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Congratulations – you’ve got an interview for the job you really want.
That’s a foot firmly in the door; but what’s your first thought when addressing how you’re going to get over the threshold? Well, if it isn’t, “What am I going to wear?” then perhaps it should be.
Interviewers decide within 10 seconds of meeting you whether or not they want to employ you, claims personal branding consultant Pippa Rees (http://nakedambitionlive.com), “and they spend the next hour justifying why they have made that decision”.
Terrifying as that sounds, Ms Rees’s bold statement is certainly not rejected, and is even given some support by some of the most dominant employers in community pharmacy. Boots’ professional resourcing manager Karen McGinty says: “Anyone that does recruit tries not to do that but human nature is very hard to override.”
And while Lloydspharmacy UK resourcing officer Siobhan Griffin says: “You should take people on their skills and abilities,” she adds that placing importance on first impressions is not without reason when recruiting pharmacists.
“It’s the same image you would project in-store to your customers and patients,” Ms Griffin explains. “You want [customers] to have confidence in [the pharmacist] and business dress does convey that.”
So what exactly does business dress mean? If you’re unsure of the dress code at your chosen company, then it is really OK to call and ask, says Ms Rees. There is an easy answer, though. Despite less than a quarter of businesses now requiring employees to wear them, the UK’s three largest multiples are unanimous in their opinion that, for interviews at least, suits are the only acceptable choice. Says Ms Griffin: “I don’t think you can ever look too smart for an interview.”
But even if the safe money’s on the suit, it is not without its potential pitfalls. A common mistake encountered by Ms McGinty is a skirt that is too restrictive. And this reinforces the point that your interview outfit should be “reflective” of the work you are applying to do. As Ms McGinty says: “There’s no way you could work in a dispensary in some of the skirts we’ve seen because your bottom would show when you bent down!”
Avoiding such banana skins comes from thinking ahead, says Ms McGinty. “My advice would be to plan your outfit in advance, to make sure it’s clean and pressed and still fits you.” But if it’s been so long since you last wore the outfit that you’re not sure if you can squeeze into it, heed this stark warning from Ms Rees: “If your clothes are more than five years old then you will look out of date – which implies your thinking is out of date as well.”
Personal grooming is as much a part of your appearance as your outfit choice. Prior to her Boots role, Ms McGinty once encountered a candidate who arrived fresh from the gym, “red-faced and sweaty”.
“I thought, I don’t even want to shake your hand – it wasn’t an ideal impression!”
Aside from the obvious ‘no-no’ of body odour, pharmacy recruiters cite light perfume or aftershave, simple make-up, neat hair and clean nails as evidence of the attention to detail they are looking for in a pharmacist.
Explains CMBImage business development manager Audrey Hanna (http://cmbimage.com): “It’s a lot of little details that add up – just paying attention to your appearance shows that you pay attention to details in other areas.”
And if there is a genuine reason why you have to turn up to the interview looking anything less than shipshape, don’t brush it under the carpet – call and let the interviewer know in advance. “Forewarned is forearmed,” says Ms McGinty.
None of this is to suggest that there is a holy grail of interview outfit that will guarantee you your dream position. It is less a case of getting off on the right foot than not getting off on the wrong one, says Ms Hanna. “People won’t notice if your shoes are polished – but they’ll notice if they’re not.”
Miss Griffin agrees: “First impressions can be wrong, but it’s one less barrier to break down to get the job.”