Flip Flops and Tank Tops
27Aug2009 Filed under: Personal Author: Michelle KrierI’m in the process of hiring an intern to handle video production and editing for me and have interviewed quite a few current college students or people who recently graduated. What I find absolutely appalling is the attire that some of these candidates show up wearing. Is it because the position is an intern so they don’t think they need to dress in business wear, or is it that no one has ever told them what the appropriate attire is for a professional office setting, or has our culture really eroded to this point? Today, for example, I interviewed a young woman who just graduated from college in June. What was she wearing? Black dress pants, a white tank top and a purple button-down shirt unbuttoned halfway down with (drumroll, please)…….flip flops! Yes, flip flops. Granted they were about as fancy as flip flops can get with some sparkle and perhaps some beading or something but they were, again, flip flops. As if I wasn’t distracted enough by that, her nail polish was almost chipped or worn away completely giving me yet another reason to think that she was unpolished and unprofessional. And first impressions count.
And I need to touch on one other thing. Of all the candidates I’ve interviewed so far, none of them has followed up with a thank-you email. None of them. Am I old-fashioned in thinking it’s appropriate to thank someone for taking time out of their day to interview them? Apparently so. This makes me wonder how colleges and universities are preparing students for the real world. Are they? From my recent experience the answer is no.
So back to the candidate wearing flip flops. She was qualified, eager and willing to relocate to Milwaukee for this internship. But if she was so interested in the job, why didn’t she dress more appropriately? And how would she dress if she got the job? There are executives with whom I work that would NOT be OK with the attire she wore for the interview. Should that matter so much? I think yes. After all, you never get a second chance to make a first impression.
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3 Responses to “Flip Flops and Tank Tops”
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The Daily Krier is running commentary on what's happening in my life on a regular basis. I write about things that interest me -- my family, my hobbies, my career in marketing. The blog was born from my interest in writing, my need to become more involved in all things related to social media, and my desire to start on my personal brand. The blog title is a play on my last name. It's technically pronounced "kreer" but everyone pronounces it as "cry-er". The mis-pronounciation lends itself extremely well to the title, don't you think?
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Michael
September 2nd, 2009 at 4:57 pm
Hmmm… doesn’t surprise me in the least bit. I work at a software company and we have a business casual attire policy and there is a written policy that opposes open-toe shoes. Of course there are many, many women who see summer as an opportunity to wear open-toe shoes, but there are women who go far as wearing the sandal you would see men wearing at a gym (or soccer sandals). Even better? Men are prohibited from wearing any such open-toe shoes and have been disciplined for wearing them? Wrong? Sexist?
Perhaps dressing appropriately for an interview is a generational thing or maybe not. We seem to live in a period of time where society is bent on casualness. Perhaps we need a good slap in the face to restore some of the familiar courtesies that “older” people are accustomed to.
Pete Prodoehl
September 9th, 2009 at 7:09 pm
Our new intern came all dressed up the first day, and I had to tell him to dress way down, as we’re casual 95% of the time. Heck, most of us don’t even wear shoes around the office (including the bosses!)
Michelle Krier
September 9th, 2009 at 9:32 pm
Pete – love your culture just based on what you’re telling me about not wearing shoes. Overall I think it’s safer to make your first impression just that — impressive. If you are told you don’t have to dress as formally then day-to-day, great. But that first impression is key.