IoD: Appearance matters
Monday, January 11th, 2010
During the Christmas period an interesting discussion was started on the IoD (Institute of Directors) LinkedIn Group. It came from a simple request for information. “When making a hiring decision how important is a candidate’s appearance to you” It soon prompted over 50 comments from MD’s, partners and CEO’s from across the business world.
While a small minority felt that appearance should not be a major factor, most agreed that it was an important matter and that scrutiny of a candidate began from the moment they entered the room.
“If they cannot make the effort for something as important as an interview then it is likely to show a somewhat sloppy attitude to their working life”
“If you want to be taken seriously in business, you need to be well dressed”
“Appearance is critical as a guide to how that person values the potential role as well as themselves”
“It is vital to create that right first impression and is often an external indicator of a person’s attitudes and values”
“Appearance is your only chance to make a good first impression which happens in a heartbeat”
“When putting candidates forward to clients we always aim to ensure that the basics are covered, including clean shoes, as it is surprising how many people first comment on the state of the footwear, as shown in the feed back to this post. Regardless of how good candidates are from a competency angle, we all make our mental opinions on people before we have spoken to them, so personal presentation geared for the right scenario is important to create the right image and impression. As we were always taught, ‘You only get one chance to make a first impression’”
In ‘Blink’, Malcolm Gladwell wrote of how we make decisions in as little as two seconds. Given such a slim sliver of time therefore suggests that appearance and initial demeanour is fairly crucial.
This works for company meetings too, particularly when you may be the point of sale with a new client. Last year there was some press coverage of how the international accountancy firm Ernst&Young considered the way in which their staff dressed a part of their overall positioning programme, just as their logo or corporate colours.
To close with a little homespun advice from the same IoD forum; “Dress for the job you want, not the job you have”
Photo: thanks to ShabbyApple
