The Art of Getting the Part: Dressing to Get the Job
Maybe it’s working in entertainment (in other words, maybe I’ve been in showbiz too long), but I tend to think of hiring as a variation on the process of casting.
Stick with me here…
When actors go to casting sessions, everything they do is geared toward convincing the casting director that they are perfect for the part. If they’re going in to play a street tough on one of those countless crime dramas on the air these days, they dress down, in leather jacket and jeans maybe, and slump and scowl in the waiting area outside the audition room. For the part of the town slut, the actress struts in wearing a micro-mini and halter top and gives a suggestive sidelong glance at the casting intern with the clipboard.
Now here I am. As a hiring professional, I have a part to fill.I go through resumes and weed out the poorly written ones and the candidates with the wrong amount of experience and the ones from people who live in other states and other countries (seriously- what are they thinking?). And I call in a bunch of people for interviews.
A lot of people blow it by saying something inappropriate or by being late or overtly rude, but for many, many candidates, the difference between getting the job and not getting the job all comes down to being the best fit. The receptionist candidate who does not smile and can barely look me in the eye? The accounting clerk candidate who is dressed for a night on the town and talks about being a people person? The production assistant candidate who looks like she just jumped out of the pages of Vogue? They will probably lose out.
I’m not saying you have to wear glasses to get the job as the librarian… but it can’t hurt. Look the part.
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