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

[LordShiva]

If I had two identically qualified candidates, I'd pick the more presentable one. Employers often go through hundreds of applications, and any criterion that helps narrow the number down is useful.

[Solver]

Ah, but how often do you have two identically qualified candidates? Okay, you can have two guys who got the same degree and the same amount of job experience, fair enough. But most of the time, one of them will be better at the job in some way, having more intelligence, being able to work faster, being more passionate about the job, whatever. I'd rather have employers spend their time trying to determine that.

Presentable employees are important for jobs that require it. I wouldn't hire a guy with noserings to work as a clerk in a bank. But if his job doesn't require contact with customers, my main requirement for his looks would be that they don't prevent him from doing his job, that's it.

[Main_Brain]

Finally Kurt Beck on Apolyton

As I recall the Unemployed is Construction Worker (pics before after attached)

[Ben Kenobi]

Interesting.

I've been unemployed for fairly long stretches and I have to say that many employers tend to pick up on that attitude if you have been out of work for awhile.

You tend to get down on yourself, like you are carrying a load around all the time.

It's funny, I had one job as a delivery driver that the boss quite liked the fact that I dressed tidily for the job, but I still got let go cause they were slow and I had the least amount of experience on their crew.

[Aeson]

He got the job offers because of the media coverage. Your average unemployed construction worker who "cleans up" their image isn't going to be getting job offers from anyone unless it's through a friend of a friend or relatives (which they'd probably get anyways)... and probably not for something other than construction. But put anyone on TV saying they want work, and someone is going to offer them a job.

Certainly looking better helps... but positive (or neutral, or even mildly negative... sometimes even outright damning) media coverage trumps all.

[Ben Kenobi]

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.

Sounds an awful lot like a date.

[Harovan]

He sports the logo of the "Anarchist Pogo Party Germany", the motto of which is "Work is sh1t". This party isn't as much anarchist as it is antisocial. He's unemployed for six years now, and I can definitely see why.

[Solly]

Originally posted by Solver
Ah, but how often do you have two identically qualified candidates? Okay, you can have two guys who got the same degree and the same amount of job experience, fair enough. But most of the time, one of them will be better at the job in some way, having more intelligence, being able to work faster, being more passionate about the job, whatever.

All of which is unable to be discerned until the person is in your employment.

Which is why signals are used.

[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.

[DinoDoc]

I can't imagine why no one would hire the man. What with the smell, nose rings, needing a shave etc.

[SlowwHand]

He resembles Charlie Manson in the Before shot.

There's longish hair and beard and looking clean and tidy, and then there's him.

[Solly]

Originally posted by SlowwHand
There's longish hair and beard and looking clean and tidy

Do you have a picture just so we can see what you mean - I just find this hard to envisage. Google a random person to make your point if you wish..

[SlowwHand]

Originally posted by Park Avenue


Do you have a picture just so we can see what you mean - I just find this hard to envisage. Google a random person to make your point if you wish..

Clean. Trimmed, not scraggly.
A person can be presentable with hair that isn't white walls.

Do I have to get a picture?
I could post mine if you want to go blind.

[Aeson]

vs

[SlowwHand]

Good one, Aeson. That illustrates my point quite well, now doesn't it?