Little Things Mean A Lot

We’ve talked about what to wear to an interview, how you know when a garment fits correctly, some of the basic “style rules”, and now it’s time to talk about the details.  How you pull it all together – the hair, make up, perfume, nails and accessories.

Image is everything on the job and the way a person wears his or her hair does make a statement.  Generally, shorter hair, for men and women, is seen as the best and most conservative hairstyle.  For women, this doesn’t mean that you have to cut your hair, but hair worn up and way from the face signals confidence.

Just like hair, nails should be short and all the same length.  For women, no polish is best, (especially since then you don’t have to worry about chipped polish and maintaining it), but if you must have a polish, then light or nude colors are ideal.

Some people are also more sensitive to scents than others, therefore, it’s best to stay away from perfume.  However, if you do decide to wear something, remember that smells are accentuated in the warmer weather, so do keep the sprits limited.

For women, make up should be worn, but again, kept to a minimum.  A little bit of color is always great, but nothing too heavy, too dark or too shimmery.

For accessories, men should limit it to three and women should limit it to five pieces.  For men, three pieces would be a watch, cufflinks and a ring.  Any more than that would be too much.  For women, a necklace, simple and small pair of earnings and then a ring is perfect.  Bracelets should be avoided because they aren’t really seen and women should also avoid jewelry that clinks together and makes noise.  That can be distracting.

While it’s always best to air on the side of conservative, never be afraid to let your personality shine through with your accessories.  For women, this can be with a necklace or stylish pair of shoes and for men, chose a great, polished pair of shoes or even a pocket square.  In small doses, this is perfectly acceptable in an interview and a great way to inject a little color and or texture into an outfit and help you be remembered.

In terms of accessories, do make sure that your purse or portfolio is also in good condition with no papers sticking out.  This speaks volumes about how prepared and together you are for the interview.  For women, make sure your purse can at least accommodate an 8 ½ x 11 sheet of paper.  If you can keep everything together, then this eliminates carrying a purse, folder et cetera and then trying to shake someone’s hand.

“The details are not the details.  They make the design.”  -unknown-