MissBiz Article "Job Interviews: How Competitive Do You Look?"

By MissBiz aka Jackie Howatt
Published and Copyright October 11, 2006
Saint Mary's University, The Journal

How important do you think visual appearances are? When making a first impression, either at a job interview, a general meeting, or even in your everyday interaction with people, image matters - a lot.

“Image consultants say that 55% of the impact we make is the way we dress, act and walk through the door, 38% is quality of voice, accent, use of grammar, and overall confidence, and a mere 7% is from what we actually say” says xpressrecruitment.com. For all of you who still believe that “it’s what’s inside that counts” - let’s get real - this is not the case when it comes to making first impressions, especially with employers and colleagues. I especially feel that addressing this issue and explaining what recruiters are looking for (appearance-wise) will help my fellow 2007 graduate students when job-seeking in the exceedingly competitive markets of today - where appearance is a perceptive by-product of confidence, worth, and ability.

First, it is important to understand that there is not one cookie-cutter way to dress for an interview - even in a corporate, multi-national firm. With an increased focus on intrapreneurship, incubator teams, and “brand-culting”, large multi-national corporations house dozens of varying sub-firms that may all have their own values, goals, and images to uphold. The point is, whether you are interviewing for a small firm or a sector within a large firm, you should do your homework on how the employees dress. This will increase your chances of getting hired because you will look like you “belong”. You may be wearing an Armani or Chanel suit and look like the reincarnation of Jackie Onassis, but you are probably unintentionally giving off a air of intimidation and superiority. These are not attributes that anyone likes bestowed upon them, especially someone who is hiring you. It is best to know how the other employees dress, and then take it up a notch to look “professional” for the job in question.

An article in the Orlando Sentinel entitled, Do your clothes say ‘hire me’? says, “Caroline Schuster, recruiting manager for Wachovia Corp.'s capital management group, says most interviewees dress well. ‘My recommendation to people is go a little bit more conservative than might be your natural inclination’”. “‘Show them your cute, funky wardrobe later,’ says Betsy Olinger, founder/coach of Marketing-U (marketing-u.com), a Charlotte, N.C.-based executive coaching firm. ‘If it's something you think you look 'hot' in, it's wrong ’” www.orlandosentinel.com. Employers first and foremost want to assess your ability to fit into their organizational culture - not your unique fashion sense. Keeping your wardrobe respectable and conservative will allow the employer to see you, not your clothing. That is not to say that you should look dull and boring. Wear something that makes you look and feel competent and confident, while keeping appropriateness in mind.

When interviewing for a position, there are universal rules of dress that almost always apply. For men, wear a suit, but avoid a back suit. A modern charcoal, navy, or grey suit looks more approachable. Cotton suits are prone to wrinkling, so choose wool or gabardine. You can never go wrong with a white, light blue, or ecru dress shirt. The shirt sleeves should be about ½ inch longer than the suit sleeves, and a pointed collar is more professional than a button-down. Choose a darker tie then your shirt - a solid colour works best, but a minimal pattern will suffice (at all costs - avoid Looney Tunes characters) and always choose 100% silk for a more polished look. For footwear, black dress shoes are best in all cases, but make sure they are polished. Socks should always match your shoe colour, or at least be a dark colour (www.career.fsu.edu).

For women, skirt suits are still viewed as more appropriate in interviews, but pant suits are acceptable. If you are wearing a skirt, knee-length is best, and pencil cut is most professional. Darker coloured suits are more appropriate and modern than lighter colours, and fabric should be wool, gabardine, or rayon. Select a blouse rather than a camisole, as a collard blouse can bring a punch of colour to your face (almost every woman looks great in some form of pink or coral) and a camisole tends to not show up under a jacket and leaves a gap of skin. Panty-hose should either match your leg colour (preferable) or match the colour of your skirt. Wear close-toed shoes - the heel not being higher than 1-2 inches. Although I believe that shoes should be close-toed, not strappy, and fairly simple for an interview, the colour can be optional, so long as it is appropriate. They say darker is best, but as long as it matches your outfit (grey, beige, cream, brown, blue) and is not fire-engine patent leather red, you’ll be fine. And for make-up, remember what your grandmother use to say: less is best (www.career.fsu.edu).

Donald Trump will always be seen wearing a suit, unless maybe on the golf course. Despite his success and fame, he has a certain image to uphold - one of authority. What does your appearance say about you?

In both cases for women and men, avoid wearing too much jewellery. In fact, no jewellery is better than a lot. It serves as a distraction and can even make you look sloppy. If you are unsure, then don’t wear it. Also, grooming is extremely important. A fresh hair cut and simple styling is best. For men, this means clean shaven, neat side-burns (if any), and combed hair (sometimes a little gel can make all the difference). For women, you can wear you hair down, or in a polished ponytail. Nails should be neat, teeth should be brushed (breath should be fresh), and don’t forget deodorant. Don’t go crazy over the perfume or cologne either - your potential employer (or employees) could be allergic.

Remember - these “rules” do not apply to everybody in every situation. The key thing is to know how others in the organization dress, and what they value. Also, these are best for those of you who are applying for a corporate or office job. A tattoo parlour would expect something much different then what I have outlined here.

After you are hired, you can relax a little and even add some of your personality into your everyday outfits. However, in the cut-throat reality of corporate ladder-climbing, just because you landed a job does not mean the competition is over. You will constantly be competing for advanced positions, or simply trying to maintain your own, as there are hoards of new talent entering the market everyday. Maintaining a professional (business casual) appearance everyday should be second-nature because you never know who you might run into. Include transitional pieces into your wardrobe like: khakis, chinos, dress shirts, and casual blazers. Remember, companies hire you to ultimately represent themselves and their image. By dressing the part, you represent yourself as a serious player.