Job Interviews

1

Doing a lot of these over the next week or so and a male recruiter just sent me the following tips on how to ‘dress to impress’. ::slight_smile: I actually think he’s being serious:

There’s no getting around the fact that image matters. The way you walk, talk and dress affects the way other people see you and think of you. To be successful you have to look successful, and looking successful begins with how you dress.

When we first meet new people, 55% of the impression we make is based on way we dress, act and walk through the door; 38% on our voice, our accent, use of grammar and overall confidence. Only 7% is based on what we actually say!

So what does what you wear say about you? Dressing appropriately is very different from dressing conservatively. A little style is always appropriate, even in the most conservative of professions. This applies to men as much as women, pre-matched shirts and ties can make you look like a chain store clone. Be creative, and choose clothes that express your own individuality, and reflect your personality.

Research has shown that men look more professional and more authoritative in darker suits.

Colour is also very important in the image we project. Skin tone, colour of eyes and colour of hair all affect the colour of clothes which suit us best. If you have strong features or colouring, for example, warm, dark colours can often ‘wipe out’ your own natural colouring, leaving you looking pasty or even ill.
Colour matching is a lesson many of us need to learn, including men!

Classic styles are the ones to aim for, but more important are good quality clothes with an elegant fit to convey a quiet professionalism.

Hairstyles should be neat and businesslike. Men should note that research has shown that beards can make you look like you’ve got something to hide.

It’s not only other people’s perceptions of you that can be affected by the way you present yourself. Looking the part and feeling smart and professional will boost your confidence and make you feel better about yourself. This helps you to project the image you want.

2

Absolute nonsense. If there’s one statistic I hate it’s that one about how how appearance matters 8 times more than what we say. I simply don’t accept it’s correct. Somebody said it once and everyone copies it but it’s a load of crap. Continue wearing the Celtic tracksuit to the inteviews Bandage - don’t mind what anyone else says.

3

Exactly. You can sit there all you like in your suave designer suit, new silk tie and smart haircut but I doubt you’ll get the job if you deadpan back to the interviewer, ‘Well actually I don’t have any ambitions at all. I just want somewhere that pays quite attractively with slack internet usage policies where I can wallow in the corner doing nothing for the next 5 years or so.’

4

what rubbish. there is no way this is true. do these recruiter things help anyone? i have my doubts.

5

It’s a strange one piper. Some of them are complete charlatans. They’ll have these open roles on their books and they’ll try to push you into pursuing these no matter what your personal ambitions are. Some of these roles may have been on their books for ages and they’re just looking to get someone, anyone to take them so they don’t miss out on their own commission. What you tell them you want to do is completely irrelevant to many of them and they almost try to bully you into going for certain roles.

One recruiter told me not to go for any roles myself and rely completely on him as his contacts were so wide and he would make all the approaches on my behalf. I told him I didn’t want to place reliance solely on him, that if I saw anything else on the web or in the press that interested me I would be applying for that. He was actually offended by it. I was like ‘fook off - how can I be sure you have contacts in every company that interests me. I’ll apply for wherever I want.’

Some appear to be professional enough but at the end of the day they’re no better than football agents!

6

I reckon you would have to be pretty arrogant to be a recruiter. I like the analogy with football agents.

7

I find female recruiters far worse as being women they naturally tend to be way more devious than men.

One in particular told me she’d sent my cv into a company I was interested in. After a while of her claiming that she was still awaiting feedback I approached somebody I know who worked there who was able to tell me that she hadn’t sent my cv in at all. She was just buying time and trying to get me to go for one of the roles she currently had on offer that she wanted off her books rather than make speculative enquiries to the other place.

Sly. Typical female behaviour.

8

Go on Banadge! Gettin a job finally are ya!?

9

Don’t be ridiculous now tiger.

Another female recruiter was really sly and dishonest to one of my friends too. After he initially met with HR and the line manager for a particular role she told him he had a verbal offer and all that remained was to go in and meet the Head of the Department to rubber stamp it. It turned out because the guy was considering a few offers from different places she lied and pretended he had a verbal offer with her company so he wouldn’t take any of the other roles. Anyway, he went in to meet the main guy and instead of an informal chat the guy more or less grilled him for 90 minutes and my mate was totally unprepared. It turned out it was always going to be a proper interview. Liars.

10

Bandage…im proud you get a job

11

I think the example you give is very one sided Bandage, the candidate in question wouldn’t exactly be the most employable person in the world and hasn’t covered himself in glory in his current post. I am of course assuming it to be a person we both know. I don’t think its fair to JUdG(s)e the situation without hearing both sides.

12

Anyone got any advice on bargaining with employers at the offer stage?

My last job I tried to play hard ball and got nowhere.

This time around I have an offer that’s a fair bit lower than what I want and I also have another couple of things in the fire. Should I mention these other opportunities to force the issue or not mention them at all? In 2 minds here.

13

If it’s not what you want Bandage I’d suggest declining the offer altogether - I think I know which job you’re on about and you were less than enthused when we spoke about it.

14

This is the only stage of the recruitment process where the interviewee has the power. The shadow boxing is over. They’ve made the offer so they’ve made it clear that they want you, but as yet they do not have you. Use it to your advantage. You have three options - accept, reject or seek a better deal whereas all they can do is wait with bated breath. Tell them how much you like the role but you have a couple of other offers with a more attractive financial package and while you don’t want to make a decision based solely on the financial aspect, the other roles are also very exciting and based on all criteria are just shading it at the moment.

You could also whip down your trousers, bend over a barrel and hand the interviewer an industrial sized tub of ky jelly (optional)