Helpful tips from the Collegian
We deliver a few tips on how to best prepare for important job interviews & meetings
Juliana D'Amico
Issue date: 3/5/09 Section: Arts
Saturday, seniors Emily Walsh and Heidi Schroeder piled into a Honda Element and headed to the shopping mall in Ann Arbor. Walsh had a job interview coming up and Schroeder went along to help her find the perfect suit. After an hour and a half of searching, Walsh spotted a potential candidate hanging on the rack.
But as she tried it on before the mirror, she and Schroeder agreed it wasn't right. The jacket was too short and had awkward shoulder pleats.
"It didn't look like a classic suit that I wanted for an interview," Walsh said. "I don't want any stuff on it."
They left the shopping mall tired, empty-handed and frustrated with the options available.
"It's easy for men to look good because they have a uniform, but women get caught up in choices," said Associate Professor of Speech Kirstin Kiledal, who has taken many female Hillsdale students suit shopping for upcoming job interviews.
Vicky Arno, assistant to the director of career planning, said the way a woman presents herself in an interview sends a strong message to a potential employer of her suitability for a job, and she carries that message in her hair, makeup and clothes. That's why potential employers pay close attention to appearance during an interview.
Sadly, despite all some women might bring to a job, some interviewers are turned off by an unprofessional appearance.
One fashion or grooming faux pas, and an employer has an easy excuse not to hire, seconds into an interview.
Interns at the Heritage Foundation's etiquette session learn potential employers make judgments in just five seconds, so here are some tips of how to instantly impress an interviewer.
Hair
"It's important how you present your hair," Leadership Institute's Intern Coordinator Brenda Alves said. "It should be clean and ready to go."
"If your hair is down it should be either perfectly straight or have a curl to it that's neat. You can't just brush it and that's it," Walsh said. "You don't want to tell that you have hairspray. If you curl your hair it shouldn't be crunchy-looking."
Alves said to stay away from childish hair ornaments and Arno instructs women keep hair away from the face during an interview.
In general, for hair, the key is simplicity, Arno said.
Makeup
"If you don't wear makeup, you should - it's professional," Walsh said. "It's like putting on a skirt. You wouldn't go [to an interview] without a skirt, so don't go without makeup."
But avoid overdoing it.
Never wear loud eye makeup colors or heavy eyeliner, Walsh said. Instead, use subdued, natural colors. And don't over-pluck eyebrows, because they help balance out the rest of the face.
"I make sure I have one 'whoopee' item," Walsh said. "If you're going to play up your eyes for an interview, don't wear lip liner."
Lipsticks and lip liners have their own set of rules.
"Lip liner is good if it's the color of your lips, and you're using it to make your lips looks fuller," Walsh said. "You shouldn't be able to tell you have it on."
She recommends chapstick for interviews, because it moistens the lips without providing too much shine. Arno instructs women to avoid bright red lipsticks.
Avoiding an unnatural appearance also applies when using blush and bronzer. Since the point of makeup is to enhance your natural color, it should be applied sparingly: "On the bridge of your nose, on the tops of your cheeks, and then you could go up on the sides of your face, and right on the top of your forehead," Walsh said. "Just where the sun naturally hits your face from above."
The outfit
Dresses are never appropriate for business interviews, Arno said; they lack a professional element necessary for the business world. A good business suit is an important investment.
"Unless you're going to be going into an organization that deals with fashion, definitely stick with something simple," Alves said. As a rule of thumb, "you don't want something that is too trendy."
Jewelry must not exceed the five-piece or 13-piece rule, Alves said. The five-piece rule counts bigger items such as a watch as three pieces and each earring or necklace as one piece. If you use the 13-piece rule, each button counts as one piece.
Alves, Arno and Walsh all suggested simple stud earrings, such as pearls, as one option.
Interviewees should also avoid distracting colors in suits and blouses, Arno said. Blouses should be white, off-white, light grey, or light blue, and suits should be black or navy.
It's important to purchase a suit that complements your figure, Alves said. And though it's acceptable for women to wear pant suits, dress suits are more formal and are preferred in many conservative organizations.
Footwear also plays a part in how a suit fits. Though stilettos are too high, Alves said, heels lend a more professional look to an outfit.
But open shoes and sling-back heels are inappropriate, Arno said, and "absolutely, positively, you have to wear nylons."
She recalled a time when a student was not hired specifically because she didn't wear nylons to an interview.
Nylons should always match the color of your suit or skin, Alves said, and never ivory-white, "even if you are very pale."
And when wearing a short-sleeved suit, Alves said, it is important to wear nude nylons to balance out bare arms.
While it's important to look feminine and confident in the interview, modesty counts as well.
"If you have to think, 'Is this too low?' then it needs to be a button higher," Walsh said.
For suits, "the slit should be just for the convenience of walking in - not showing off your legs," Arno said. She cautions interviewees to avoid suits with slits in the front, as they tend to be harder to walk in. These skirts also run the risk of exposing too much leg to your interviewer, Alves added.
Two other turn-offs for employers are chewing gum and too much perfume. Alves said to avoid anything other than good soap or deodorant.
"Sometimes [perfume is] too strong of a smell," she said. "Say the interviewer has a sensitive nose, that's what they are going to be thinking about the whole time."
After her fruitless suit search at the mall, Walsh wore a classic suit she already owned rather than take a chance with a new, ill-fitting ensemble.
"The main thing is to project a positive image," Arno said. "It's much easier to make a good first impression than to have to correct a bad one."
But as she tried it on before the mirror, she and Schroeder agreed it wasn't right. The jacket was too short and had awkward shoulder pleats.
"It didn't look like a classic suit that I wanted for an interview," Walsh said. "I don't want any stuff on it."
They left the shopping mall tired, empty-handed and frustrated with the options available.
"It's easy for men to look good because they have a uniform, but women get caught up in choices," said Associate Professor of Speech Kirstin Kiledal, who has taken many female Hillsdale students suit shopping for upcoming job interviews.
Vicky Arno, assistant to the director of career planning, said the way a woman presents herself in an interview sends a strong message to a potential employer of her suitability for a job, and she carries that message in her hair, makeup and clothes. That's why potential employers pay close attention to appearance during an interview.
Sadly, despite all some women might bring to a job, some interviewers are turned off by an unprofessional appearance.
One fashion or grooming faux pas, and an employer has an easy excuse not to hire, seconds into an interview.
Interns at the Heritage Foundation's etiquette session learn potential employers make judgments in just five seconds, so here are some tips of how to instantly impress an interviewer.
Hair
"It's important how you present your hair," Leadership Institute's Intern Coordinator Brenda Alves said. "It should be clean and ready to go."
"If your hair is down it should be either perfectly straight or have a curl to it that's neat. You can't just brush it and that's it," Walsh said. "You don't want to tell that you have hairspray. If you curl your hair it shouldn't be crunchy-looking."
Alves said to stay away from childish hair ornaments and Arno instructs women keep hair away from the face during an interview.
In general, for hair, the key is simplicity, Arno said.
Makeup
"If you don't wear makeup, you should - it's professional," Walsh said. "It's like putting on a skirt. You wouldn't go [to an interview] without a skirt, so don't go without makeup."
But avoid overdoing it.
Never wear loud eye makeup colors or heavy eyeliner, Walsh said. Instead, use subdued, natural colors. And don't over-pluck eyebrows, because they help balance out the rest of the face.
"I make sure I have one 'whoopee' item," Walsh said. "If you're going to play up your eyes for an interview, don't wear lip liner."
Lipsticks and lip liners have their own set of rules.
"Lip liner is good if it's the color of your lips, and you're using it to make your lips looks fuller," Walsh said. "You shouldn't be able to tell you have it on."
She recommends chapstick for interviews, because it moistens the lips without providing too much shine. Arno instructs women to avoid bright red lipsticks.
Avoiding an unnatural appearance also applies when using blush and bronzer. Since the point of makeup is to enhance your natural color, it should be applied sparingly: "On the bridge of your nose, on the tops of your cheeks, and then you could go up on the sides of your face, and right on the top of your forehead," Walsh said. "Just where the sun naturally hits your face from above."
The outfit
Dresses are never appropriate for business interviews, Arno said; they lack a professional element necessary for the business world. A good business suit is an important investment.
"Unless you're going to be going into an organization that deals with fashion, definitely stick with something simple," Alves said. As a rule of thumb, "you don't want something that is too trendy."
Jewelry must not exceed the five-piece or 13-piece rule, Alves said. The five-piece rule counts bigger items such as a watch as three pieces and each earring or necklace as one piece. If you use the 13-piece rule, each button counts as one piece.
Alves, Arno and Walsh all suggested simple stud earrings, such as pearls, as one option.
Interviewees should also avoid distracting colors in suits and blouses, Arno said. Blouses should be white, off-white, light grey, or light blue, and suits should be black or navy.
It's important to purchase a suit that complements your figure, Alves said. And though it's acceptable for women to wear pant suits, dress suits are more formal and are preferred in many conservative organizations.
Footwear also plays a part in how a suit fits. Though stilettos are too high, Alves said, heels lend a more professional look to an outfit.
But open shoes and sling-back heels are inappropriate, Arno said, and "absolutely, positively, you have to wear nylons."
She recalled a time when a student was not hired specifically because she didn't wear nylons to an interview.
Nylons should always match the color of your suit or skin, Alves said, and never ivory-white, "even if you are very pale."
And when wearing a short-sleeved suit, Alves said, it is important to wear nude nylons to balance out bare arms.
While it's important to look feminine and confident in the interview, modesty counts as well.
"If you have to think, 'Is this too low?' then it needs to be a button higher," Walsh said.
For suits, "the slit should be just for the convenience of walking in - not showing off your legs," Arno said. She cautions interviewees to avoid suits with slits in the front, as they tend to be harder to walk in. These skirts also run the risk of exposing too much leg to your interviewer, Alves added.
Two other turn-offs for employers are chewing gum and too much perfume. Alves said to avoid anything other than good soap or deodorant.
"Sometimes [perfume is] too strong of a smell," she said. "Say the interviewer has a sensitive nose, that's what they are going to be thinking about the whole time."
After her fruitless suit search at the mall, Walsh wore a classic suit she already owned rather than take a chance with a new, ill-fitting ensemble.
"The main thing is to project a positive image," Arno said. "It's much easier to make a good first impression than to have to correct a bad one."
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