Page 113 - James Caan - Get the Job you Really Want

think about what you are going to wear the next day: consider
the colour, the style, the look. There are books with plenty of
detail on what to wear – I am no Gok Wan, Trinny or Susannah –
but the final decision will be down to you.
You would be shocked at the level of detail that I would go

into – down to checking your fingernails, looking at your haircut,
as a man looking at how you shave, the colour of your shirt,
the colour of your tie. When a politician makes an important

speech, he and his sta≠ will always make a decision about the
colour of his tie. They know it will send out a message – or, more
significantly, they know that the wrong tie could send out a
damaging message. Why is that di≠erent from a job interview?
It is exactly the same.

Take care to choose the right briefcase or bag to take to the
interview. Whatever you do, don’t forget the obvious items
such as body odour and fresh breath in the rush to get ready.

Now that workplaces are generally no-smoking zones, having a
last-gasp cigarette to calm your nerves on top of a cup of co≠ee
might just be a terrible idea.
I would argue, with any interview, ‘How do you know this
is not going to be the interview that will transform your life?’

The answer is: you don’t know that. So, why take the risk? Why
would you not ensure that, the night before the interview, you
think carefully about the shoes, the shirt, the tie, even some-

thing as apparently unimportant as your choice of socks? If you
turn up in a black suit and you’re wearing white socks, it’s not
good.
When we were hiring a receptionist for Hamilton Bradshaw,

101 presentation