- HubPages»
- Business and Employment»
- Employment & Jobs»
- Interviewing for a Job
How To Have A Good Job Interview Appearance: Leave Tight Clothes, Stringy Hair and Facial Piercings At Home
What Not To Wear
Some ineffective (downright bad!) advice on effective Job Interview Appearance is circulating around the Internet, interspersed among the effective advice and job seekers are becoming confused. Following the bad advice results in job seekers appearing at interviews without a hope of being hired.
Men's Attire For the Workplace
The media does not help the situation. Our local newspaper ran a front page story for the lifestyle section of the paper, illustrating what good, professional "style" is for the 18-to-24 year old. The lead photo showed a young man in a crumpled suit of which the trousers were too long and dragging, but with an attractive shirt and tie. His combat boots did not in any way compliment the suit.
The asymmetrical hair cut was interesting, but hung down to his shoulders on one side and had a brilliant fuschia streak shooting through its black tresses. His eye makeup was too garish. That all would be fine in an art gallery, design company, and some other appropriate venues, but not for general office occupations. Fortuantely, he was not wearing facial piercings in the nose, cheeks, lips, eyebrowns, and chin - I have seen those in job interviews and they do not play well in securing a position.
What You May Need
The asymmetrical hair cut was interesting, but hung down to his shoulders on one side and had a brilliant fuscia streak shooting through its black tresses. His eye makeup was too garish. That all would be fine in an art gallery, design company, and some other appropriate venues, but not for general office occupations.
If you're going to go with asmmetrical hair, don't go any longer than Olivia Wilde's in Tron:Legacy. It's long- and off kilter enough to be very interesting, but not too weird for work.
Eye makeup? - Men and women, both -- Use a light hand for the workplace; the less makeup the better in many cases. Sometimes "none" is the best of the best.
Men and Women - Need Clothing? Try County Jobs Offices and These Places
- 10th Anniversary of the Clothing Bank of Delaware - Friendship House
Your city may have clothing banks in churches or with non-profit organizations. - His Hands Ministries Clothing Bank
- Radford Clothing Bank | Home
This is a sample of a good clothing bank in Virginia. Search the web for clothing banks in your city and county. - Renton Kiwanis Clothes Bank
Non-profit Clothes Bank serving Renton, Washington
Fit your clothing and shoes correctly.
Women's Work Appearance
An Internet story recently featured a young woman with long fly-away hair, neatly done understated makeup (very nice), a too-tight, too-short blue jacket, and form fitting black pants that were almost leggings.
Again, clunky clodhopper draft-horse type bulky brown shoes did not compliment the outfit. Something sleeker in footwear is appropriate for job interviews - and please save the Gaga and Minaj shoes for the clubs, where they are appropriate.
Good advice is to loosen and lengthen the jacket, French braid the hair, and get some more compact shoes. Looser trousers with a seam pressed down the center front legs would be perfect. Many employment counselors still advise women to wear a skirt or dress for an interview, but I find that that is not necessary in many settings.
For flair and excitement, red or yellow socks would be entertaining and eye-catching. A single piece of attractive jewelry on the lapel of the jacket would be a good choice as well (choose jewelry or bright socks, but both would be the overkill).
Hey! My feet are not clumsy, it's just my shoes!
Women and Work
- Top 10 Tips for Women in the Workplace
Expert advice for women entering or re-entering the workforce in today's economy. - Top 5 Hidden Reasons You May Not be Hired
Don't be suspicious in interviews, but remain alert to red flags. - US Employment History: Women Left the Workforce in Larger Numbers 2000s - 2010s
Some wonder if men are losing jobs to women because women will accept a lower pay rate for the same job in America. - How to Get a Job When You Are Pregnant
Interviewing for a job when you are obviously pregnant is a hard thing to accomplish.
© 2013 Patty Inglish MS