Monday, December 30, 2013

A piece of job interview advice I've never read elsewhere


Don't wear any perfume or cologne. 

Some would amend this advice to say "wear at most very little scent," but I believe you're safest wearing none.

Before going further, let me stress that no one I've interviewed recently has violated this advice, and I'm not talking about anyone in particular.  So, if you're reading this blog and wondering if I'm talking about you, I almost certainly am not.

In past years, though, I have run into multiple candidates of both genders who chose to douse themselves in such strong scents that their odor inevitably became a topic of conversation among those discussing their interviews.  This is not a good thing, because you want those who have interviewed you to be discussing only how great you are, how you'd fit with their teams, and so on.

This bit of advice is particularly crucial, by the way, because most interviews occur in relatively small spaces (offices, small conference rooms) whose doors are closed for the obvious privacy reasons.

A corollary is that it's probably a good idea to come to an interview freshly showered and dressed appropriately--or slightly over-dressed.  Starting an interview reeking of gym funk--and, yes, in years past I've encountered this--is effectively choosing a different scent and just as bad as wearing too much perfume or cologne.

If this piece of advice is unnecessary, sorry about taking your time.  If, though, you were planning an interview and trying to choose the right cologne or perfume, then put them all away, take a shower, and head off to win a job. 


6 comments:

Michelle said...

Oh, so that's why I didn't hear back from PT. It was my eau de' Pepe Le Pew. Now it makes sense!

Mark said...

Uh...no.

Griffin said...

What, I shouldn't have put the deer urine on me before my interview to act as the billionaire's spendthrift?

Damn.

Rosanne said...

Had submitted a comment but may not have submitted correctly. Another good reason not to wear strong perfume or cologne to an interview or at work in general, is that the odor of strong colognes and perfumes can be a migraine trigger for some folks. Migraines are pretty awful.

Mark said...

Griffin, that was probably your mistake. Good catch.

Rosanne, I had not realized that, but it provides another reason not to wear a scent.

Rosanne said...

Glad I could provide some new info. (I was exposed to this trigger at a previous job. The person was a temp for a week. I had a rough week)

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