It’s no big secret that when you walk into a store, the last thing you’d like to smell is the pungent aroma of a pile of rotten eggs. This is why grocery stores tend to keep their stores either smelling great, or simply keep it smelling neutral, and the same can be said about your personal life. Of course, like anything else in life, smells and odors are subjective things, with different factors coming into play when considering the effects that it may have on an individual’s life. Take, for example, you might think that your cup of cold brew smells like chocolate and milk, but your friend who lives above the cafe might not enjoy those smells as he’s had to experience that scent every day.
In general, though, people tend to agree that the smell of sweat and body odor is not pleasant, and in most cases, can prove to be harmful to both your career and your personal relationships. Bad odors, in some individuals, can cause a myriad of things ranging from mild discomfort and even down to more serious things like nausea and irritation, but more importantly, it makes you a source of unpleasantness to be around. Think back to that day in your office when you’ve decided to forego a shower and still smelled of last night’s hardships, did you get strange glances from your co-workers?
If you stretch this in the long term, smelling bad can be traced back to a myriad of other things, personal neglect and laziness, to name a few, are a few things that are most likely to be associated with you. This is because as a species, we’ve evolved to understand that when something smells bad, it’s a good idea, in general, to just stay away from it as it may carry lethal pathogens and make you sick. When you take this back to the modern age, however, there are two things that people tend to notice when they meet you for the first time, it’s how you dress, and how you smell. This is important to note because smelling great, on the opposite side of the spectrum, can greatly benefit your career.
This can be traced back to a few things, one of which is the ever-important first impression that you leave on someone when meeting them for the very first time. Imagine this scenario, you’re conducting a job interview and one of the applicants showed up looking disheveled and smelling absolutely horrendous. This impression alone could leave a bad taste in the interviewer’s mouth because like dressing great, smelling great when meeting someone shows that you value their time. Compare this with yet another hypothetical applicant who shows up, looking well-put-together, and smells great. Wouldn’t you have even the slightest preference for this individual rather than the other? This applicant shows that they value your time and is grateful that you’ve decided to give them a chance to fight for that position.
Smelling great is not something that should be taken for granted as it may affect your career, it’s as simple as taking a shower before going anywhere, down to something as simple as spritzing on your favorite fragrance. It’s a simple thing that most people tend to overlook but can either make or break your career.