When getting a job is job one, presentation counts. If you’d like an example of how important that is, read what Linda Stanton, President of Selective Staffing, Inc. writes on the subject:
“Ms. Richman, I am the owner of a local staffing service here in the city. I am amazed at the people who come to us seeking employment who do not see us as an employer. We are, in a lot of cases, the front line to some of the city’s largest employers. However, applicants who come to our location to apply for work do so dressing in shorts, tee shirts, jeans, flip-flops, bedroom shoes, etc. They bring their children, friends and friends’ children to apply. We have to constantly tell them to turn off their cell phones as to not disrupt our office.
I was hoping that in one of your articles or television appearances that you could address these issues. Please explain to job-seekers that Temporary Staffing Agencies are employers. We interview everyone who walks though our door and should be given the same respect as any employer they be applying with.
If applicants do not represent themselves in a professional manner to us then what makes us think they will do it to our clients. Any help you give would be greatly appreciated.”
Thanks, Linda. Your note reinforces what I continue to hear from many employers: that a surprising number of applicants are careless in their dress and conduct when interviewing for jobs. The message they send, and hopefully it is unintended, is that they lack self- respect and respect for others.
When it comes to employment, it’s a buyer’s market. Employers can afford to be selective. They want to make the right choice the first time and are looking at all the information they can gather to help them to succeed in that selection. Help them help you.
Know what you do best. Succinctly describe or bullet point and quantify your accomplishments. Take credit for the victories that are yours and share credit when it’s a team effort, which most successes are. Own your mistakes. If you spread the blame, you look like you’re making excuses. Not a winning strategy.
Employers want to know how you can benefit them, either by protecting bottom line and saving them time and money, or by driving top line profits with your ability to market and sell their products, systems, and services.
Get to the point. Respond honestly and respectfully to questions you’re asked; keep your responses current, work related and professional in tone and content. Ask open-ended questions to learn about the (unadvertised) challenges of the job; the (unadvertised) expectations the employer will have of a new hire and how quickly and to what degree of competency the new hire will be expected to perform.
Get into it. Enjoy the give and take of the discussion, and give yourself permission to come across as someone real instead of a cardboard cutout of someone you think you ought to be.
Most employers prefer to hire for the long term, not the short run. Turnover costs time and money and both are in short supply. Therefore, interviewers want to know that you’ve given serious thought to where you want to go in your career; the opportunities and experiences you believe to be important in getting you there; the ways that your strengths and abilities will benefit the company, at every level you serve.
Dress for the next job up the ladder; get comfortable in your skin and in your shoes. If you can lead; set strategy; manage process; organize; create; innovate; or execute, give evidence of when you have and when you will. Demonstrate integrity in all that you do and say.
