressing for an interview, make it easy for the person to hire you. Remember this final point. When somebody hires someone else, they want to be able to introduce this person to other people, their peers, and even their superiors. They want to be proud of you. They want to say, this person works for me. And they want the boss to say, oh, well. Because remember, the quality of the people that a manager selects is a mark of the quality of the manager. So if you want to impress the manager, think about impressing the manager's boss.
