By Marky Stein
Now that you’re wearing that beautiful, warm smile, let’s look at the rest of what you’re wearing. Guess what? You don’t necessarily have to go out and buy a $400 outfit to be dressed appropriately for an interview (unless you want to, of course). Maybe all you need to do is invest $5 in getting those dress slacks pressed or having that attractive blazer dry cleaned.
Let’s keep it simple.
Dressing up is not only a way to make you attractive; it is one of the many signals of respect you will send to the interviewer during this first 20 seconds. It says, “I respect your time enough to think carefully about my wardrobe.”
Many of my clients object to dressing up for an interview.
They may complain the vice president of the company is wearing shorts and sandals and has an untrimmed beard. Or the CEO is wearing Gloria Vanderbilt jeans and cowboy boots. The difference between you and the interviewer is you don’t have an office with your name on the door (yet).
Before you get the job, take the time to be more formal and more conservative than you would normally be. (Then, when you’re hired, you can don your army boots, expose your tattoos, and get down to work with the best of them!)
Remember, it is not the price of your clothes or how well they match the latest fashion. What makes the difference is you give the distinct appearance of having taken some time to put yourself together. A few guidelines to achieve that image follow.
MenShoes Hard-soled, hard-toed. The best colors are black or brown.
Ties Conservative: black, brown, navy, or red. A solid color or a simple pattern is best. Avoid ties that are too wide or too narrow. No potentially distracting artsy or modern patterns. No pastels or flashy colors. No bow ties.
Suits Matching business suits are best. If you do not have a tailored, well-fitting business suit in gray, black, navy blue, or brown, you may, as a second choice, wear pants (other than jeans) with a shirt, tie, and complementary jacket.
Shirts The only type of shirt acceptable for men at a job interview, in my opinion, is a button-down shirt with a collar. White or light blue, or a shirt with very narrow and light pinstripes is best. T-shirts and turtlenecks are too casual, however tempting it may be to wear them.
Jewelry Avoid wearing more than one ring per hand. Don’t wear a pinky ring.
Scents Other than the soap from your shower and (preferably) unscented deodorant, do not wear any colognes or aftershaves. It’s surprising what a strong reaction people have to scents! They either love them or hate them. Don’t take the chance you might be wearing the same cologne as her ex-husband!
Hair Again, the rule of thumb is conservative. No matter what the length or style of your hair, it’s worth investing a few bucks for a haircut before stepping into the competitive world of interviewing. Do not wear a hat. If you have long hair, tie it back neatly, or consider, for now, having it cut.
Interviewers prefer less rather than more hair on both your head and your face. I had a client who had absolutely no job offers until he shaved off his shaggy beard. When he got a job (soon after shaving), he sure missed his beard, but he didn’t complain about earning $80,000 a year!
WomenShoes Wear pumps with a medium-sized heel. Do not wear high, excessively spiky heels or boots. Black, brown, taupe, or navy is fine. Avoid flashy shoes with bright colors like red or glittery gold. No tennis shoes, open toes, or sandals. Flats may be OK for an extremely casual workplace, but low pumps are preferred.
Dresses or Suits In the workshops I teach, I always have at least one woman who says, “I wore pants to the interview and I got the job!” That’s usually the case, these days if you are wearing a nicely tailored pant suit with an attractive blouse, but if you feel comfortable in a skirt and matching jacket, I recommend it!
Hair and Makeup Keep it simple! Don’t allow long or wavy hair to hide your face. Consider having a touch-up color, wave, or trim. Wear lighter or less makeup than usual. Do not apply too much foundation or eye makeup. If you use hair spray, you might consider an unscented brand. Any sort of perfume-like smell from hair spray, body lotions, cologne, or perfume can be disturbing to some interviewers.
When you can look in the mirror and say, “Okay, I’m ready!” you’ll know you’ve found a good combination of businesslike attire.
Sorry, this event already happened! Please go to our webinar page to review our upcoming FREE webinars. You can also check out our past events in the archive section.|
|
PLUS, watch the video below to see J.T. interview Marky on why most job seekers won't find work without her proven tips!
Marky Stein has been a career coach and public speaker for 20 years, working with professionals from more than 75 Fortune 500 companies. She currently runs a private career coaching practice in Northern California. Author of Fearless Career Change, Fearless Resumes, the career classic Fearless Interviewing, and the career compendium Get a Great Job When You Don’t Have a Job, Stein is the online job-search career and interview expert at Monster.com and has written numerous articles for www.careerjournal.com. Her website is www.markystein.com.
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.
By Marky Stein
Now that you’re wearing that beautiful, warm smile, let’s look at the rest of what you’re wearing. Guess what? You don’t necessarily have to go out and buy a $400 outfit to be dressed appropriately for an interview (unless you want to, of course). Maybe all you need to do is invest $5 in getting those dress slacks pressed or having that attractive blazer dry cleaned.
Let’s keep it simple.
Dressing up is not only a way to make you attractive; it is one of the many signals of respect you will send to the interviewer during this first 20 seconds. It says, “I respect your time enough to think carefully about my wardrobe.”
Many of my clients object to dressing up for an interview.
They may complain the vice president of the company is wearing shorts and sandals and has an untrimmed beard. Or the CEO is wearing Gloria Vanderbilt jeans and cowboy boots. The difference between you and the interviewer is you don’t have an office with your name on the door (yet).
Before you get the job, take the time to be more formal and more conservative than you would normally be. (Then, when you’re hired, you can don your army boots, expose your tattoos, and get down to work with the best of them!)
Remember, it is not the price of your clothes or how well they match the latest fashion. What makes the difference is you give the distinct appearance of having taken some time to put yourself together. A few guidelines to achieve that image follow.
MenShoes Hard-soled, hard-toed. The best colors are black or brown.
Ties Conservative: black, brown, navy, or red. A solid color or a simple pattern is best. Avoid ties that are too wide or too narrow. No potentially distracting artsy or modern patterns. No pastels or flashy colors. No bow ties.
Suits Matching business suits are best. If you do not have a tailored, well-fitting business suit in gray, black, navy blue, or brown, you may, as a second choice, wear pants (other than jeans) with a shirt, tie, and complementary jacket.
Shirts The only type of shirt acceptable for men at a job interview, in my opinion, is a button-down shirt with a collar. White or light blue, or a shirt with very narrow and light pinstripes is best. T-shirts and turtlenecks are too casual, however tempting it may be to wear them.
Jewelry Avoid wearing more than one ring per hand. Don’t wear a pinky ring.
Scents Other than the soap from your shower and (preferably) unscented deodorant, do not wear any colognes or aftershaves. It’s surprising what a strong reaction people have to scents! They either love them or hate them. Don’t take the chance you might be wearing the same cologne as her ex-husband!
Hair Again, the rule of thumb is conservative. No matter what the length or style of your hair, it’s worth investing a few bucks for a haircut before stepping into the competitive world of interviewing. Do not wear a hat. If you have long hair, tie it back neatly, or consider, for now, having it cut.
Interviewers prefer less rather than more hair on both your head and your face. I had a client who had absolutely no job offers until he shaved off his shaggy beard. When he got a job (soon after shaving), he sure missed his beard, but he didn’t complain about earning $80,000 a year!
WomenShoes Wear pumps with a medium-sized heel. Do not wear high, excessively spiky heels or boots. Black, brown, taupe, or navy is fine. Avoid flashy shoes with bright colors like red or glittery gold. No tennis shoes, open toes, or sandals. Flats may be OK for an extremely casual workplace, but low pumps are preferred.
Dresses or Suits In the workshops I teach, I always have at least one woman who says, “I wore pants to the interview and I got the job!” That’s usually the case, these days if you are wearing a nicely tailored pant suit with an attractive blouse, but if you feel comfortable in a skirt and matching jacket, I recommend it!
Hair and Makeup Keep it simple! Don’t allow long or wavy hair to hide your face. Consider having a touch-up color, wave, or trim. Wear lighter or less makeup than usual. Do not apply too much foundation or eye makeup. If you use hair spray, you might consider an unscented brand. Any sort of perfume-like smell from hair spray, body lotions, cologne, or perfume can be disturbing to some interviewers.
When you can look in the mirror and say, “Okay, I’m ready!” you’ll know you’ve found a good combination of businesslike attire.
Sorry, this event already happened! Please go to our webinar page to review our upcoming FREE webinars. You can also check out our past events in the archive section.
|
|
PLUS, watch the video below to see J.T. interview Marky on why most job seekers won't find work without her proven tips!
Marky Stein has been a career coach and public speaker for 20 years, working with professionals from more than 75 Fortune 500 companies. She currently runs a private career coaching practice in Northern California. Author of Fearless Career Change, Fearless Resumes, the career classic Fearless Interviewing, and the career compendium Get a Great Job When You Don’t Have a Job, Stein is the online job-search career and interview expert at Monster.com and has written numerous articles for www.careerjournal.com. Her website is www.markystein.com.
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