Ousmane Ba

It pains me to tell this story but apparently it needs to be told. I had a candidate interview on Monday and before the end of the day, I received feedback from 2 of the 3 people doing the interviewing. Basically, it was a dud. The candidate sent mixed messages, was ambiguous with answers, and not really focused on what the job called for. Consequently, he was unreliable, lacking self-confidence or direction in his answers. Then, the final blow came in the form of a phone call later in the day. I spoke with the third attendee in this interview. It was a virtual interview so everyone had eyes on everyone. She mentioned the candidate was wearing a hoodie and, in her mind, led to immediate disqualification. She concluded he did not have the requisite awareness to dressing appropriately to a job interview. I understand the sentiment. It is like when I see people in the grocery store, or about to get on an airplane, standing in line, or just out in public wearing their jammies and slippers. I know some of you may be thinking, I don’t get it, and you know what? I don’t. Does it require a Herculean effort to put on something more in alignment to be in public? Things like pants, a shirt and shoes? When you are interviewing for a job, you don’t want to give the interviewers any reason to disqualify you. Either with the language you use, your grammar, answering directly, or with authority, and certainly not what you are wearing. That is like missing a three-foot putt. How hard is it to put on a clean button-down shirt, comb your locks and look fresh. Wearing a hoodie instead of business attire is just a big no, no. The client said, he was an immediate no when she saw what he was wearing. Is she biased? Yeah. And so, as you navigate the absurd and difficult world of looking and landing that next job, don’t give a reason to be eliminated. Ask what is the dress code of the interview if you don’t know. Is it business professional, or business casual. Are ripped jeans and a provocative outfit appropriate? Well, unless you are interviewing to be an exotic dancer, the answer is a big fat no. Look the part of the successful candidate. Have an awareness that you want to be taken seriously and you want to complete the picture that not only do you look the part; you act the part as well. You answer questions definitively, don’t waffle in your answers, have a game plan of what you want to cover about yourself that will be irresistible. If you do those things, you will be setting yourself for a big win. Keep in mind if there are several candidates interviewing along with you, the firm is trying to delete weaker candidates. Just like a physician tries to narrowing things down when diagnosing you, the same is true for interviews. If you give them a reason to say no, they will thank you for making their job easier. Don’t self-inflict a preventable wound. New job Curious? Give me a call. Glenn – The Insurance Recruiter 720-442-8230