Saturday, January 12, 2008

Dressing the Part



Christina Binkley looks at the wardrobe gaffes made by job applicants, especially those ambitious souls who are would-be executives. An excerpt:


Ms. Sabath advises men to have their shirts professionally laundered and to button one or two jacket buttons when standing in order to look neat and well-assembled. These are details that can boost or diminish a career without leaving a trace in the memory of either party.


David Goldhill, president and chief executive of the Game Show Network, has been overhauling the television network's senior management lately. He highlighted the subliminal nature of the interviewing process when I asked if his decisions have been influenced by what a job candidate or subordinate wore, for better or for worse. "Probably," he responded, "but I'm not aware of it."


[I confess to being both amused and alarmed at articles such as this one. On one hand, there are the clueless applicants who walk into a job interview dressed for a cocktail lounge or a family picnic. On the other hand, we have the arrogant interviewers who - although they are probably far from fashion exemplars themselves - get so distracted by minor slips that they may pass over an extraordinarily good applicant. Picture Einstein, Churchill, or Lincoln falling under their scrutiny. The example cited in the article about the firm that didn't even interview the person they'd invited for an interview because the person was too well dressed says much more that is negative about the firm than about the applicant.]

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