Plan Your Interview Attire. 101
Interview Q & A
Here's how to be sure you look right for the interview.
Interview attire is part of your preparation for job interviewing.
You can’t just go into your closet on the day of the
interview and decide what you feel like wearing.
It's probably one of the most overused phrases in job-hunting,
but also one of the most underutilised by job-seekers: dress
for success. In job-hunting, first impressions are critical.
Remember, you are marketing a product -- yourself -- to a
potential employer, and the first thing the employer sees
when greeting you is your attire; thus, you must make every
effort to have the proper dress for the type of job you are
seeking. Will dressing properly get you the job? Of course
not, but it will give you a competitive edge and a positive
first impression.
Should you be judged by what you wear? Perhaps not, but the
reality is, of course, that you are judged. Throughout the
entire job-seeking process employers use shortcuts -- heuristics
or rules of thumb -- to save time. With cover letters, it's
the opening paragraph and a quick scan of your qualifications.
With CV, it is a quick scan of your accomplishments. With
the job interview, it's how you're dressed that sets the tone
of the interview.
How should you dress? Dressing conservatively
is always the safest route, but you should
also try and do a little investigating of
your prospective employer so that what you
wear to the interview makes you look as
though you fit in with the organisation.
If you overdress (which is rare but can
happen) or under dress (the more likely
scenario), the potential employer may feel
that you don't care enough about the job.
How do you find out what is the proper dress for a given job/company/industry?
You can call the human resources office where you are interviewing
and simply ask. Or, you could visit the company's office to
retrieve an application or other company information and observe
the attire current employees are wearing -- though make sure
you are not there on a "casual day" and misinterpret
the dress code.
Finally, do you need to run out and spend
a lot of money on clothes for interviewing?
No, but you should make sure you have at
least two professional sets of attire. You'll
need more than that, but depending on your
current financial condition, two is enough
to get started and you can buy more once
you have the job or have more financial
resources.
Hints for dress for success for men and women
Attention to details is crucial, so here are some tips for
both men and women. Make sure you have:
1. Clean and polished conservative dress shoes
2. Well-groomed hairstyle
3. Cleaned and trimmed fingernails
4. Minimal cologne or perfume
|
