Keeping Up Appearances in Interviews

Keeping Up Appearances in Interviews How many articles or blogs have you read about how your appearance can affect the outcome of a job interview? I can answer that…too many. We all know what to wear to an interview, and what not to wear. We know about proper grooming and hygiene habits, and how first impressions last. But recently, I came across slides from a webinar entitled The Ballad of Ken and Barbie: Why We’re Destined to Commit False Positives when Hiring  that shed light on some surprising information about job seekers’ appearances. Looks do count in the workplace I was not surprised to read that the better looking you are, the better you fare in the workplace. According to this webinar, studies have shown that the more attractive you are, the more likely positive skills and behavioral traits will be applied to you in an employment setting. Surprisingly, men are actually more at risk of this bias than women. Not only do employees and hiring managers of the opposite sex often discriminate in favor of attractive coworkers or job seekers, but employees and managers of the same sex will often discriminate against the “beautiful people.” Taller employees earn more What I was most surprised to learn is the specific monetary losses that can be attributed to those who are, well, not physically gifted. Ever been self-conscious about your height? On the average, taller employees earn an average of $789 more per year, per inch of height than their shorter coworkers.  As you may guess, however, this is definitely gender-biased, as most men do not prefer women who are taller than they are. Overweight employees Overweight employees stand to suffer the most financial loss due to discrimination in the workplace. And unlike general attractiveness, this bias tends to affect women more than men. According to Forbes.com, 74.1% of US residents and 63.8% of UK residents are overweight. However, despite the numbers being in favor of the overweight, the average female employee suffering from obesity stands to earn 6.2% less in her lifetime than a slender coworker with the equivalent qualifications. Similarly, an obese male employee can expect to earn 2.3% less. On the average, 64 extra pounds of body weight results in a 9% drop in pay over one’s lifetime. Concerns over health issues Aside from the issue of appearance, employers may discriminate against overweight job seekers due to concerns regarding health issues that could lead to frequent absences and costly medical claims. A study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine reported that obese employees’ medical claims costs were seven times higher and indemnity claims costs were 11 times higher than their thinner coworkers. Additionally, heavier employees filed twice as many workers’ compensation claims and missed 13 times as many workdays as normal-weight employees. Candidates looking older than they are And what about ageism in the workplace? Is this solely attributable to companies not wanting to pay more for experience? Not likely. With the advent of social media, smart phones and apps for every conceivable purpose, companies want to appear youthful, vibrant and cutting-edge. In an online survey conducted by Newsweek, 84% of hiring managers said they believe some bosses would hesitate before hiring a qualified job candidate who looked much older than his or her coworkers. In fact, in the same survey, when hiring managers were asked to rate nine character attributes from one to 10 (with 10 being the most important), a candidate’s looks scored a 7.1, even higher than education, which scored a 6.8. Conclusion Unfortunately, there is little we can do to combat society’s fixation with looks. In today’s world, where the music charts are ruled by beautiful singers whose vocals are auto-tuned to hide their lack of musical ability, and TV networks are inundated with attractive yet talentless reality show stars, it seems that our desire to keep company with the beautiful people is not going away any time soon. But for those who have felt their frustration grow throughout this article, there is some comfort…physical beauty doesn’t last forever. It’s a revolving door, and while the public’s fascination with looks may be here to stay, the same people will not always be able to take advantage of it. Knowledge and experience, however, last forever. For those who have enjoyed the advantages of having the tables turned in their favor due to their appearance, they are faced with the frustration of being rewarded for something superficial rather than their ability, qualifications and hard work. In the end, when it comes to discrimination in the workplace, even the winners lose. Image: Shutterstock

Eliminating Age Discrimination - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Eliminating Age Discrimination - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Companies who want to sell their products to Baby Boomers use advertising slogans like 60 is the new 50, implying that somehow older people today are younger than their chronological ages. This psychological approach has worked well for selling Harleys and Viagra ® to aging Baby Boomers. However, corporate hiring managers and recruiters are not buying it. Their truthful assessment would more likely be 50 is the new 60. In fact, a major shift has occurred in age-based employability during the 21st century. Rather than seeing their 50s as a time to grow their careers and stay at the top until choosing when to retire in their 60s, todays job seekers understand that they need to achieve their career peak by their early 50s. If you are a Baby Boomer in your 50s or early 6os, you know what I mean. If you are in your 40s, take heed and get to work! To get to the crux of this issue, I polled several recruiter friends and asked them what they thought about age discrimination in hiring. As noted in Chapter 2 of Fast Track Your Job Search (and Career!),  the consensus of recruiters was as follows: The main reason that older workers do not get invited for interviews and do not get hired has less to do with their age and more to do with their conformance to the “older worker stereotype”. This stereotype has a variety of components that typical older workers project, including -Resistant to change, with inflexible opinions  -Lack physical energy and drive  -Looking for a place to park until retirement  -Do not have current, competitive skills  -Lack of up to date knowledge of the job, industry, etc.  -Have “let themselves go” regarding dress, weight, hair, etc.  -Do not meet typical educational criteria So, what can you do if you are an older worker? My advice is to recognize that discrimination exists, but avoid using this as an excuse for a lack of personal success. Make an honest assessment of your attributes. Decide where you are conforming to the older worker stereotype and make an effort to become non-conforming. In other words, strive to  change your personal brand from Im an older worker to Im an experienced worker with what you need. Every corporate hiring decision involves discrimination. Employers want to hire a person with the right personality, experience, knowledge, credentials, work ethic, technical expertise, etc. And, yes, they have an expectation of the age range of people who will or wont tend to fit in. If you will eliminate your negatives and stop acting like a typical older worker, you can definitely increase your odds of success. What do you think? Have you experienced age discrimination in your job search or career? Do you agree that you could make changes in your personal presentation that could reduce the effects of such discrimination, or not? Id love to hear your thoughts! Author: Richard Kirby  is an executive career consultant, speaker on career strategies, and author of Fast Track Your Job Search (and Career!). Richard Kirby’s earlier experience includes managing engineering, human resources, marketing and sales teams for employers that ranged from a Fortune 100 to a VC-funded entrepreneurial startup. For the past 11 years at Executive Impact, Richard has helped hundreds of executives and professionals successfully navigate today’s transformed 21st century job market and achieve better employment for themselves. Richard’s expertise includes career assessments and goal setting, personal marketing/branding, resume enhancement, strategic networking and job interviewing, and “contrarian” job search methodologies. He is a Board Certified Coach (in career coaching) and a Certified Management Consultant (recognized by the ISO).

National Careers Week 2015 Unofficial Live Blog #NCW15

National Careers Week 2015 Unofficial Live Blog #NCW15 Welcome to the live blog of National Careers Week (NCW) 2015. This is an unofficial live blog for NCW15. At Career Geek weve supported National Careers Week since 2012 and its a careers initiative we are proud to see continue. According to its website  Careers Week encourages education providers to bring together students, local employers and advisers through careers events and activities. During National Careers Week it is up to every school, academy and college to offer careers advice and guidance to their students. *UPDATED LIVE BLOG WILL APPEAR BELOW. Please Wait 5-10 seconds. You May need to refresh this page.   // 0

Monday Motivation Happy Fall!!

Monday Motivation Happy Fall!! Welcome to my weekly post called Monday Motivation! Every Monday morning, I will share with you some of my favorite links around the web. These may be about personal development, goals, career development, networking, fashion.who knows! I promise you that these tips will be a great start to your busy week and you will be able to use some of these tips at work or at home this week. Feel free to share in the comments how these tips have helped you or add your own positive and motivating tip! Have a wonderful week! Here are a few great posts around the web to start your week off right! 7 Autumn Accessories you will Fall For by Real Simple Magazine If the days are starting to get shorter and your mood is changing along with the weather,  find out why Fall is a Time to Refocus on Career Priorities. Time for some Fall Cleaning and Organization for your office.   Great tips! With back to school and less daylightwho has time and energy to make dinner these days?   Check out these Fast Fall Dinners. Everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves turn. Elizabeth Lawrence

Make Your College Resume Easy Read

Make Your College Resume Easy ReadHaving a College Resume template is an easy way to add a professional touch to your resume. There are so many different templates out there that it can be overwhelming to see the choices available to you. You might have just started college, or you might have been in school for a while and want to re-write the resume of your old career.This type of professional resume template will save you time, effort, and money. No more filling out cover letters and setting up interviews. The template will do all that work for you. This also gives you a chance to learn the skills necessary to perform the job for which you are applying.Those who are just entering college should be searching for new skills. Most employers today are looking for a well-rounded employee. This is why your college resume will benefit you in all your future jobs.Another thing to look for when looking for a course college resume template is how easy the template is to follow. How many step s do you need to go through in order to accomplish a task? Do the steps seem too long to keep track of?When it comes to how easy it is to write your own college resume, there is nothing easier than a template. If it was a life changing event for you, you will want to include that information. It will also be a great incentive to use a college resume template if you wrote an essay.If you are not able to use a template or you are not a writer, you will have to write your own college resume. You need to be very organized about where you have placed your resume on the resume and what you want to highlight. Of course, this can be tough when you are used to writing and rewriting resumes by hand.And, that leads us to another thing that you need to take into consideration. Writing your own resume is fun and often rewarding, but remember that the greatest rewards are right in front of you! You need to find someone who can help you write the perfect resume for you. You may have to pay for it, but it will be well worth it in the end.A final factor to take into consideration is that these kinds of templates are available at virtually any college bookstore. If you do not find what you are looking for in the bookstore, you can easily find one online. A little research will give you all the answers you need.

Book review Down and out in the magic kingdom - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

Book review Down and out in the magic kingdom - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog Cory Doctorow has written his first novel. Its a science fiction story, set in the Bitchun society about 100 years from now, where the world has turned disneyesque. I liked the story, and I loved the neat, far out or just plain weird ideas and concepts. Whats most remarkable about the book though, is that its available either in a dead tree version or for free on the net. Yep, you can download the whole book to your PC or palm or just read it in the browser as I did. Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related

Why Newsweeks Dress Code is Right on the Mark

Why Newsweeks Dress Code is Right on the Mark Why Newsweeks Dress Code is Right on the Mark We could replace “Newsweek” with just about any company name, but here’s the gist of the policy: “Denim jeans, sweat suits, low-rise pants, sneakers, sandals, flip-flops, halter tops, camisoles, baseball caps, sweat suits, t-shirts, tank tops, micro mini-skirts, shorts, or anything else that is deemed unprofessional or excessively distracting are inappropriate business attire and should not be worn to work.” On social media platforms, comments on the leak range from “…adults working in a professional environment should dress professionally” to “I think dress codes for adults are just stupid…” There is no dress code that will make everybody happy, but they are important. Let’s take a closer look at this often-debated subject. 1. The intent is positive You, as an employee, may feel that a dress code is restricting. I have heard, “My company says they are open to diversity, yet they want us all to dress alike.” Actually, your company IS open to diversity, so they want to avoid anybody or anything from offending someone else. It is not only things we say that can that can be offensive, so can the things we wear. We work for globally diverse companies, and many things can be offensive to various cultures. For example, some people dont want to see undergarments of any kind, cleavage, often-unkempt toes, etc. As for casual attire (sweatpants, baseball caps), wear those at night and on weekends all you want. Work is called work for a reason. It is the place that compensates us to work in THEIR environment, abiding by their values, rules, policies, and helping them build THEIR brand. If certain elements of your company’s brand are the color of the paint on the walls and how people dress, that is their decision. You may elect to not work there if the requirements are not comfortable for you. 2. Dress code challenges transcend gender and generations As a manager, I have had to have dress code conversations with men and women, and I have had to have them with baby boomers (born 1946-1964), Gen X-ers (born 1965-1976), and Millennials (born 1977-1992). Within each generation there is a wide continuum of conservative to liberal attitudes and as many interpretations of the type of dress that is appropriate enough or professional enough. I’m sure there are some senior executives who are equally challenged with Newsweeks new dress code. 3. More clothing choices are appropriate and professional than are inappropriate and unprofessional There is a wide range of clothes that are acceptable, allowing individuals to express their creativity and uniqueness. Just look around you. There are colors, fabrics, combinations, styles and accessories that bring out a sense of individuality while still providing appropriate dress for work. A wardrobe can be low-cost, second-hand, or vintage and still be acceptable. 4. Do you really think your attire or a dress code makes you less cool, less creative, less important or less interesting? First impressions are truly lasting, so why be labeled before you even show your talents? Like those required at some grade schools and high schools, I often wish we wore a uniform at work so we would be judged (and compensated!) on how we meet or exceed our job requirements. Period. In today’s new era of work, I believe the No. 1 career word is “choices.” We are all empowered to make choices, that is, when we have choices. You can choose to work for a technology startup that says, “Wear whatever you want.” Or you can work for a company with a brand that requires a certain level of dress standard. Or you can start your own business and wear whatever you want! What is your opinion? We want to hear it! We look forward to your comments!