How many times have you been told “When you go into the interview make sure you look smart, corporate and (for the boys) clean shaven!” and how many times have you not done it?! It’s surprising how often interview success can be a close shave.

But how vital really is appearance and listening to advice before interviews? Surely it is about what you have to offer in the job and to the company more than if they like the new facial hair trend you are sporting or not. That you are the right fit for the role and job spec rather than whether or not your knee-high boots work with your suit. Particularly with recruitment, you get told by recruiters, “Make sure you get your personality across, it is all about personality!” Well isn’t that why we wear our clothes? As a further outward expression of who we are and our personalities? So isn’t the old-fashioned corporate style actually stifling our personality coming across? In addition, surely interview preparation with a recruiter only acts as a further restricting concept to someone’s expression of their personality because they are getting spoon-fed answers about what to say to interviewers about why you are right for the role. Surely it would be more useful to allow a person to go into an interview without any preparation to answer questions organically and see if they are actually right for the job?

An Example

Let me take you on a journey, a somewhat familiar one for those that have seen the film ‘Sliding Doors’ [1998]. A small synopsis of the film: Gwyneth Paltrow, who plays Helen, a character who’s life goes in two parallels; in one scenario Helen misses the subway and her life pans out in one way and in the other scenario she makes the subway and her life unravels completely differently. If we adopt this concept to our candidate “Michael McConnell” and how he adheres to the recruitment consultant’s advice when it comes to prepping for his interviews, let’s see how his different paths into recruitment go.

Michael McConnell ‘Made the Train’

Appearance

• Clean shaven
• Plain-tie
• White shirt
• Dark Suit
• Dark shoes

Interview Prep

• Did research on the companies he was seeing before each interview.
• Turned up the interview 10 minutes beforehand.
• Smiled when he entered the interview.
• Firm handshake before he introduced himself.
• Asked informed questions about life in the company, job progression and the potential money that could be earned.
• Always remembered throughout to be individual and stand out, not blur into the background like the 5 other candidates each company has seen that day!

A Year On

Michael is progressing rapidly through his current employer’s ranks. He has been promoted twice and is now a senior consultant and an expert in his market. Not only that, he has enjoyed two lunch clubs for hitting his targets and in his OTE are £35,000 for the year. He is thoroughly involved in the social aspect of his company, playing for the company’s 5-a-side football team and is looking forward to his two weeks away in the Bahamas in the summer. Michael is so glad he listened to the advice given to him by the recruitment consultant he was working with on his application. Although it was down to his own ability, the consultant gave him the tools he needed to do well and be where he is today.

Michael McConnell ‘Missed the Train’

Appearance

• Beard
• Lavish tie
• Bright coloured shirt
• Light Suit
• Light Brown Shoes

Interview Prep

• Was confident that he would just ‘wing’ it, so briefly looked at material given to him online.
• Turned up just as the interview is about to start and rushed in.
• Did not offer eye-contact and lent back in his chair.
• Gave short answers without relevant examples.
• Asked only a few generic questions not specific to the company themselves or his job role.
• Feedback from the interviewer was Michael was ‘forgettable’.

A Year On

Michael is still looking for career move into recruitment. He has had a number of interviews but is unsuccessful when it comes to the latter face to face rounds. Michael is frustrated with how things have panned out in his job search, but still thinks he is ‘perfect’ for the role as a recruitment consultant and cannot understand why nobody wants to hire him. He believes it is down to the consultants he has worked with on his application and is now applying directly on his own. His designer beard has been trimmed again this morning and he waiting to don his lavish tie for his next interview, along with his bright shirt and suit. He is sure the next interview he has will be the successful one for him.

Here to Help

Although clearly an allegorical story, the message is clear; Rec 2 Rec agencies are not there to spoon-feed people or stifle anyone’s personality when applying for jobs in recruitment. What their job is, is to give the candidate the tools and advice they need in order to reach their full potential in an interview – a scenario that can unsettle the best of us! To mentor and guide, rather than dictate. If this outlook is taken when receiving information from recruitment consultants then both parties benefit; the candidate gets their hands on information and insight that they may not have had access to before and; the consultant benefits from a well-prepared candidate. A WIN, WIN AS THEY SAY!

If you’re looking to build a successful career in recruitment, check out our latest vacancies on our job board now.