I interviewed a young man for one of my estate agency clients this week. He had done well at school, had a degree and sounded fantastic on the phone. In person however, he lacked a certain polish!
Yes, he wore a nice suit but l was slightly bemused by his hair band. What upset me most was his shirt, a nice blue number. It was not the lack of a tie that put me off but the fact that the shirt was worn OUTSIDE his suit trousers! Upon discussion, l discovered that he felt more ‘comfortable’ without his shirt being tucked in and could not understand that clients would expect a degree of professionalism evidenced by smart dress sense. He argued that it made no difference to his ability to represent the company and win instructions. Fascinatingly he told me that he might even wear jeans and a T shirt if he felt the client gave out a certain ‘vibe’!! And so, no interview and no job!
The lesson? Always dress smartly and don’t try to be overly clever! It rarely works…
Real world advice & tips from Graham Martin, The Recruitment Guy