Personal Presentation

Friday, July 6, 2012

Updated: 13/10/2015

Today on Let's Get Working we'll talk about personal presentation and what you should wear to an interview. When attending an interview you want the employer to think that you are professional and that you will take the job seriously. This is why it is important to dress to impress.

In the Interview skills Part 1 article I briefly listed what you should wear to look professional. In this article we will go over this again and expand on that information.

What does presenting yourself well say to the employer?

Based on your appearance, an employer makes up their mind within the first 10 seconds of seeing you whether or not they want to hire you. How you dress says a lot about you.

• You have self-confidence.
• You care about your appearance.
• You have respect for the employer and their company.
• You take the interview seriously and want to be taken seriously in return. You are more likely to be taken seriously if you are well dressed.

Grooming

Being well groomed is an important aspect to presentation. The effort you put into wearing professional clothes can be ruined by looking messy.

Before an interview you should make sure you have done the following things.

• Had plenty of sleep the night before.
• Bathed or showered.
• Brushed your teeth.
• Combed your hair so it is neat and if necessary had a haircut.
• Haven't used too much deodorant, perfume or aftershave.
• Your Nails are neatly trimmed.

Men

Shave off your facial hair. A clean shaven face is neat and professional, a scruffy beard makes you look like you don't care. Plus the beauty of facial hair is that you can grow it back once you get the job.
If you decide to keep your beard make sure you have neatly trimmed it and stay away from overly fancy styles.

Women

• If you wear nail polish make sure it is a conservative natural colour and not bright or eye catching.
• Conservatively style your hair. The idea is to look professional not to display your creativity.

Clothing

When it comes to dressing for an interview it is better to be overdressed than underdressed. If you are unsure of what to wear dress conservatively with neutral colours or ask the person that set the interview what is acceptable for their company.

Remember how you dress during the day to day operation of the job may be completely different to how you dress for the interview.

In both cases your clothing should look neat and be ironed.

Men

• A suit with jacket and pants
• A long sleeve shirt
• A belt
• A tie, solid colour or simple pattern.
• Dark socks & Leather shoes
• No jewellery

Women

• A suit jacket with pants or a skirt
• Coordinated blouse
• Conservative shoes
• Limited jewellery (no dangling earrings or arms full of bracelets)

What not to wear?

You want to be remembered for your skills, experience and qualifications. Not for what you wore to your interview.

No casual clothes

If you wear it around the house or on a trip to the local shops, then it probably isn't acceptable during an interview. No t-shirts, jumpers, jeans, joggers or thongs.

No bright colours

Neutral colours such as navy blue, grey, black, brown and white are the best colours to wear to a job interview. Pale coloured shirts are acceptable, but you shouldn't wear anything that is very bright.

No complex patterns or pictures

You want the interviewer to focus on what you're saying not the picture on your clothing. By wearing solid colours you can ensure your clothes don't steal the show.

For clothing such as ties, small or simple patterns such as stripes are acceptable. Patterns such as animal print are not.

No bright or heavy makeup

Looking like a circus clown or an art project is very distracting and will also make you look unprofessional. Stick to wearing a light amount of natural looking colours.

No Headphones

Don't show up to the interview with headphones dangling from your ears. They are fine to listen to music while you are traveling, but take them out before you arrive.

Greeting your employer with a hand full of cables or with cables dangling from your ears will leave a bad impression.

Until Next Time,
Steven

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Previous Comments

Kirstin pickardd from Seven hills posted on 14 Aug 2012
What a great video you have put up

Clint Beattie from Caringbah Nova posted on 9 Jul 2012
helpful stuff.....thanks Martha