Myth no. 5: Good-looking people get the job
I suppose if the job was for a drop-dead gorgeous femme fatale type
in a movie, then good looks would certainly help, but for most other
jobs the way you look is not as big a deal as many people make out.
As we’ve already discussed, there will always be an inexperienced
employer who will hire on the basis of superficial factors, but most
employers are smarter than that. The claim that good-looking people
get the job over plain-looking people makes one seriously flawed
assumption—that employers make a habit of putting someone’s
good looks before the interests of their livelihood. All my experience
interview myths 5
has taught me the contrary. Most businesses find themselves in
highly competitive environments and employers are only too keenly
aware that a poor hiring decision can prove very costly.
This is not to say that appearance and a bright personality are
not important factors at an interview. It is very important that you
dress appropriately and try your best to demonstrate all your friendly
qualities. Good looks are certainly overrated in interviews, but an
appropriate appearance and a friendly personality are not.
Myth no. 6: If you answer the questions better than
the others, you’ll get the job
Being able to articulate good answers in an interview is very important,
and failure to do so will almost certainly mean you don’t get the
job. However, interviews—as we’ve already seen—are much more
than just giving good answers. They’re also about convincing the
interviewer that you will be a nice person to work with. To put it
another way, it doesn’t matter how good your answers are technically,
if the interviewer doesn’t like you there’s not much chance you’ll
get the job (unless your talents are unique, extremely difficult to
find or the interviewer is desperate).
So avoid thinking about interviews just in terms of answering
questions correctly. Interviews are also about establishing rapport
and trust, and whilst there is no fail-safe method in doing this, there
are things you can do (and things you should not do) that will go
a long way towards improving your skills in this all-important area
of interviewing.
I suppose if the job was for a drop-dead gorgeous femme fatale type
in a movie, then good looks would certainly help, but for most other
jobs the way you look is not as big a deal as many people make out.
As we’ve already discussed, there will always be an inexperienced
employer who will hire on the basis of superficial factors, but most
employers are smarter than that. The claim that good-looking people
get the job over plain-looking people makes one seriously flawed
assumption—that employers make a habit of putting someone’s
good looks before the interests of their livelihood. All my experience
interview myths 5
has taught me the contrary. Most businesses find themselves in
highly competitive environments and employers are only too keenly
aware that a poor hiring decision can prove very costly.
This is not to say that appearance and a bright personality are
not important factors at an interview. It is very important that you
dress appropriately and try your best to demonstrate all your friendly
qualities. Good looks are certainly overrated in interviews, but an
appropriate appearance and a friendly personality are not.
Myth no. 6: If you answer the questions better than
the others, you’ll get the job
Being able to articulate good answers in an interview is very important,
and failure to do so will almost certainly mean you don’t get the
job. However, interviews—as we’ve already seen—are much more
than just giving good answers. They’re also about convincing the
interviewer that you will be a nice person to work with. To put it
another way, it doesn’t matter how good your answers are technically,
if the interviewer doesn’t like you there’s not much chance you’ll
get the job (unless your talents are unique, extremely difficult to
find or the interviewer is desperate).
So avoid thinking about interviews just in terms of answering
questions correctly. Interviews are also about establishing rapport
and trust, and whilst there is no fail-safe method in doing this, there
are things you can do (and things you should not do) that will go
a long way towards improving your skills in this all-important area
of interviewing.
No comments:
Post a Comment