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Dressing for Successful Job Interviews
The first thing an interviewer will notice about you is how you're dressed.
Even before you say hello or shake their hand, they are starting to form an
impression of you based on your appearance. This week's job searching tip
deals with making sure you are dressed properly for interviews.
It's estimated that people gain meaning more from non-verbal cues in
conversations than from the actual words exchanged. Therefore, how you
present yourself in an interview will have a significant impact on how the
interviewer perceives you.
If you're applying for a job as a manager, the interviewer will be trying to
decide how you would be perceived by subordinates and other managers.
Basically, they're asking themselves, "would this person fit in?" One way to
figure out how best to dress to fit in would be to visit the company ahead
of time for some "surveillance" work.
If you hang around outside the company's parking lot, you could observe
how most people dress there. Of course it's best not to be conspicuous - if
the interviewer saw you hanging around their parking lot a few days earlier,
they might think you're strange!
There are some basic rules that everyone should follow when
going on a job interview:
- Your goal should be to look clean, healthy and successful.
- Make sure you don't have bad breath. Nobody wants to work with
someone who smells bad.
- On the other hand, don't overdo it with aftershave/perfume.
- Always err on the side of conservatism. Men should
wear conservative ties for interviews and women should opt for a more
conservative blouse.
- Your hair should be clean and neat.
- Your nails should be clean and a reasonable
length.
- Women should wear tan or light hosiery.If you know people who work
in a similar company (or the same company) in the same location, talk
to them about how people dress for work. Especially if you are moving
from another part of the country.
For example, lawyers in California often dress a bit more casually and
wear less conservative ties than lawyers in New York. Be sure to follow
rules of etiquette when on the interview itself. Give the interviewer a
chance to offer you a seat. If you're wearing a suit jacket, don't take it
off in the interview.
Remember, an interview is partly a formality. Especially if the
interviewer is a human resources person or other staff member who is
not very familiar with your field, you may be judged much more on
your appearance and how well you conform to the "picture" of what a
good interviewee should be like than on the content of what you say in
the interview.
A great movie about creating the right appearance is the recent Steven
Spielberg film, "Catch Me If You Can," which starred Leonardo Di Caprio.
In the movie, which is based on a true story, Di Caprio plays a con artist
and counterfeiter named Frank Abignale, Jr. Frank is able to work as an
airline pilot, a doctor and a lawyer all because he is able to come across
like he fits in. Even though he was only 16, he knew enough to do his
research ahead of time and create the right appearance.
One of the great lines in the movie is when Frank says to the detective
trying to catch him, "Why do you think the Yankees always win? Is it
because of Mickey Mantle? No, it's because everyone's busy watching
the pinstripes."
About the Author
Scott Brown is the author of the Job Search Handbook
(http://www.jobsearchhandbook.com/). As editor of the HireSites.com
weekly newsletter on job searching, Scott has written many articles on the
subject. He wrote the Job Search Handbook to provide job seekers with a
complete yet easy to use guide to finding a job effectively.
Johnetta Matthews
Veterans In Motion
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