Regardless of what sector you work in and where your career takes you, at one time or another in that career you are going to have to sit down and subject yourself to that most feared and reviled part of job hunting – the job interview. And again, no matter what sector or industry you are looking for work in, the same rule applies to every job interview – first impressions count. They might deny it, but most interviewers will make a judgment about you from the second that you walk through the door. And the first thing that the interviewer will notice about you is how you are dressed and how you look. Think appearances shouldn’t matter? Maybe so. Think that they don’t matter? Guess again.
What this means is that regardless of the casualness of the people in the work environment you are applying to join, you need to be dressed professionally and appropriately when you turn up for that first interview. Appropriate, for most interviews, will mean that old staple, the suit and tie. You may well think it old fashioned, you might want to work in a trendy dot com start-up where everyone is sitting around in shorts and t shirts, but you are not working there yet and you have one aim and one aim only – to make the interviewer take you seriously. Just wearing a suit and tie shows you are serious and responsible and gives you a massive initial advantage over candidates who turn up in their jeans wearing a Guns ‘n’ Roses t shirt.
For men you should probably wear solid coloured suits of dark grey or navy blue and always with a smart and crisp white shirt (long sleeved) as well as a tie that is neither too bright, nor too garish. Socks should be dark and you should wear a pair of conservative leather shoes. They should be well polished. Ensure that your hair is tidy (it doesn’t hurt to get it cut before an interview) and don’t lather on the aftershave and leave the interviewer choking for air.
Women should go for a similar shade of suit and tie as well as a smart white shirt. If you wear a skirt with the suit make certain that it is long enough that you will be able to sit down at ease and comfortably. Avoid slapping on too much perfume and make up and that your jewellery is not too ostentatious or too dangly.
Finally, both women and men should remove their piercings and cover their tattoos (if possible). On no account walk in chewing gum and never bring your mobile, or ipod into an interview. If you must bring a bag, make it a professional looking bag and make sure that you have emptied it of all the junk and detritus that normally collects at the bottom. Once empty, use it to carry your resume, a pen and a handkerchief. Don’t carry a bottle of water into the interview with you. Drink later.
Follow these tips and you will at least look professional. Anything else is up to you.
Alex is a financial journalist and blogger. He writes about all aspects of finance, from personal finance to starting a business and from mortgages to payday loans .
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