It's probably one of the most overused phrases in job-hunting, but also one of the most underutilized 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 short-cuts heuristics or rules of thumb to save time. With cover letters, it's the opening paragraph and a quick scan of your qualifications. With resumes, 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 organization. If you overdress (which is rare but can happen) or underdress (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: clean and polished conservative dress shoes well-groomed hairstyle cleaned and trimmed fingernails minimal cologne or perfume no visible body piercing beyond conservative ear piercings for women well-brushed teeth and fresh breath no gum, candy, or other objects in your mouth minimal jewelry no body odor Finally, check your attire in the rest room just before your interview for a final check of your appearance - to make sure your tie is straight, your hair is combed, etc.
I pay much attention to my clothes and appearance, but there're moments in my life when I don't care about what I should wear. Nevertheless, I must say that if the meeting is important I'll wear the most suitable for the situation clothes. And, of course, I prefer suits of clothes.
I agree with the article totally. I pay much attetion to my style of dresses and suits. I may say that I have two sets of clothes: one is for school and one is for my days off and holidays. At school I always wear formal clothes. I am sure a teacher should be well-dressed. Firstly, I don't want my students to pity me. Secondly, it is easier to gain students' attention when you are well-dressed. But at the second step you have to surprise people with your mind, of course. My husband was an officer, that's why I changed my place of work guite often. And the way I was dreesed always helped me. I agree that the way you are dressed reflects the way you treat the situation. Now my daughter is 20 and I've persuaded her that dressing is very important in job-hunting. I'm glad that at my school students have to wear professional sets of attire. They don't like it. but they will appriciate it in future, when they will have to wear the same clothes. Now they have to understand that every siruation, every place needs special attire.
I have always been sure that the dressing style is the first mark of future success in a job. This has become a kind of principle that I don't think much about but react to quickly and definitely when I see somebody dressed inappropriately for the occasion. Even being a teacher and working with "free-style" students I usually insist on certain dressing norms and standards. It's because I also think that the way you are dressed reflects the way you treat the situation. One of the most important things is neatness and tidiness. What is your personal opinion about the subject?
