[Image from Flickr]
The more effort you put into dressing the
part, the higher your chances of getting the job. This is one of the most
fundamental and basic rules of impressing during an interview. This may be an
old rule but even in this modern age, dressing to impress continues to play a
major role in helping interviewers select the right candidate.
When you put a lot of effort into your clothing for the interview, it tells the
interviewer that the job is important to you or that you are serious about
getting the job. While you might impress your interviewer with your attitude
and guts by turning up in shorts, sneakers and t-shirt, you probably will not
get the job. At the first point of introduction, you would have been mentally
sized up and then struck off the list of potential candidates!
Sadly, even in this modern era, it is better to err on the side of being
conventional and conservative rather than trying to dress according to the work
that you are required to do. Stick to conventional rules and you cannot go very
far off the mark.
Right now, you are probably thinking to yourself - "How do I dress to
impress my potential employer during an interview and STILL keep to
conventional rules?" It's hard to impress with your dressing when you look
just like everyone else.
That is not entirely true though. You see, for women, keep to solid colors
(preferably a suit), well coordinated blouse, corporate-looking shoes (sandals
are out of the question), tone down on the jewelry, and groom your hair neatly
- you will not go far wrong. As long as you do not go overboard with the
makeup, wear too much perfume, or have unruly hair, you will be quite safe.
Dressing for an interview does not mean that you have to shock your interviewers,
try to keep things relatively simple, and combine your proper dressing with
proper etiquette, attitude and qualification; there is little doubt that your
potential employer will be impressed!
This does not mean that men do not have to dress to impress the interviewer. In
fact, it has been shown that interviewers can be stricter and more stringent on
men's dress code during an interview. One small mistake and the first
impression may be ruined, and we all know that the first impression is very
hard to reverse - if not impossible.
Men should also keep to solid colors and also preferably a suit. A colourful
and fancy tie design will not impress your interviewer. And, although teaming a
high quality professional suit with a sports shoe might leave a lasting
impression on the interviewer, it may not be the kind of lasting impression you
want them to have.
As you can see, what you decide to wear to your job interview continues to be
one of the biggest influencing factors that determine if you are ultimately
successful or otherwise. If you do not want to be struck off the list the
moment you walk into the interview room, keep to the norm and impress them with
the effort you've put in to look right for the part.
