LESSON PLAN – Dressing For Work
Theme – Using Self Presentation Skills
CAREER SKILLS – Career Management
KEY SKILLS – Communication, Problem Solving, Improving Own Learning & Performance
WORK RELATED LEARNING – Learning For Work, Learning About Work
COMPETENCIES –
SUGGESTED SUBJECT AREA – Personal Development, Social Studies, English
Learning Outcomes
By completing this task students will be able to:
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Identify appropriate dress for interviews.
Make suitable preparations for their appearance when they go out into the world of work.
Preparation and Materials
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Copies of Activity Sheets (1) and (2) “Dressing For Work” for each student.
Copies of Teachers’ Notes for reference.
Blackboard/flipchart.
Method
1.
2.
3.
Explain the aims of the lesson using the learning outcomes on Activity Sheet (1).
Follow the introduction to the lesson and activities suggested on the Teachers’ Notes.
Write up Acceptable and Unacceptable examples on the blackboard/flipchart – ask the students for
other examples.
4. Give out Activity Sheet (1) and go through it with the class before asking the students to complete it
individually.
5. Give out Activity Sheet (2) and go through it with the class before asking students to complete the final
tasks.
6. Ask for feedback from the students about their responses and discuss.
7. Use the Teachers’ Notes to explain how wrong impressions can be and how important it is to make that
first impression a good one!
8. Conclusion – it may be a bore to dress appropriately but it certainly pays off in the long run.
9. Ask the students what they have learned from the lesson.
10. Summarise the main learning outcomes.
TEACHERS’ NOTES – Dressing For Work
Key Points For Discussion
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The first impression you give someone is always important. In an interview, employers will ask
questions to find out about you but they will also form an impression of you by your general
appearance.
When students start work experience/work they should find out what clothes are considered most
suitable and appropriate for the job they will be doing.
This should be one of their first questions when they make their pre-placement visit to the company.
Guidelines and appearance
Acceptable
Always look clean
Be conventional
Never wear jeans for an interview
Unacceptable
Dirty fingernails, unwashed hair, scruffy shoes
Hairstyles, jewelry, make-up should NOT stand out
You may need or be allowed to wear them for your
job but it is best NOT to wear them for your first
meeting, visit or interview
Ask the group for other examples of acceptable and unacceptable appearance.
First impressions
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Explain that impressions can be wrong.
What a person wears is not always a reliable expression of their personality.
However what a person wears does create an impression – right or wrong people will often decide
about you after seeing you once.
You could be excellent, the best, number 1 at your job but if you do not wear the right clothes
appropriately – you won’t necessarily get the position.
Learning Outcomes: By completing this task you will be able to:


Identify appropriate dress for interviews.
Make suitable preparations for your appearance on work experience or when going out to
work.
ACTIVITY SHEET (1) – Dressing For Work
Read carefully the following passage.
It is a fact that people form an impression of you from what you are
wearing. This may not seem to be fair and can lead to some wrong
assumptions. Look at the pictures of the people on this page. What do you
think these people do as a job if they have one! Write the captions to each
illustration as you invent their jobs.
ACTIVITY SHEET (2) – Dressing For Work
ANSWERS TO TASK A
He is in fact a very important and influential man in one of the leading manufacturing
companies in Canada. He works very hard all week but enjoys working on racing cars in
his spare time.
2. This lady has just been for an interview for a job as a car mechanic at a Ford garage.
She did not know what to wear but decided on something smart and feminine. Did she
do right do you think?
3. This lady is a very important and influential director of a national company selling
casual fashion wear. She usually dresses up in a smart business suit for her work,
especially when this involves meetings with the bank and buyers, but today she is
visiting one of the factories producing sweatshirts like the one she is wearing. Do you
think she should have worn her smart suit for the visit?
4. He works in an advertising company and meets a lot of clients who are influenced by
his professional attitude made more striking by his appearance. He is successful
because he gets a lot of custom. He puts this down to the fact that he is not sloppy
about his appearance and his customers think this is reflected in his work. Should your
appearance influence other people?
1.
Task B
List three jobs for each person who may wear a suit:
Job 1
Job 2
Job 3
A suit
A uniform
A tracksuit
An overall
Task C
Explain why you think that each type of dress is most suitable for that work.
Suitable for:
A suit
A uniform
A tracksuit
An overall
Because…