Dress for hire
“Dress for the job you want, not the job you have” has become one of the most popular Internet clichés when it comes to motivating people to dress a little more professionally in their day-to-day lives (the fact that it’s often placed over images of people dressed as Batman notwithstanding).
It’s a lovely message that encourages people to follow their dreams and be themselves, but for many students there is one problem with it, they don’t yet have a job to dress for.
A job interview traditionally represents the final hurdle in one’s quest for employment, they’ve already impressed their potential employer with their resume, and references have been checked. All that’s left is to sit down, confidently answer the questions presented to you and walk out with a new job and your head held high. After all, you’ve thought of everything and it should be simple at this point.
Unfortunately, all the best hard work and preparation for an interview can be undone the instant that a HR rep lays eyes on you if you are not dressed like you are going to be a good fit in the work environment.
One of the most popular misconceptions about ethics in hiring is that a human resources representative cannot make their hiring decisions based on material aspects such as how you look or how you dress, and that they are supposed to be making these decisions based on your intelligence, your experience and the quality of your personality.
In a perfectly moral world this might be true, but in Ontario any manager is free to turn you down just because they don’t like the way you’re dressed, or if they think that you’re not attractive, or “of the right look” enough, really it’s up to them as long as they are not explicitly (i.e. telling you) that they are denying you based on your gender, skin colour or any of the “14 prohibited grounds of discrimination” as disclosed by the Ontario Human Rights Commission, and your attractiveness and style is not one of them.
With this in mind, it is of the utmost importance that you carefully consider what it is you put on before entering into an interview space, keeping in mind the environment you’re applying to, namely what is considered to be work attire in that office, and how can you help present that same vibe to your prospective employer.
A good minimum starting point should be attempting to match with the level of dress that the first employees you see are wearing, and up it to how they would dress when working before their CEO.
Are the men of the office walking around in a full suit, or are trousers and a collared shirt sufficient? Are the women in power suits or skirts, heels or flats? Once you’ve figured this out you have a starting point that can easily be built off, adding a few upgrades here and there to make you stand out without appearing like you’re trying too hard, such as adding a tie for a male or a nice bit of jewelry for a female.
Too extreme of a divergence from the organizational image that the company is attempting to convey, even if you are going in with an above and beyond mindset, the person interviewing you is unlikely to see it the same way that you are, and far more likely to see it as either a blatant attempt to be overly impressive, or as a drastic misunderstanding of the organization’s image.
People’s styles are important to them, it is part of how we express ourselves and to some people, can actually be what defines them in the eyes of others, and they find themselves unable or unwilling to alter it in order to find a job, preferring to stick to the notions of self-expression and individuality that is so important in their day to day lives, only to find that the companies they want to work for expect something totally different than what they expected. It is important that a balance be struck, if you’re drastically uncomfortable in what you’re wearing, the interviewer will see that as obviously as they would notice if you walked in wearing shorts.
As stated, the cliché is nice but “dress for the job you want” is really the important part, once you have that job you’re going to be dressing just like that for the rest of your tenure.
It’s a lovely message that encourages people to follow their dreams and be themselves, but for many students there is one problem with it, they don’t yet have a job to dress for.
A job interview traditionally represents the final hurdle in one’s quest for employment, they’ve already impressed their potential employer with their resume, and references have been checked. All that’s left is to sit down, confidently answer the questions presented to you and walk out with a new job and your head held high. After all, you’ve thought of everything and it should be simple at this point.
Unfortunately, all the best hard work and preparation for an interview can be undone the instant that a HR rep lays eyes on you if you are not dressed like you are going to be a good fit in the work environment.
One of the most popular misconceptions about ethics in hiring is that a human resources representative cannot make their hiring decisions based on material aspects such as how you look or how you dress, and that they are supposed to be making these decisions based on your intelligence, your experience and the quality of your personality.
In a perfectly moral world this might be true, but in Ontario any manager is free to turn you down just because they don’t like the way you’re dressed, or if they think that you’re not attractive, or “of the right look” enough, really it’s up to them as long as they are not explicitly (i.e. telling you) that they are denying you based on your gender, skin colour or any of the “14 prohibited grounds of discrimination” as disclosed by the Ontario Human Rights Commission, and your attractiveness and style is not one of them.
With this in mind, it is of the utmost importance that you carefully consider what it is you put on before entering into an interview space, keeping in mind the environment you’re applying to, namely what is considered to be work attire in that office, and how can you help present that same vibe to your prospective employer.
A good minimum starting point should be attempting to match with the level of dress that the first employees you see are wearing, and up it to how they would dress when working before their CEO.
Are the men of the office walking around in a full suit, or are trousers and a collared shirt sufficient? Are the women in power suits or skirts, heels or flats? Once you’ve figured this out you have a starting point that can easily be built off, adding a few upgrades here and there to make you stand out without appearing like you’re trying too hard, such as adding a tie for a male or a nice bit of jewelry for a female.
Too extreme of a divergence from the organizational image that the company is attempting to convey, even if you are going in with an above and beyond mindset, the person interviewing you is unlikely to see it the same way that you are, and far more likely to see it as either a blatant attempt to be overly impressive, or as a drastic misunderstanding of the organization’s image.
People’s styles are important to them, it is part of how we express ourselves and to some people, can actually be what defines them in the eyes of others, and they find themselves unable or unwilling to alter it in order to find a job, preferring to stick to the notions of self-expression and individuality that is so important in their day to day lives, only to find that the companies they want to work for expect something totally different than what they expected. It is important that a balance be struck, if you’re drastically uncomfortable in what you’re wearing, the interviewer will see that as obviously as they would notice if you walked in wearing shorts.
As stated, the cliché is nice but “dress for the job you want” is really the important part, once you have that job you’re going to be dressing just like that for the rest of your tenure.
