Vox

Leitura de 22 min

1079 How Should A Developer Present Himself? - Simple Programmer Podcast

Summary

John Sonmez addresses a listener’s question about whether freelance programmers need to ‘look successful’ with expensive cars and clothes to get more business. He references a story from the listener about using a Lincoln to impress executives and close a deal, as well as an experiment by marketer Neil Patel who found that wearing a $100,000 watch increased his business.

Sonmez introduces the psychological concept of the ‘halo effect,’ where being perceived as good in one area leads people to assume you’re good in others. He argues that leveraging this through appearance can be advantageous, but cautions against overspending or going into debt for the sake of image. The key is to maximize perceived value while minimizing actual cost.

He offers practical advice, such as dressing ‘two levels above’ your current role to fit the part you want to be promoted into, being well-groomed, getting in shape, and improving speaking skills. These elements combine to create a powerful professional image that influences how others perceive and promote you.

Sonmez emphasizes that this strategy should be a calculated investment, not an excuse for frivolous spending. Start with affordable improvements, use the resulting success to fund further image enhancements, and ensure there is substance behind the style. He concludes by inviting listeners to share their own experiences with how improving their presentation has helped their careers.

Recommendations

Books

  • Complete Software Developer’s Career Guide — Mentioned by John Sonmez as a resource where he talks about career advice, including the concept of dressing for the role you want. He notes it’s available for free on his blog.

Courses

  • Free Blogging Course — Promoted by Sonmez as a course available at simpleprogrammer.com/pblog that teaches developers how to create a blog to boost their career, get traffic, and even make money.

People

  • Neil Patel — Referenced as a highly successful marketer who conducted an experiment wearing a $100,000 watch and found it generated a positive return on investment by attracting more business.

Topic Timeline

  • 00:00:19 — Introduction and listener question context — John Sonmez introduces the episode and mentions he is responding to a question from a frequent contributor. He sets up the topic by referencing a previous discussion about ‘working for free’ and segues into the new question about personal presentation for success.
  • 00:03:48 — Listener’s anecdote on appearance and success — Sonmez reads and discusses the listener’s email. The listener shares a personal story from the 1970s about buying a new Lincoln to look successful, which he believes helped close a deal with Ford executives. He now wonders, as a freelance programmer over 50, if having a Mercedes is important to appear successful and find work.
  • 00:05:13 — Analyzing the need to ‘look successful’ — Sonmez directly addresses the core question: Is it important for a freelance programmer to look successful? He acknowledges there is some truth to it but argues it’s not a good primary strategy unless you’re already making good money. He then introduces Neil Patel’s experiment as a credible data point supporting the idea that luxury items can generate ROI.
  • 00:06:50 — The psychology of the halo effect — Sonmez explains the ‘halo effect’ in psychology, where people assume you are good at other things if you are good at one thing. He advises using this to your advantage by managing your appearance to create a positive perception, which can lead to more opportunities and promotions.
  • 00:07:49 — Practical advice: Dress two levels above — Sonmez gives concrete advice: dress about two levels above your current position. If you want to be an executive, dress like an executive’s boss. He acknowledges you might get teased for being overdressed but says to stick with it because the professional perception will benefit your career trajectory.
  • 00:11:08 — Beyond clothing: Fitness and overall presence — The discussion expands beyond clothing to include fitness and overall presence. Sonmez argues that being fit and disciplined projects an image of success and control, contributing to the halo effect. He admits he doesn’t always follow this advice in his videos because he prioritizes authenticity, but recommends it for those climbing the corporate ladder.
  • 00:12:58 — Actionable steps: Stylist, grooming, and skills — Sonmez lists actionable, relatively low-cost investments to improve presentation: hire a stylist for a one-time wardrobe and grooming consultation, get in shape, and improve speaking skills and vocabulary. He states that combining these elements creates a powerful image that influences snap judgments people make about you.
  • 00:14:31 — Caveat: Don’t go into debt for appearances — Sonmez issues a strong warning: his advice is not a license to rack up credit card debt on luxury items you can’t afford. The strategy should be an investment with a return. Start with what you can afford, use the gains from improved image to fund the next level of investment, and avoid starting at the top with unsustainable spending.

Episode Info

  • Podcast: Simple Programmer Podcast
  • Author: John Sonmez
  • Category: Business Careers Education How To
  • Published: 2023-06-02T16:00:00Z
  • Duration: 00:16:23

References

Podcast Info

Transcript

[00:00:00] Welcome to the Simple Programmer Podcast.

[00:00:04] Making complex programming simple and fast.

[00:00:08] With everything from career advice to philosophy.

[00:00:13] It’s the Simple Programmer Podcast.

[00:00:19] Hey, what’s up? John Sonmez from simpleprogrammer.com.

[00:00:22] So, I got a question from one of my favorite question askers again here.

[00:00:27] Actually, in response to a question that I just recorded a video on and answered,

[00:00:32] when I told him I recorded the video,

[00:00:35] he responded back with another, yet another interesting idea for a video.

[00:00:40] Again, this is the gentleman who I would love to interview on here,

[00:00:44] but he is a little bit camera shy.

[00:00:47] Maybe someday, we’ll see.

[00:00:48] You know who you are, buddy, but I appreciate your support.

[00:00:52] There’s a lot of you that really support me,

[00:00:55] that send emails and encouragement,

[00:00:56] and are really just big supporters of what I do,

[00:01:01] are always on my side, cheering me on.

[00:01:03] Even when I’m not foolproof, I make mistakes,

[00:01:08] but are really supporting me even when the world is attacking.

[00:01:13] That happens sometimes.

[00:01:14] If you put yourself in the public eye,

[00:01:17] you’re going to have people attack and hate on you.

[00:01:20] I’ve done plenty of videos on haters.

[00:01:22] You can check out—I should probably do a hater playlist.

[00:01:26] I know that’s coming out, see, because I’m—

[00:01:29] Anyway, I thought this was a good topic.

[00:01:35] Let’s see.

[00:01:36] Let’s see.

[00:01:36] Where did we get in here?

[00:01:38] Okay.

[00:01:39] This is actually a continuation on a video.

[00:01:42] We’ll see, but I don’t know what order these are going to end up coming out,

[00:01:46] so I’m not going to refer to that one.

[00:01:49] Basically, there’s this question where I talked about getting—

[00:01:55] Well, let’s see.

[00:01:55] I mean, we’ll probably get the video,

[00:01:56] if we can get the video up, that’ll be cool,

[00:01:59] which is this video about essentially should you work for free?

[00:02:04] That’s what it was, right?

[00:02:05] A continuation of that.

[00:02:07] In that video, my favorite question asker,

[00:02:10] he said that he had worked for a roofing company for like $100 a day.

[00:02:16] Just to give you some context here.

[00:02:17] He says, excuse me.

[00:02:19] By the way, he points a link to an inflation index

[00:02:24] and shows that 800.

[00:02:26] 804.51 in today’s money.

[00:02:30] Pretty good amount of money for working for free, right?

[00:02:33] To learn a trade.

[00:02:34] Back then, I would need a new Ford convertible every year.

[00:02:37] You could get a new one for about $2,400.

[00:02:41] Or I would buy a new Ford convertible.

[00:02:43] Wow.

[00:02:44] He’s buying a brand new Ford convertible for $2,400 every year.

[00:02:48] All right.

[00:02:49] I mean, if you’re making 2,400,

[00:02:54] yeah, that’s not that expensive, I guess.

[00:02:56] Wow.

[00:02:56] That’s interesting.

[00:02:58] Interesting to go back.

[00:02:59] I can’t even fathom the way that things were back then.

[00:03:03] He said, but in the 1970s I was in another business

[00:03:05] and always bought new Cadillacs and Lincolns

[00:03:08] because it was important to look successful

[00:03:10] even if you were not, in my opinion.

[00:03:13] I especially remember having a new Lincoln mark number

[00:03:17] and driving it down to—

[00:03:21] I’m going to skip the location here.

[00:03:24] I just got to identify some.

[00:03:26] It doesn’t want to be identified.

[00:03:28] Try to get a contract for a Ford Motor Company plant.

[00:03:33] I took 2 of the executives to lunch in it

[00:03:35] and I honestly think the car helped close the deal.

[00:03:38] Basically, he had a Lincoln and he took 4 executives to lunch

[00:03:42] and that closed the deal essentially.

[00:03:44] He says, now I have a new Mercedes sitting in my garage.

[00:03:48] I would prefer a different car, but as a freelance programmer

[00:03:51] it’s important to look successful.

[00:03:54] But at—

[00:03:55] I’m going to leave off the age.

[00:03:57] At blank years old, it’s much harder to find work.

[00:04:00] I’ll say older than 50.

[00:04:03] If you have not done a video on how you present yourself,

[00:04:07] clothing, shoes, car, etc., and demeanor,

[00:04:09] this may be an idea.

[00:04:12] This is a good one.

[00:04:13] I did a video on should developers get tattoos,

[00:04:16] which I sort of talked about this.

[00:04:18] Some people really didn’t like that video.

[00:04:20] I think there’s some bias there.

[00:04:22] I think it’s not the message I was saying.

[00:04:25] I think—

[00:04:25] I think it’s that there’s a lot of people that have been hurt

[00:04:28] and bullied by people who have tattoos.

[00:04:32] They think that all the people that have tattoos are douchebags

[00:04:35] and that triggers—

[00:04:37] I hate to use the word trigger,

[00:04:39] but it brings up some bad emotions for people.

[00:04:43] I totally understand that.

[00:04:44] I totally get that.

[00:04:45] If you’re that kind of person, I understand.

[00:04:48] I get it.

[00:04:49] But I think the message in there was important.

[00:04:52] I’m going to talk about that and I’m going to talk about a couple of—

[00:04:55] other things here.

[00:04:57] Essentially, is it true that, like the gentleman said in this question or this email,

[00:05:05] that as a freelance programmer it’s important to look successful?

[00:05:08] Should you have a Mercedes so that you can look successful as a freelance programmer?

[00:05:13] I think there’s some truth to this.

[00:05:14] I don’t think that this is a good strategy unless you’re already making a lot of money.

[00:05:19] Now, there’s an interesting guy who had actually a lot to say about this.

[00:05:25] He knows—

[00:05:25] he knows way more about this than I do.

[00:05:27] It’s really hard to argue with him because he is such a fascinating person

[00:05:31] and he is very, very smart and very, very successful.

[00:05:34] That’s Neil Patel.

[00:05:35] I’m going to try and find the link to the blog post.

[00:05:38] He did this blog post where he basically experimented with buying like a hundred—

[00:05:42] I think it was like a $100,000 watch.

[00:05:45] He talked about having expensive clothes and expensive cars,

[00:05:48] like really expensive items basically got him more business.

[00:05:52] He tested it and it did.

[00:05:53] He made more money.

[00:05:54] He bought like a rented—

[00:05:56] I forget exactly what it was, like a $100,000 watch

[00:05:58] and he actually made more money because of that

[00:06:00] and he could actually track that to an ROI.

[00:06:03] Normally, if someone told me this, I would say BS,

[00:06:06] but because of the source, because this is Neil Patel.

[00:06:09] If you don’t know who Neil Patel is,

[00:06:11] he is really successful, really hard worker,

[00:06:14] writes excellent, excellent articles about marketing

[00:06:17] and he’s the real deal.

[00:06:19] I mean I have met—

[00:06:20] I haven’t met him directly, but I have met a lot of associates,

[00:06:24] a lot of people that are close to me.

[00:06:24] I’ve met a lot of people that are close to him

[00:06:25] and that know him really well and he’s legit.

[00:06:28] I trust that data coming from him.

[00:06:31] Now, I’ll give you my opinion on it.

[00:06:33] I think that these things obviously have a factor.

[00:06:36] There’s this—

[00:06:37] In psychology, again, I’m not too big of a fan of—

[00:06:40] I’ve read a lot of these psychology books,

[00:06:42] but sometimes—

[00:06:44] I’ve talked about this before,

[00:06:45] but essentially there’s this thing called the halo effect.

[00:06:50] Essentially it’s this.

[00:06:51] If you’re good at one thing,

[00:06:53] then people will assume

[00:06:54] that you’re good at other things.

[00:06:56] They’ll sort of give you that.

[00:06:57] You have this halo effect on you.

[00:07:01] This can work to your favor.

[00:07:03] You should use this psychology.

[00:07:05] There’s definitely a true element of this psychology.

[00:07:07] You should use this to your advantage.

[00:07:09] Now, is it a good strategy for most of us

[00:07:12] to go and buy expensive cars or expensive house

[00:07:15] and expensive clothes,

[00:07:17] sort of competing with the Joneses,

[00:07:19] but using this as an excuse

[00:07:20] to be able to get more business

[00:07:22] and to be more successful

[00:07:23] because we’ll have the appearance

[00:07:24] of success?

[00:07:26] No.

[00:07:26] There’s so many people that are doing that.

[00:07:29] But if you can maximize the value

[00:07:33] that you get from appearances

[00:07:35] with minimizing the cost,

[00:07:39] now you’re talking.

[00:07:40] Now you’re talking about something

[00:07:41] that I can get on board with.

[00:07:43] I’ve talked about the idea I think before

[00:07:45] of you should dress about 2 levels above.

[00:07:49] I think I actually mentioned this.

[00:07:50] If you haven’t signed up for my book already

[00:07:52] on Complete Software Developer’s Career Guide,

[00:07:54] I definitely talk about it in there.

[00:07:56] You can get that for free.

[00:07:57] Just sign up here and then you can get emails

[00:08:01] and I’m posting the chapters for free on the blog

[00:08:03] if you haven’t heard already.

[00:08:04] It might be out by now

[00:08:05] and you can actually buy the book.

[00:08:08] Curious side note,

[00:08:09] giving away the book for free

[00:08:11] is not going to hurt the sales of the book.

[00:08:13] Some of you are worried about that.

[00:08:15] I’m like, no.

[00:08:15] It’s going to increase the sales of the book.

[00:08:16] Trust me because if you read it on the blog

[00:08:18] and it’s for free

[00:08:19] and you’re like, this is really good stuff.

[00:08:21] What’s up, guys?

[00:08:22] John Sonmez here from simpleprogrammer.com.

[00:08:24] I want to tell you about my free blogging course

[00:08:27] that you can sign up for

[00:08:28] at simpleprogrammer.com forward slash pblog.

[00:08:32] Now, this free blogging course is going to tell you

[00:08:34] how to create a blog to boost your career.

[00:08:36] It’s something that you definitely don’t want to miss.

[00:08:38] Thousands of developers have already gone through the course,

[00:08:41] the free course that you’re going to get by email

[00:08:43] and have learned how to create a blog

[00:08:44] to boost your career, to make more money

[00:08:46] and even to grow their own side business.

[00:08:49] It’s something that every single developer should do,

[00:08:51] especially if you’re a web developer.

[00:08:53] You should have your own blog.

[00:08:54] I’m going to show you exactly how to do it,

[00:08:56] how to be successful, how to get traffic,

[00:08:58] everything that you need to know about creating a blog

[00:09:00] and even making money from it.

[00:09:02] Just go to simpleprogrammer.com forward slash pblog

[00:09:06] to sign up now.

[00:09:07] Once again, it’s simpleprogrammer.com forward slash pblog.

[00:09:11] Then you’re going to go buy the book

[00:09:12] because you don’t want to just have to read it all through the blog.

[00:09:14] You’re going to do that.

[00:09:15] Most people will.

[00:09:16] Some of you maybe won’t.

[00:09:18] That’s fine.

[00:09:18] I don’t care.

[00:09:19] I still want to give you the information.

[00:09:22] Okay, rabbit trailing a little bit here.

[00:09:24] Essentially, I think that it’s a good idea

[00:09:27] to dress two levels above.

[00:09:30] You should not wear the kind of attire that your boss would wear,

[00:09:34] but what his boss would wear

[00:09:35] if you want to climb that corporate ladder.

[00:09:37] You want to dress the part.

[00:09:40] While everyone else is wearing flip-flops and shorts,

[00:09:43] wear your suit.

[00:09:44] Some people are going to make fun of you and laugh at you.

[00:09:46] Some people are going to say you’re overdressed.

[00:09:48] It doesn’t matter.

[00:09:48] Just say, I like to look professional

[00:09:50] and that perception is going to come off that way.

[00:09:54] If you have a nice watch and you are well-groomed,

[00:09:58] do the things that you can do to improve your appearance

[00:10:01] in order to project that persona and that image that you want.

[00:10:06] Image is really, really important.

[00:10:08] That will actually—

[00:10:10] because people will assume that you’re successful

[00:10:12] and so they’re going to assume

[00:10:15] if you look like an executive,

[00:10:17] you’re more likely to get promoted to be an executive

[00:10:20] because you fit the role already.

[00:10:22] You talk like an executive.

[00:10:23] You look like an executive.

[00:10:24] You dress like an executive.

[00:10:26] You act like one.

[00:10:28] They’re going to see you in that role.

[00:10:31] It’s going to be really, really hard

[00:10:33] to get elected to the board of a corporation

[00:10:37] or to be promoted up to an executive level

[00:10:39] if you’re in shorts and flip-flops.

[00:10:42] They just can’t see it in their head.

[00:10:45] You see what I’m saying?

[00:10:46] That can definitely work against you.

[00:10:48] Again, I don’t think that you want to invest

[00:10:51] a huge amount of money in trying to go with just a parent.

[00:10:54] In appearances, remember,

[00:10:56] I’m not advocating that you should be all fluff

[00:11:00] and no substance, just flash,

[00:11:03] but some flash is important.

[00:11:05] I’ll say that it’s not just the clothing.

[00:11:08] Again, I’ve done—

[00:11:10] I don’t even want to point to this video

[00:11:11] because it’s embarrassing.

[00:11:12] It’s an older video of mine on why you should be fit.

[00:11:17] Anyway, I’ll tell you here,

[00:11:19] which is that when you have a—

[00:11:23] when you’re fit,

[00:11:24] when you look good,

[00:11:25] when you have a good presence

[00:11:29] and people see that you have worked on your body,

[00:11:32] that you have discipline,

[00:11:33] that you’re impressive,

[00:11:35] you gain that halo effect again.

[00:11:38] People are more likely to like you,

[00:11:40] to want to be like you,

[00:11:41] to want to promote you,

[00:11:43] to want to have you on their team.

[00:11:46] Those things work to your advantage.

[00:11:47] I know, definitely,

[00:11:50] because I’ve been on both sides of it.

[00:11:52] Again,

[00:11:54] you might say,

[00:11:55] well, John, sometimes you’re—

[00:11:56] why aren’t you practicing this?

[00:11:58] Why are you doing videos in tank tops and stuff?

[00:12:01] Well, because frankly,

[00:12:02] I don’t need to impress.

[00:12:04] I’m not trying to climb the corporate ladder.

[00:12:06] I’m not trying to impress expensive clients

[00:12:08] and to make it—

[00:12:09] I’m trying to be genuine and authentic.

[00:12:12] Maybe I should follow someone.

[00:12:13] Maybe I would be more successful on YouTube

[00:12:14] if I had a suit on every time

[00:12:16] and I was like,

[00:12:17] yeah, you’re going to be super successful with me.

[00:12:21] Maybe, maybe.

[00:12:23] Maybe, maybe.

[00:12:24] Maybe that’s true.

[00:12:25] Maybe I could use some of that advice.

[00:12:27] Anyway,

[00:12:29] if that is your goal,

[00:12:30] if you want to climb the corporate ladder,

[00:12:31] if you want to gain that kind of—

[00:12:35] there’s definitely—

[00:12:36] it definitely makes sense.

[00:12:37] You should at least be doing this.

[00:12:38] You should at least be doing what you can do.

[00:12:41] You don’t have to spend a lot of money,

[00:12:43] but you should be well-groomed.

[00:12:45] You should dress well.

[00:12:47] Have some fashion sense and style.

[00:12:49] I mean, if I were really serious

[00:12:51] about trying to pursue my career,

[00:12:54] and climb the corporate ladder,

[00:12:56] I would hire a stylist.

[00:12:58] It’s not going to be expensive.

[00:13:00] It’s someone that goes and shops

[00:13:02] and helps you to set a style,

[00:13:04] to style your haircut.

[00:13:05] These are like one-time expenses

[00:13:07] to tell you how to groom and maintain your hair

[00:13:10] so that you can look as sharp as possible

[00:13:12] and get a nice wardrobe.

[00:13:15] It’s not going to cost you a huge—

[00:13:16] it’s a decent investment.

[00:13:17] You don’t have to get all really expensive clothes,

[00:13:20] but you can dress up.

[00:13:22] I would try to get in shape.

[00:13:24] As much as I can.

[00:13:26] I would try to improve my speaking skills.

[00:13:31] I would try to improve my voice if I could

[00:13:33] and to come across a little bit better to people.

[00:13:36] Improve my vocabulary.

[00:13:38] All of these things,

[00:13:39] if you combine them together,

[00:13:41] they’re going to create a powerful image.

[00:13:43] That powerful image is going to influence

[00:13:46] how much success that you see,

[00:13:48] how people perceive you,

[00:13:50] and people make snap judgments.

[00:13:52] When they see you,

[00:13:53] there’s like a thousand different,

[00:13:54] different signals that are firing off in their brain

[00:13:56] that are going to influence—

[00:13:59] we make these kind of judgments.

[00:14:01] That’s what our brains are really good at doing.

[00:14:04] You could say evolved to do

[00:14:06] is to be able to suss up a situation like that

[00:14:09] and make a snap judgment

[00:14:10] and to have it be somewhat accurate

[00:14:12] or to rely on that.

[00:14:13] We can’t question everything that we perceive

[00:14:16] and we don’t even realize.

[00:14:17] We do this at an unconscious or—

[00:14:20] let’s not say unconscious.

[00:14:21] Let’s say subconscious level.

[00:14:24] There you have it.

[00:14:25] I think that you can be successful with this,

[00:14:27] but I’ll give you, again,

[00:14:29] the one word of caution I would say

[00:14:31] is this is not a blanket license excuse

[00:14:34] to rack up a bunch of credit card debt

[00:14:36] saying I’m investing in my future

[00:14:37] as you buy Armani suits

[00:14:39] and a car that you can’t afford

[00:14:42] and a house you can’t afford

[00:14:43] saying I need to impress clients.

[00:14:45] That’s not smart.

[00:14:47] Start where you are

[00:14:48] and then use that to make money

[00:14:52] and then take some of that money

[00:14:53] that you’ve made,

[00:14:55] from dressing up,

[00:14:56] from playing the part,

[00:14:58] from impressing people

[00:15:00] and having that image.

[00:15:03] Again, this is somewhat shallow,

[00:15:05] but this is how the world works.

[00:15:07] Let’s be real here.

[00:15:08] Take some of that money

[00:15:09] and then invest that

[00:15:11] to bring it up another level.

[00:15:13] If you keep on getting returns on your investment,

[00:15:16] then keep on going by all means,

[00:15:18] but don’t just start at the top

[00:15:21] and say,

[00:15:21] well, I’m going to rack up a credit card

[00:15:23] and—

[00:15:24] and it’s going to be a good investment.

[00:15:26] Anyway, I think I’ve beat this horse sufficiently

[00:15:29] at this point.

[00:15:31] If you’ve got some comments, some ideas,

[00:15:32] if you’ve got a story of how

[00:15:34] making sort of a style

[00:15:37] or charismatic transformation

[00:15:40] has helped you,

[00:15:42] I would love to hear about it in the comments.

[00:15:44] I think people could use advice on this

[00:15:47] and getting more perspective and experience

[00:15:50] would definitely help.

[00:15:51] If you would like to be cool,

[00:15:54] and you would like to be in high fashion

[00:15:57] and just up with the current trends,

[00:15:59] I do have one important message for you,

[00:16:01] which is to click the subscribe button

[00:16:03] because this subscribe button,

[00:16:04] by subscribing to this channel,

[00:16:06] you will be essentially putting yourself

[00:16:08] in with a crowd of people that are high achievers.

[00:16:12] Other people will see that you’re subscribed

[00:16:13] and they’ll want to hire you.

[00:16:15] If you want to make more money,

[00:16:17] if you want to be more successful in life,

[00:16:20] become a subscriber.

[00:16:21] All right.

[00:16:22] I’ll talk to you next time.

Visão de gráfico