Unemployed guy washes, shaves, buys suit. Suddenly gets lots of jobs offers.

[SlowwHand]

Here's one who at first look might not hire.
Probably be making a mistake.






Hire this one instead.



Caligula

[snoopy369]

Originally posted by Solver

It's a signaling device. Potential employers want to see evidence that you give a damn, and one way to do it is to come to your job interview properly dressed and groomed.

That's the wrong evidence. Coming to a job interview dressed in a suit doesn't mean you give a damn, it means that you're conforming with the requirements they're pushing onto you which have nothing to do with your job (unless you're applying to be a model for their line of clothing).

No, it's precisely the right evidence. Employers do want employees who can and will conform. Unless you're hiring a theoretical physicist or somesuch, you want someone who will fit in, get along with his/her coworkers, and come to work on time every day, and not get noticed. If he/she is promotable, that's a bonus.

As long as the employee is qualified at a basic level, attitude and personality matter far, far more for nontechnical jobs. (And for technical jobs, basic level just gets pushed up a bit.) Skills and knowledge are trainable. Attitude and personality, are not.

[SlowwHand]

That's true to a short-sighted manager.
Yes, you want them to communicate well and get along with people.
What sets them apart is if they approach it like their hair's on fire, if you can follow that thought.

[Wycoff]

Originally posted by Solver
You set some tasks for the candidates. Ask them how they would handle some unusual scenario in the job. Ask them some unrelated questions aimed at discerning their intelligence / thought patterns (like maybe lateral thinking tasks).

Of course, you'll not truly know how good they are until they've spent a while with you, but there's a ton of possible signals that are more indicative of their qualifications than clothing.

Job hunting is a very competitive environment. Most people who are applying for a particular job have roughly equal qualifications. Thus, personality and looks come into play to help separate the wheat from the chaff. It may seem unfair, but the man who dresses up for the job interview will leave a better impression on the interviewer than the man who doesn't. As has been mentioned before, it's all about respect. The man who takes the time to dress up makes it seem as though the job means enough for him to make him dress up in uncomfortable clothing.

Clothing doesn't make the entire process. If one person comes in who is head and shoulders above the competition, then he will get the job unless he seems like a sociopath.

It's not all about facial hair, either. I have a neatly trimmed beard, and I was offered several well paying positions as a first year law associate. You just have to show a willingness to fit in. I'm by no means a brown-noser (in some ways I'm an antisocial introvert); I just know better than to come in and directly antagonize the firm to which I am applying for work.

Good for this guy for getting a job. The job may have changed his outward appearance, but it can never change his beliefs unless he so allows it.

[SlowwHand]

Your last point is a good point.

[Wycoff]

Originally posted by SlowwHand
Your last point is a good point.

So are all of my other points

[Solly]

Originally posted by SlowwHand
Your last point is a good point.

Damn straight.

[Wycoff]

Originally posted by LordShiva A good fitting suit is also expensive, so it shows that you think the job is important enough to you that you would spend alot of money for it.

I went through my job interview process wearing tailored suits... the most expensive of which cost me $150 dollars. Looking professional doesn't have to be super expensive, and the small amount that you have to pay can be written off as an investment on your own future.

[Main_Brain]

Originally posted by Wycoff

Good for this guy for getting a job. The job may have changed his outward appearance, but it can never change his beliefs unless he so allows it.

Who said he got a job?

[Colonâ„¢]

[Main_Brain]

I respect beards on Economists

[Aro]

Originally posted by Solver
..........................
and hasn't shaved for three days.

I haven't shaved for three days... My editor doesn't care, really.

[Lorizael]

I haven't shaved since my last haircut. No one but my mother seems to care.

[Flubber]

My aunt does hiring at a Walmart. I have been present when she received job applications hand delivered by the applicant and watched as she wrote a big NO across the top after they left.

When I inquired she said that she will never hire anyone if they can't take a little bit of care of their appearance at the time of presenting the application. She didn't expect suits but she did expect a clean and neat appearance and failing that basic test meant she did not even look at the application

[Wezil]

I used to do the same at my last position. I was a front line manager that would usually see the applicants when they dropped by. A big "Yes" or "No" was the first thing written on the resume so others would know the first impression (we were a service provider).