Appearance Matters At Job Interviews

Picture this: You are tasked with interviewing candidates for work in a food manufacturing facility. The job requires maintaining high sanitation standards, meaning that hairnets and beard restraints, coupled with long sleeve shirts and long pants must be worn in a wet, hot, work environment. The first job candidate for you to interview walks through the door wearing a gold chain, cut-off shorts and sandals. He is not wearing a shirt, and is sporting a mane of un-combed shoulder length hair. On the strength of the information alone in this true story, should he get the job?

You’re Selling Yourself
When preparing for a job interview, whether with one person or an entire team of people, it is important to remember you are representing a salable product: YOU. The way in which you walk, speak and appear makes an impression.

Much has been said about the importance of personal appearance by job candidates when going to job interviews, yet examples abound every day of people getting it wrong. Here are a few things to remember when heading out the door to that hard-won interview.

I used to know managers who said they decided on a job candidate at the handshake. Studies show this is quite common. In that brief moment, it is not what you say that may matter most to them, but what your appearance says about you.

Tips:
Candidates interviewing with organizations having casual work environments are especially prone to error in knowing how to dress. Because all not casual clothing is suitable for every work environment, you must determine what is appropriate to wear to the interview. Clothing that works well for the beach, yard work, dance club, exercise session, and sporting event may not be appropriate for a professional appearance at work.

Clothing that reveals too much cleavage, back, chest, feet, stomach or underwear is not appropriate for most places of business, even in business casual settings. Additionally, clothing should be pressed and never wrinkled, and is generally unacceptable if torn, dirty, or frayed. Clothing having words or pictures that may be offensive is unacceptable, but clothing with fashion brand names conservatively displayed (e.g., Dockers, Izod, etc.), is usually okay.

Proper dress for an interview in a business casual environment does not necessarily mean wearing a suit and tie. Even if the interviewer is sitting there in a t-shirt and jeans with big holes in the knees, it is best practice for you to present a clean, neat appearance, and be dressed to a higher standard than the workplace/job requires. Candidates are never down-rated for dressing too well, but frequently are for not looking the part.

Make a Good Impression
Please remember to take a good look at yourself through the eyes of an interviewer before going to that interview, take steps to dress appropriately, and work hard at closing the "sale." Oh, what happened with the candidate mentioned at the beginning of this article? He was not considered a good job fit and did not get the job.

Gordon Walter is a professional resume maker / Resume writer with Reliable Resumes. Reliable Resumes is a Resume Service providing resume writing services for Professional Resumes and Executive Resumes. He also provides interview training and articles and information about how to make a resume on his website. The original article is available at: http://www.reliableresumes.com/blog/2009/07/candidates-dressing-correctly-at-job-interviews

10 Transferable Skills For Job Searching

With national unemployment moving higher each passing month, candidates encounter significant competition for jobs. No matter what career field you are (or were) working in, there is undoubtedly knowledge and skill you possess that could appeal across many industries and fields. Do not limit yourself. Identify those skills and look for them at potential future employers. Following is a list of skill areas having broad application:

1. Problem-Solving
People who can identify problems, research solutions and make effective decisions are increasingly desired in such fields as business administration, management consulting, public administration, science, medicine and engineering.

2. Technical
Technology is advanced in all industries. Installation, testing and repair of electrical, electronic and mechanical equipment in fields (such as engineering, telecommunications, and transportation) require people with advanced vocational-technical skills.

3. People Relations
Often, the success of a company depends upon how well people work together. It is the job of managers and administrators to understand people needs and how best to meet those needs within the confines of the employment environment. This can be especially good to include in executive resumes.

4. Computer Programming
It almost goes without saying that understanding how to harness a computer's power and programming it to meet the specific needs of a particular company can dramatically increase your employment options.

5. Ability to Teach and Train
Our modern society develops and collects more new data in a day than our ancestors did in a year. As a result, there will continue to be a demand for people with teaching and training skills in the fields of education, social services, management and general commerce.

6. Science and Math
Great advances are made each day in the fields of science, medicine and engineering. People skilled in the sciences and math are needed to provide support by doing computational tasks and analysis in these fields.

7. Money Management
It is essential to carefully plan and manage personal finances. Investment brokers, security officers, retirement planners, accountants and CPAs require support staff with these skills to help meet this need.

8. Information Management
Knowledge is now seen as a major contributor to our economy, and individuals who possess the ability to manage information are critical. Systems analysts, information technologists, database administrators, knowledge managers, and telecommunication engineers are examples of positions utilizing information management skills.

9. Language
Global organizations depend upon people with the ability to speak a number of languages. Russian, Japanese, Chinese, and German have long been taught by many schools. Having this skill can enhance your employment opportunities and compensation.

10. Management
Understanding how to run a company is in demand. The ability to manage people, systems, resources and finances; to understand the needs of consumers and translating those needs into business opportunities is required by organizations large and small.

Perhaps you have skills from work performed for volunteer jobs. Be creative and study job descriptions of positions to which these might apply. Writing professional resumes emphasizing such pertinent skills may give you the edge necessary to make your job hunt a success.

Gordon Walter is a professional resume maker / Resume writer with Reliable Resumes. Reliable Resumes is a Resume Service providing resume writing services for Professional Resumes and Executive Resumes. The original article is available at: http://www.reliableresumes.com/blog/2009/07/identify-your-transferable-skills

Be Ready-Some Jobs Must Be Won At the Handshake

You have probably heard that many hiring managers claim they can tell in an interview if the candidate is right for his/her organization at “the handshake.” Alas, I suspect it is true. I worked for a busy corporate vice president once who was very proud of the fact he could tell immediately if someone was “the one” we were looking for. If true, it is a shame, because I sense there is much more to a person than can be observed in the first five seconds with them. That said, we must accept for the moment that some number of managers make hiring decisions all too quickly, and now is the time to plot a strategy for beating them at their game.

Great, professional resumes are important and can get you in the door, but making a good first impression at your interview is important as well. As the job candidate, you must seek to control everything within your power and not worry about the rest. Following are some suggested behaviors everyone can control:

Nerves
I hate it when people tell me to relax when there is good reason not to. But to the extent possible, do not present a sweaty, shaky palm in your all-important first greeting. Get to the interview a little early to provide insurance against any problems getting there. Practice the trick of many public speakers by taking a series of long, deep breaths before starting the interview. This will give you opportunity to appear relaxed and confident.

Dress is still important
It is hard to believe that many hiring managers now in their 50’s and 60’s were once “flower children” in the hippie generation and sported long hair and rags for clothes. Why then do some of these same people care what you wear to an interview? It is because hiring managers are looking for someone who can represent the employer well. If they were inviting you to “hang-out” it would be one thing, but business is different. Whether working as a trash hauler or computer programmer, a good rule of thumb is to dress for the interview better than expected. A suit for most “white collar” jobs, and business casual dress is the order of the day for all other (even truly casual), positions.

Details count
For those managers who insist on a good handshake, give them one. Look the interviewer squarely in the eye, grasp their hand firmly, smile, and shake. It should not hurt (either of you), and is a universal way of greeting. Remember all the times your mother said to “straighten up?” Now is the time. Maintaining eye contact and practicing good posture says you are confident and self-assured. Body language telegraphs a lot about someone’s personality and job interest. Looking down frequently, crossing arms/legs, tapping the table, jumping your leg, etc., can send all the wrong messages.

Being in control of those little things only you can control will cause a better feeling about how you did in the interview, and help an employer to decide you are “the one” they are looking for.

Gordon Walter is a professional resume maker / Resume writer with Reliable Resumes. Reliable Resumes is a Resume Service providing resume writing services for Professional Resumes and Executive Resumes. The original article is available at: http://www.reliableresumes.com/blog/2009/06/be-ready-some-jobs-must-be-won-at-the-handshake