Job Tips - Dress for Success
You have heard the phrase, "Dress for Success." This is very important in your job search. First impressions can make or break an interview, so presenting a Tailored Image is a good first step to Promoting Success in your job search.
By Fran Watson
Employers can tell horror stories about people who show up on their doorstep looking for work with: torn jeans, t-shirts with offensive sayings, dirty fingernails, uncombed hair, curlers in their hair, and poor attitudes. While you have the right to dress the way you want on your own time, it is important that you dress the way an employer wants if you expect to be considered for a job. (This may also mean removing studs or getting a hair cut.)
When you are dropping off resumes, dress as if you were going to be interviewed, because you might happen to be in the right place at the right time and have the opportunity to speak to the employer or manager right away.
Many businesses have now adopted a more casual dress code, but it's a good idea to take some time before your interview to check out how the other employees are dressed. A good rule of thumb is to dress a little better for the interview than you would expect to dress on a daily basis. Dress above the position you want when to make a good first impression.
It is not necessary to have a big budget to present a tailored image. All it takes is time, careful shopping and a little ingenuity.
Working as a Career/Employment Counsellor for the past 14 years, she is also a Workshop Developer/Facilitator, a member of Toastmasters International, a former member of Canadian Association for Professional Speakers where she received the President's Award in 2002, a graduate of Waterloo University in 2000 (after 13 years of distance education while raising 4 children as a single parent), and is currently completing courses for her Teaching Adults Certificate.
