For the next four weeks of this blog, quintessential image advisor, Boye Falonipe will be filling us in on the best way to impress our interviewers in order to attain that dream job.
Afterall, the reason for the frantic job search is to bag the job. Boye tells us that little thing matter and that you have just a little time to impress that boss or that board of human resource people.
Enjoy.
In a professional’s life, no other time requires your image to be at the spotless best than while attending an interview. Due to the limited time available to make an assessment and the need to come to a fair conclusion, all areas of your image are scrutinized, quickly and thoroughly along with your competences: your appearance, speech, comportment, even your social media image.
To succeed and get the job you desire, you have to stand out. This article has been written to help you do just that, if you take your time to practice what is written here. The article is in four parts, intended to be released in series, so that you can have just enough per time to focus on and get right; the parts are:
• Part 1: How to Dress for an Interview
• Part 2: Responding to Questions
• Part 3: Posture and Body Language
• Part 4 : Mind Your e-Mage and After your Interview
PART 1 WINNING IMAGE AT JOB INTERVIEWS
HOW TO DRESS FOR AN INTERVIEW
Interviews are one of the occasions where first impression determines much of what happens within less than half an hour, and after. Dressing appropriately is not the ultimate judge of your competence; it may not get you the job by itself, but sure will give you a competitive edge and a positive first impression that could very well set the tone for the entire interview. If you must be taken seriously, and let your intelligence have a piercing impression on the panel, then you ‘dress seriously’ like someone who means business and actually respects the organization being represented by the panel.
Dressing shabbily to an interview could be a big distraction, so could ‘overdressing’. Simplicity, not sophistication, is the word to bear in mind when appearing for an interview; that of course depends on the level or position you are being interviewed for.
The typical interview dress code is business professional, it is safe for any industry that you are into, whether creative or conservative, (although the creative ones such as IT and advertising could permit a more relaxed appearance). Interview dresses are generally not relaxed for the ‘intending’. Women particularly need to be more concerned about their appearance because they have more areas to attend to-and get it wrong, besides, a woman’s appearance seems to be more important than a man’s especially if she is interviewed by a woman. It has been established that the rate of turns-downs for women at interviews is three times that of men’s for improper dressing.
Generally, when appearing for an interview, you should look very neat, wearing clean, well-pressed and fitting clothes; moderate jewelry, well-groomed hair and nails; proper and polished shoes. Shoes are critical accessories. Many people judge taste, attention to details and diligence by just looking at your shoes. This may be subjective and unfair, but worth considering.
Interview Appearance Guidelines for Men
Suit: Matching suit in navy, black or gray (pin stripe or solid) is most appropriate. Alternatively, wear a navy blazer and gray slacks.
Shirt: Wear white or light blue, long sleeve, dress shirt
Tie: Choose silk tie in subtle pattern that would contrast with the jacket and coordinate with (not necessarily match) the shirt.
Shoes/Belt: Clean, heeled (not flat heel), lace-up leather shoes, well-polished too. Black is recommended strongly, you cannot go wrong with it. Also, wear a leather belt with unobtrusive buckle (forget about your spinning buckles here), it should blend with or match the shoes.
Grooming: Low-cut hair style is best and take care of your nails (clip them) and attend to mouth odour by chewing something minty before entering the room, or use a mint spray; don’t leave the gum in your mouth!
Other Accessories: Your watch should not be too bogus, don’t wear earrings even if you usually do, and don’t wear more than a wedding band on your finger. Excessive cologne could cause allergic reactions from your interviewers, so keep it mild. Don’t carry in a fabric laptop bag with you or your ‘transparent folder’ or that flat office file; better carry a briefcase or a simple portfolio that contains photocopy and originals of your credentials and Curriculum Vitae.
Interview Appearance Guidelines for Women
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Suit/dresses: Choose skirt or trouser suit in dark colours (black, navy or gray); conservatively tailored dress (you should wear a jacket over it for more professional look); if the skirt is light, wear a dark coloured jacket. Skirt or dress should be knee length or slightly longer.
Shirt/blouses: Your blouse or shirt should provide a little more visual interest (than the man’s) but avoid transparent, tight fitting, low neck line, waistline-revealing tops. Arms should be covered to the biceps at least.
Shoes: Wear low-heeled pumps or loafers in dark neutral colours; avoid open toe shoes best reserved for social occasions. Ensure it is clean, scuff-free and well-polished.
Grooming/Make-up: Attend to mouth odour as recommended for men, wear natural-looking make-up and clear nail polish.
Accessories: Do not carry a briefcase with a purse- one at a time. Use a thin necklace to accentuate your neckline and keep the pendant simple. Only one earring per ear and avoid the dangling ones, and only one ring per hand.
Some interview require certain dress codes, if you are not certain, call the human resources department of the company. Overall, the aim with the dress code guidelines is to draw attention to your face; what you are saying and your general deportment.
Now that you have dressed to impress the panel, how do you speak to complement your appearance? Read this in Responding to Questions
This article “Winning Image at Job Interviews” was written by Boye Falonipe, Principal Consultant at Noir Enhancement- Business Image and Protocol Consultant (www.noirenhancement.com )
Boye is the author of the essential manual on business dressing “Succeeding with Appearance in Business and Career”
www.succeedingwithappearance.com
Twitter: @NoirEnhancement
Facebook: Boye Falonipe
RESPONDING TO QUESTIONS
Do not be mistaken; interviews are about making great impressions- that is what they called you for anyway. If your CV was enough to make all the impressions needed to get them to hire you, there would have been no need for an interview. The hiring manager wants you to stand out in the way you describe your competencies and experiences. They want to listen to your words and how you order those words, therefore mastering how to talk at interviews enhances your image and your chances of being hired.
The following tips would be helpful, when taken seriously and practiced:
Listen
In order to respond to questions correctly, you need to be a good listener at the interview, even if you fumble at doing so normally. There is the tendency to want to take up the airspace and fill it with your voice either out of nervousness or sometimes, overconfidence. Listen!
Listening involves concentrating on your conversation partner (this time, the interviewer), and ignoring other activities and stimuli, including your nervousness. It involves paying attention to the interviewer’s body language also: smile, excitement in the voice, tone…generally, cues to his disposition to you. A generally bright disposition to you means you can ride on that, reflect the smile and excitement and boost your confidence. On the other hand, if the vibes you get are not so positive, it gives you a cue to talk more convincingly, yet calmly and confidently. You can choose to speak to other people on the panel with healthier dispositions. Don’t let anyone drain your confidence!
Speaking
• Pause and think about your answers: When questions are posed and you have listened, don’t rush an answer if it is not coming so fast; pause and think before you talk. This moment of pause can also be used to paraphrase the question (say the question back in your own words to them) in order to get a better understanding of it.
• Speak clearly: the interviewer’s time is precious; there are other candidates waiting to be interviewed, if not, his table has files unattended. He may not have the time to keep asking you to repeat yourself. Speak to be heard and understood. Let your mouth be seen, take your hands away from it; do not chew anything in your mouth.
• Speak confidently: to sound confident, do not rush; pace your speech comfortably. Do not lull either. Let your voice be up, let your tone be alive and happy too. There is however no way you can sound confident if you do not know yourself well enough to talk about yourself or the company and your role. These are the areas of discussion, usually, at an interview; so do your research and be well prepared.
• Say only what needs to be said: don’t be tempted to say too much. At an interview, questions typically focus on these areas: background, skill and experience; education and training; goals and objectives; weaknesses and potential challenges. Provide concise answers to these and do not ramble. A follow up article to this would show you how to respond to typical interview questions.
• Mind your grammar and tenses: clear evidence that you have basic education required for your job is ability to communicate fairly well in English language (Nigeria’s official Language). If you cannot, it discredits your degree or diploma claims. Speak correctly with the right vocabulary, tenses and grammar. An occasional slip may be condoned, but making an error in every sentence may work against you. Part of your preparation to get a good job may be to get a grammar coach or an honest friend with whom you can constantly converse, and get corrected.
Possibility of small talk
Depending on the mood of the interview, there may occasion for a chit chat or small talk, where your interviewers engage you in discussion not related to the interview directly; but do not be deceived, assessment is still going on. You may get into a chat about the weather, yesterday’s game, your tie, just about anything. The key to doing well is to be open, sincere, to care genuinely. Do not let the chat go one way. When a question, say, about your tie is asked: “nice tie, where did you get that”? A good response could be; “oh, thank you, my sister gave me as a birthday present. You tie is not bad too; do you like ties?” You have shown confidence, openness and sincerity (by mentioning your sister), and you have bounced back the conversation to him. He picks it up, and before you know it, you have built a good rapport that will sure work for you. Imagine if you had stopped with “Thank you”.
Twitter: @NoirEnhancement
Facebook: Boye Falonipe
