Clean shirt, new shoes
And I don’t know where I am goin’ to
Silk suit, black tie
I don’t need a reason why
They come runnin’ just as fast as they can
‘Cause every girl crazy ’bout a sharp dressed man
Songwriters: Gibbons, William; Hill, Joe Michael; Beard, Frank
When the band ZZ Top sang these lyrics, they weren’t speaking of job hunting but should have been.
The fact is once you get past a phone interview, subtle influences play a large role in your getting hired almost to an equal degree as hard skills.
After all, you must by now know that you are not the only one who a firm will interview who has the skills they need (in large cities hundreds or thousands of qualified candidates are available); thus nuances start to play a part in how a firm differentiates candidates.
And one of those nuances is your wardrobe.
Now understand, I won’t go into the exact outfit to wear. Some years ago, I would have written about a very differnt outfit for men and women than I would now.
But I will tell you that whether you are 25 or 60 and applying for a job, there is “a look,” a style a way to look that will help you feel great about yourself and help a firm like at you like “a winner,” “a leader,” or a “champion.”
You see, too often, job applicants where good outfits but they aren’t great outfits.
And it doesn’t need to cost a lot of money to dress well for an interview.
It just needs to not cost enough to help you look and feel great.
And you need to purchase the suit or outfit in time to have it altered before your interview.