Page 109 - James Caan - Get the Job you Really Want

The jc twist

Although a suit, your smartest suit – don’t stint – is always
going to be the safest option, and will immediately convey
the message that you take care with the impression you
make, if you are going for an interview with a company
who pride themselves on their maverick, casual approach,

do soften the look. I once heard that wearing a three-piece
suit if you worked at Virgin was virtually a sacking o≠ence!

Adjust your look according to the message you pick up from
the website. Just as you could look too formal in one setting,
you might look overly fashionable in another. Both would

send out the wrong message. Without sitting on the fence
too much, I would suggest that in interviews you aim at the
middle. You shouldn’t be overdressed, because you look like

you’re trying too hard. You shouldn’t be underdressed because
it gives the impression that you couldn’t be bothered to make
an e≠ort. It is a di≤cult balance to get right.
In the good old, bad old days, this was never an issue: a
business suit for men and women was the order of the day.

As a man all you really needed to think about was the colour
of your tie. But as attitudes to work clothes have relaxed and
now di≠er between industry sectors – and between di≠erent

countries – that decision about what to wear has been made
significantly more complex.
I also know this is a controversial point. You can argue
all day long about whether your appearance should make a

97 presentation