DRESSING RIGHT FOR THE INTERVIEW

DRESSING RIGHT FOR THE INTERVIEW

Not to sound very cliché, but first impression lasts way longer than your first sentence especially if you are going for a job interview. We all ask ourselves if our clothes really make a difference when we know for sure that we are the right candidate for the applied job.  The answer is an emphatic ‘yes’, since the first impression you make on the interviewer is going be an important factor in deciding whether or not you will get the job.

People often neglect their outlook when going for an interview, as they do not realize the importance of dressing and the overall outlook in impressing the interviewer. While there is no doubt that your qualification, skills and education are the primary assets that help in getting the required job, it is also true that the way you dress up for an interview will heavily affect your chances of getting the job.

When it comes to appearing for an important job interview, impeccable grooming is a must whether you are applying for a high level managerial post or an entry level position. In fact, your appearance can actually set the tone for the interview in the first few minutes and help the interviewer form an opinion about you, which can enhance or diminish your prospects of bagging the job. You want to demonstrate to your possible superior that you are a person who takes the interview process seriously and that you will be just as serious about your job. The best way to send this message is by showing up to the interview properly dressed up.

According to research, many interviewers make up their minds about you during the first 15 seconds of the meeting. While the job seekers prepare vehemently for the job interview, mastering their tactics, going through the prospective employer and what not, very few people know how to properly dress up for an interview. This is one of the most fatal mistakes a person can make when it comes to mishandling an interview.

Dos and Don’ts of dressing up for an interview

In the wake of the recession, the competition surrounding every job has increased manifolds and one cannot afford to lose points at any given facet. Here are a few things you can do to make sure that when you appear for an interview you are properly dressed and have made no fatal mistakes in that area.

Outfit

The first thing that the interviewer is going to note about you when you enter the room is your dress. For an interview you have to dress professional, even if the company’s general dress code is casual.  You cannot show up in jeans and a T shirt and still hope to be taken seriously. Wear a proper suit in muted color tones such as black or grey. Do not choose to wear an odd color since you might end up looking ridiculous. Make sure that the clothes you wear to an interview have been freshly cleaned and are free of wrinkles. Nothing makes a worse impression than wearing an untidy or wrinkled suit to a job interview.  Make sure that you pick out which suit or dress you are going to wear to the interview and then get it ironed or dry cleaned, whatever the case may be. Also check to see that none of the shirt buttons are missing and no other repairs are needed. Get the suit ready to be worn, the night before the interview. If your suits are too outdated and are completely in contradiction with the current fashion trends, it is time to invest in a new suit. You have to keep in mind that the investment is totally worth it since it can help in boosting your career. You do not have to go out of the way and buy an expensive piece of clothing, just find something decent and stylish within your price range.

Shoes

Make sure that the shoes that you wear are clean and traditional. Nothing can leave a worse impression than a person wearing dirty shoes to an interview. For women, wearing unprofessional and uneasy shoes gives the wrong signal. When you show up for a job interview, your entire persona should exude professionalism so that the employers get the right message. Wear comfortable yet stylish shoes since you are going to be working for 8 hours straight and your feet need to be the most comfortable.

Hair

Your hair should be freshly washed and neatly styled. Long, open and unruly hair leaves an unprofessional impression. For women, it is ideal to wear their hair up rather than leaving it down, men should trim the hair so that they give a neat and professional impression. It is advised that you give yourself a neat shave in order to create a positive impression on the interviewer.

Perfume

While smelling good is always a plus, make sure that you do not drench yourself in cologne as it can have a detrimental effect. Wearing too much perfume creates an uneasy aura when you are sitting with the interviewer in a closed room. So, it is always better to keep a balanced approached when spraying on the perfume. Moreover make sure that you choose to use a subtle fragrance so that it does not irritate the interviewer.

Jewelry

When it comes to jewelry, simplicity is the way to go. Wearing a lot of ornaments makes you look unprofessional and is distracting for the interviewer. A simple watch and a small pair of earrings is enough. Wear anything else, and you risk ruining your first impression. Also it is better to simply avoid wearing any jewelry, rather than wearing low quality things that ruin your overall look.

Makeup

While wearing makeup to an interview is essential, you have to be very careful regarding how to go about it. Apply minimum makeup since you do not want to show up looking like a fashion model. You have to appear practical in all aspects of your demeanor, so make sure that you apply make up to accentuate your basic features rather than completely going overboard.

Final check

When you are all dressed up and about to leave for the interview, make sure that you check yourself in the mirror from head to toe so that if something is amiss you can fix it before leaving.

Concluding thoughts

Scoring the perfect score in an interview is more than just having the right qualifications. Your personality, dressing sense, the way you talk and the level of confidence you exhibit during the interview, are all very important factors that help the interviewer in deciding your future. So make sure that you are fully prepared to make the best impression as soon as you enter the room. So dress to perfection to score some points with the interviewer right away. However, bear in mind that your dress alone will not do the job; you have to be well prepared and confident during the interview as well.

PROMOTION TO THE MANAGEMENT

PROMOTION TO THE MANAGEMENT

You have just been promoted to a management slot and suddenly you are responsible for the welfare and productivity of a whole unit. Your success is suddenly dependent on variables outside of your own personal domain and a new set of eyes is turning to you for guidance and support.

Successful management requires skills entirely separate from the job skills that got you promoted. In all likelihood, you have demonstrated these skills during the course of your career in order to secure the promotion in the first place. However, it helps to pinpoint exactly what it is that will be required of you in this new role and to armor yourself with all the skills you will need in order to succeed as a manager.

Formulate a Game Plan

This is best done well before you assume your new role. Arriving on the first day game plan intact allows you to firmly and solidly start making your mark without appearing hesitant and indecisive to the team.

Take time off in between roles to brainstorm and plan ahead with a clear mind. Start by researching the new role in detail. If the promotion involves a move to a new company, get all the information you can on the company, the industry and the people you will work with. Learn about the company's reputation in its industry and its competitive positioning. Has the company/ unit been losing ground to its competitors? If, so, and why? Are others in the industry diminishing your market share through innovations, cost advantages or pricing strategies? How effective does the company's marketing strategy appear to be? You will also want to know how your own unit is faring both within the organization and in relation to competitors outside of the organization.

Once you have a good feel for the terrain, you can start formulating a rough game plan for the first few months. Does your research indicate that your unit needs change? What changes do you anticipate making and in what time frame? Your game plan should incorporate goals defined for you by your own manager as discussed during the interview stage as well as enhancements you yourself anticipate making. Plan for the near term as well as for the intermediate and long term. This plan will be revised a multitude of times as you assume your role and learn more about the company and unit, but it helps tremendously to have a rough framework to build on. The more you can learn about the product/service, company, industry and team at this stage, the more you can anticipate your role and plan ahead.

Plan an Early Success

Start as you mean to carry on. It is ideal if your game plan can include guidelines for a successful project that your team can start implementing immediately. An early success will boost the team's morale and establish you as a successful leader early on. Choose this first project carefully and plan for it to involve the whole team. Make sure the project is one that carries a very low risk of failure while having high visibility and a clear value-added to the rest of the company. It can be a new mandate or client you are quite confident of winning, improved customer service, increased sales or the implementation of a new system you are already familiar with. Whatever you choose make sure the success milestone is quite achievable. Also ensure that you yourself will play a role and exhibit effective leadership skills throughout the course of the project. Upon completion however, give the whole team credit and play down your own involvement to maximize their sense of accomplishment and their pride in their success. Emphasize th e difficulty and importance of the project so that the team will feel a heightened sense of achievement and will have more confidence in your leadership.

Know Your Team

Your first few weeks on the job should be about getting to know your team and the role of your unit within the organization. Meet your team members in one-to-one meetings and get to know what each person does, what their personal goals and ambitions are, what their skills are, how challenged they are in their role, what problems they have had in the past, what they would like to see done differently and what they expect from their manager. These meetings should give you a general grasp of each person's competence and attitude, both crucial variables in deciding who you want to keep and who needs special attention. As you assess the skills of each of your team members, ask yourself how you can build and capitalize on these strengths to help the unit and challenge the team. These meetings are also crucial in getting you in the habit of listening to your people. In any organization, the people are the most important asset and a good manager will maintain a constant unhampered dialogue with his people that win their trust and loyalty and ensures they are inspired to work at their optimal level of productivity.

Define Your Team's Mission and Value System

A team with a well defined set of objectives and a clear sense of the unit's value system works better than a team engaged in an endless array of daily tasks. Defining your team's 'mission' successfully should include both a set of solid, quantitative objectives as well as a less easily defined framework of shared 'values'.

The solid objectives may include goals such as increasing sales by 10% per annum, creating a new product or service, or providing a low cost solution to a client/company problem. However these solid goals are not enough to sustain growth momentum in the long run. To ensure maximum resilience in the long run, successful organizations invest just as much in establishing a value structure for their organization. What are the set of beliefs or what is the 'spirit' that will appeal to your team and that will ensure their maximum loyalty, flexibility and productivity? What unified sense of purpose or 'philosophy' can you build into the overall framework to boost morale and lift the team's spirit? True long-term success will be achieved if beyond communicating clear quantitative performance targets, you can unify your team behind a common philosophy and give them a sense of true pride and accomplishment as they work towards some common purpose. Your unit's mission and value structure should be defined such that at the end of the day, everyone takes a special pride in their work and feels like a winner.

Act Like a Leader

The best leaders lead by example. Confidence, integrity, fairness and a strong work ethic of your own are critical to your winning the respect and loyalty of your team. You will then need a clear vision, solid administrative skills, open communications channels, flexibility and a good understanding of all the different personalities that work for you in order to ensure that the team is challenged and working towards some common goal. Remember that the team is always looking for the precedent set by you and exhibit the skills, attitude and work ethic you would like to foster in them. A good manager will, by example, motivate and inspire his team to be the best that they can be and will give them the opportunity to showcase their skills and contribute to the welfare of the overall organization. Flexibility is key in bringing out the initiative of each individual team member; by allowing them to step outside the narrow confines of their daily routines you nurture their creativity and independence and increase their productivity. The best leaders are capable, through their own example, and through guidance, positive reinforcement and inspiration rather than domination, of bringing out the dormant talents and latent capabilities of their team members and thereby improving the productivity of the organization.