I cannot remember not being able to tie a necktie, around my own neck or facing the wearer. Even though I was a girl, before I was 5 years old, I could tie respectable half and full Windsor knots. In fact, my dad’s early coaching once helped us to handily win a father-daughter tie tying contest at a church picnic.
Tie tying would seem to be a bit of a dying art, as more workplaces opt for a less formal dress code and polo or golf shirt uniforms. And yet, wearing a suit and tie to a job interview is still the acceptable standard, in most circumstances; and a requirement of some jobs, always.
I remember years ago, while working at a local radio station, the new young Sports Director, coming to me with both exciting and stressful news. He had been tapped to be the occasional fill-in for the regular Sportscaster on the local television news and had been told that he must wear a shirt and tie. My early training came in handy, as I tied two different options for him and showed him how to slide the knot, so he could get them on and off by himself: He not only looked professional on the air, he also didn’t have to wear the same tie every night. Eventually, he got the knack, and I’m happy to say that I’ve heard he’s a tie-wearing professional to this day.
This all came back to me, today, when I heard on the news about a young man in the southern United States who was assisted by sales staff at a Target store to prepare for an important first job interview. Apparently, he’d gone into the store, dressed in a suit, looking for a clip-on tie, and left with a properly tied non-clip necktie and some helpful advice about handshakes and other important interview skills. This extraordinary customer service helped a nervous young man project a confident, professional look that may have aided in his being called back for a second interview.
I’m inspired by the selflessness of the Target employees but not actually surprised. I believe that similar random acts of kindness happen more often than we know, and that thoughtfulness is more systemic than most people think. These few examples of knowing how to tie a tie may not have meant the difference between life and death; however, the implications of someone not knowing could have been the difference between success and failure – or at least a tie.
