Clothes Make The Man

For the last two weeks I was fortunate to work with some people who gave themselves over to me and accepted my support to aid them in finding employment.

Among the job seekers was a gentleman who told me that his career objective was to work with the elderly in capacity of a Recreation Leader in a Senior’s facility. Like every other person who had accepted the invitation to attend, he also accepted the expectations that accompanied the invitation to attend; one of which was arriving each day in business / casual clothing.

Business casual clothing I told each participant, meant no jeans, no t-shirts; and while the ladies didn’t have to wear fancy ballroom gowns and the men didn’t have to wear three-piece suits, I did want them ready for interviews on a moments notice. Each person I spoke with told me not to worry, their clothing wouldn’t be an issue.

So back to my Recreation Aide and his quest to gain employment working in a seniors’ facility. On the second day of our gathering, in he walked with cargo shorts and a polo shirt; his definition apparently of business casual.”You said no jeans or t-shirts, but you didn’t say anything about shorts.” I had to see if he was being smart or sincere. In this case he was actually being sincere and thought his choice of clothing was acceptable for the job he was going for.

Well, we had a chat about clothing and he said he didn’t own any button up shirts; everything in his collection was a polo, t-shirt or sweater. When it came to pants, he had jeans and one pair of pants to a suit that didn’t fit him properly anymore. Now fortunately, one of the benefits I can provide for those I assist is some financial assistance. Armed with some funds I send him shopping, hoping he would take my advice and go for a button up shirt or two and a proper fitting couple of pants and belt – perhaps a reversible one that he could then wear black or brown as needed.

He did return with a change in clothing and the choices he made were excellent ones that spruced him up and which he still felt comfortable wearing. He was concerned that tucking in his shirt would expose a small belly roll over his belt line, but this wasn’t the case; and tucking his shirt in was a must.

You see from an employer or interviewers point of view, you can always dress down from how you present yourself, but they assume the way they see you is you at your best, so you can’t dress up beyond what they see. While yes you can take cues from the employees who work where you want to work, you have to also realize you’re going for a job interview and they are not. Dressing properly for an interview is essential; and having a shared understanding of what, ‘proper’ means is critical.

When you work with someone like an Employment Coach, Employment Counsellor or Job Coach, you get (hopefully) some good sound advice on how to dress for success in job interview situations. If you find you’re not getting advice on this subject, go ahead and ask.

One thing that everyone agrees on is that your first impression is essential to setting up the rest of the interview. The last thing you’d want to do is make a poor first impression and then count on your savvy interviewing style to rescue the rest of the interview. Why wouldn’t you want to start of making a strong first impression and then make it your goal to keep the interview going at that high level of professionalism?

Now as to the shopping experience; you may be one of the many who instinctively go into a store and mutter, “No thanks, I’m just looking”, when the Salesperson asks if they can be of help. If shopping isn’t your thing and coordinating an outfit or two isn’t your strength, stop denying the help offered.Instead, consider replying, “Actually yes I could use some help. I need an outfit or two for job interviews and my budget is (insert your figure here).”

By putting yourself in the hands of the Salesperson, you get the advice of someone who works in the fashion industry on a full-time basis. This doesn’t mean they are automatically an expert, but you ease off the stress of having to pick out your clothing when you don’t know what you’re doing. By giving them a budget, it tells them whether to head for the clearance rack with the 2 for 1’s, or the just arrived, full price section.

If money is a problem, look at flyers in advance of your shopping trip or look at websites of stores and see what specials they have on. You can ask for help from people you trust too in terms of where deals are to be had based on what you can spend and what you need.

When this gentleman came into class the day after his shopping excursion, I had him stand while we all looked him over. He got a round of applause and was told by others how good he looked. That did wonders for his confidence and I never saw those shorts again.

It’s true, clothes do make the man.

Sometimes You Just Have To Laugh…At Yourself!

A couple of months ago, I created a situation for myself that caused me to laugh out loud at myself in an empty parking lot and ended up with me a little lighter in the wallet. I share this humourous story with you in the hope that you can find some humour in it too, and perhaps see behind the story itself and learn how we all have a choice on how to act when things go wrong.

Most mornings at my home, I find myself leaving the house while my wife gets a few minutes of extra time under the covers easing into her day. My routine is usually to shower, dress, breakfast and then don coat and shoes and drive to work. On this day however, my wife rose early and started watching the news on television. As I stood at the doorway, I was interested in the news story being covered, and kept my eyes on the screen as I slipped on my shoes at the door. One shoe slipped on effortlessly, the second needed a little wiggling, but soon slipped on. I kissed my wife goodbye, put out the garbage and recycling, got into the car and drove the 1 hour to work – a trip of some 95 km’s.

It was only when I parked my car at work and stepped out that I saw my footwear for the first time. One black shoe and one brown one! AND that’s not the most amazing thing. The brown shoe was the slip on variety and the black one was a lace up shoe I hadn’t bothered to untie the night before! Right there in the parking lot, I laughed aloud at my situation. Going home to change sure wasn’t an option at this point.

Up in my office I looked up on the computer to see when the local shoe store would open and found that it opened at 9:30a.m. It was now 7:40a.m. I decided not to get annoyed with myself having no one to blame but myself. I immediately started speaking with my Supervisor and co-workers who did not immediately notice my faux pas. When I pointed this out to them and told them the story, they burst out laughing WITH me, not at me. I found out that several of the women I work with keep alternative shoes at work; some have runners for walking, some have pumps if the heels get too much etc. Not me.

I ended up taking my mid morning break at 9:30 sharp, and in less than 15 minutes, had left, gone to the store, bought a pair and returned to work. The $69.99 shoes I wanted were unavailable in my size, but in the ‘last pair’ section, I found a pair of leather slip on shoes originally $99.99 marked down to $19.99 in my size only! I guess the gods, just like me, were smiling that day.

When I went to the counter to pay, I told the clerk I’d just wear them out of the store and asked for a bag for my old ones. She knew it had been raining and asked if my old shoes had leaked. I told her it was far worse than that and just help up the mismatched pair for her to see. She laughed too.

My misfortune of the morning cost me $19.99. I learned to laugh at myself, and brought laughter to my colleagues, a stranger, and one client. All in all, that’s a trade off I’d make any day…but I do check my footwear each morning just a little bit better….!