There are many factors that will determine your success in the hiring process. In addition to having a dynamic resume and the ability to sell yourself as the best candidate for the job, your personal appearance will influence the hiring manager’s decision, too.
Related:5 Tips For Dressing Your Best For Interviews
In today’s society where style originality is the norm, there are some guidelines that you should consider when dressing for a business professional interview. You may not agree about the importance of your unique fashion choice and how it will be perceived by a prospective employer, but remember, you only have one chance to make a good first impression so proceed with caution and dress for success.
How To Dress For A Business Professional Interview
Learn how to dress for a business professional interview with these tips:
Outfit To Job Position Match
When you are deciding on your interview attire, consider the hiring organization and what they represent. It is understandable that you want to retain your distinctiveness, however, you may have to modify it if it isn’t in sync with the prospective workplace.
A super trendy look complete with multiple piercings and lots of bling might be well received in a young creative environment, such as an advertising agency. However, that particular look may not be suitable in the healthcare or financial industry.
Proper Business Attire
If you are applying for a business professional job, then dress like a professional. Again, this goes back to dressing to match the prospective workplace. If you are applying for a job as an auto mechanic, your best three piece suit is not going to win you any votes. If you are hoping to land a job in an office environment, a business suit is the best choice and is appropriate for men or women.
Make sure that you have a clean, pressed dress shirt under your jacket and your shoes are dirt free and polished. If a suit is not necessary in your chosen field, make sure you wear a clean, pressed pair of pants and smart casual shirt. It is always better to be slightly overdressed instead of underdressed.
Tattoo And Body Piercings
There is an ongoing debate as to whether it is acceptable to show your body art or hide it during an interview. Again, the acceptance of this form of expression is in the hands of the receiver aka the hiring manager.
Many large corporations will state in the employee manual that all visible body piercing be removed and tattoos covered during work hours. Unfortunately, you probably won’t be informed about the company policy before the interview, so it is a good idea to remove piercing jewelry and cover up the tattoos.
The best scenario is to be judged on your personality, qualifications, and skills instead of being judged negatively because the HR person doesn't like your nose ring. Likewise, keep your jewelry and accessories to a minimum. Remember, you are on a job interview not going out for a night on the town.
Personal Hygiene
Your personal hygiene speaks volumes about your personality, values, and how you conduct yourself. Let’s face it: it can be a touchy subject because one person’s perception of the proper level of personal cleanliness may be different from someone else’s.
If your personal au natural scent is less than desirable and your clothes appear unkempt, the interviewer might question your ability to keep your workspace organized or your consideration for your fellow workers. Likewise, if the interviewer is hyper-sensitive to perfumes and fragrances, this may be the deciding factor between you and another candidate.
First impressions are very important and while dressing well is key. There are a number of other important factors that can make or break your interview. For more tips on acing interviews, check out this article on five important interview tips that every candidate should know.
Is your job search turning into a grind with no end in sight? It may be time to take a step back and reevaluate your entire approach.
In cold weather climates, the beginning of spring is a time to clean the house and get organized—a practice known as spring cleaning. Through the years, spring cleaning has taken on a larger meaning with people using the time to organize and declutter things in their lives.
For professionals on the job hunt, a little spring cleaning (metaphorically speaking) could be a great way to reinvigorate your job search. Here are a few strategies your job search spring cleaning should include.
Reevaluate Your Job Search Approach
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Make a list of the last handful of jobs you applied for and see if you can identify any positive or negative trends. Consider things like:
How did I learn about this job?
How did I apply for the job?
Did I earn an interview?
What was the ultimate result?
A lot can be learned about your job search approach just by answering these questions and identifying patterns. For example:
Negative Trends
You discovered five jobs through job boards, applied to all of them via the job boards, and never heard back from any of them.
The common pattern here is applying through job boards. This isn't to say that job boards don't serve a purpose in the job search process, but they have their limitations, and you can't run your job search entirely off of them. When you apply through a job board, there's a good chance that your materials will never get past the applicant tracking system (ATS) and never be seen by an actual person.
One simple fix is to research who the hiring manager or recruiter is that posted the position and email your materials to them directly.
The more efficient fix would be to take a proactive approach by putting together a bucket list of companies that you want to work for and start making connections on LinkedIn with people who work at those companies. You may already know some people who work there or have connections that can refer you to some individuals.
This is a great way to network your way onto a company's radar.
Positive Trends
You applied to three jobs via referral, were invited to two job interviews, and made it through multiple rounds of interviews for one of the jobs before being passed over for someone with a little more experience.
The pattern here is that getting referred to a job by a professional acquaintance is a great way to land a job interview. This indicates that you're leveraging your network well and you should continue to focus on your networking efforts.
The next step is to review the interview process and determine what went well and what needs to be improved. Sometimes the interviewer will provide feedback, and that feedback can be valuable. However, not everyone is comfortable with giving feedback.
Chances are you probably have a good idea about areas of improvement and the skills you need to gain. Put together a plan for addressing those shortfalls.
The good news in making it deep into any interview process is that it indicates that the company likes you as a potential employee (even if the timing just wasn't right) and the experience could be a roadmap to a job with that company at a later date, or another similar opportunity elsewhere.
Give Your Resume & Cover Letter Some Much-Needed Attention
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Are you continuously sending similar resumes and cover letters to each job opening with only minor adjustments? If so, your strategy needs some serious spring cleaning.
The reason why it's so important to tailor your resume is that throughout your career, you acquire numerous skills, but the job you're applying for may only be focusing on 6-8 of those skills. In that case, those skills must rise to the top of the resume with quantifiable examples of how you successfully used those skills at previous jobs.
Remember, recruiters go through hundreds of resumes. They need to be able to tell from a quick glance whether or not you're a potential candidate for the position.
While updating your resume, you could also spruce up your LinkedIn profile by highlighting the skill sets that you want to be noticed for by recruiters.
As for writing a good cover letter, the key to success is writing a disruptive cover letter. When you write a disruptive cover letter, you're basically telling a story. The story should focus on how you connect with the particular company and job position. The story could also focus on your personal journey, and how you got to where you currently are in your career.
If your resumes and cover letters aren't unique, now is the time to clean things up and get on track.
Build Your Personal Brand
Just because you're looking for work doesn't mean that you don't have anything to offer. Use previous career experiences and passions to build your personal brand.
Ask yourself, "How do I want other professionals to view me?"
Pick an area of expertise and start sharing your knowledge and experience with your professional network by pushing out content on your LinkedIn and social media accounts. Good content can include blogs, social media posts, and videos.
By sharing content about your experiences and passions, you slowly build your personal brand, and others will start to notice. The content could lead to good discussions with others in your network. It could also lead to reconnecting with connections that you haven't spoken to in years, or making new connections.
You never know when one of these connections could turn into a job lead or referral. The trick is to get on people's radars. So, when you're cleaning up your job search, be sure to build a plan for personal branding.
Maintain Healthy Habits During Your Job Search
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Your job search is important, but it's even more important to know when to pull back and focus on personal health and spending time with family and friends.
There are actually things that you can do for your own enjoyment that could help your job search in the long run, such as:
Grab coffee with a friend - It's good to engage in light conversation with friends during challenging times. And if your job search does come up, remember that most people have been through it themselves and you never know when a friend may provide you with a good idea or lead on a job.
Volunteer - Volunteering is a great way to get involved in the community and help others. In addition, if you develop a little bit of a career gap while looking for a job, you can always talk about how you filled that time volunteering, if you're asked about it during a job interview.
Continue to focus on other passions - Are you a fitness nut? Blogger? Crafter? Continue to do the things that bring you happiness. And if you're in a position to profit from your passion through a freelance job or side hustle, even better!
Spring is the perfect time to clean up and improve your job search so you can land the job you want. If you're struggling to find a job, follow the tips above to reinvigorate your job search—and watch your career blossom!
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This article was originally published at an earlier date.
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