Breaking the code

“First impressions are always very important. As they say, you have seven seconds to make your first impression, and your clothes will absolutely affect that as well as grooming,” said Sharon Snow, owner of Express Personnel Services.

Express and other local staffing businesses help applicants by coaching them in preparation for job interviews, and while that includes help with their résumés, it also means giving them tips on appearance.

“Your attire reflects how your work is going to be,” said Melodie Thomlinson, Springfield branch manger of Kelly Services.

Bill Abbott Sr., CEO of Springfield Office Supply, said that how individuals present themselves during interviews can speak volumes about how they’ll treat customers. And while he emphasized that appearance shouldn’t be the sole issue in hiring, he said that he has not hired anyone who came to an interview dressed sloppily.

In sales – which are key to Springfield Office Supply – appearance can directly affect business.

“In my business, right or wrong, if I offend a customer, that costs me something,” Abbott said.

Salespeople at Springfield Office Supply are asked to wear suits and ties when doing business in town, Abbott said, but the dress code is more relaxed if the salesperson has to travel out of town.

Regardless of what staffing companies and employers might think about appearance, casualization appears to be a trend – at least in the minds of job applicants.

“The trend is the applicants come in very comfortable and think that’s acceptable,” said Nancy Merry, executive director of Medical Employment Directory. “About 50 percent of the time they come in with the attitude, ‘This is the way I am. Take me as I am.’”

Medical Employment Directory locates employees for all types of positions in the medical field, including front-office and back-office positions, paramedics and insurance employees.

While Merry said that offices in the medical field are relaxing their standards slightly, there’s not as much relaxing as applicants presume.

And relaxing dress codes aren’t limited to the medical field.

“I think the business community in general has become more casual than it used to be,” Thomlinson said.

Eight years ago when she started as manager at Kelly, her position required that she dressed in full business suit, with hose and heels, she said.

Now, for the same position, she wears closed-toe shoes, dress pants and a dress shirt. Depending on the client she is visiting, she might wear a business suit with a skirt instead of dress slacks.

Snow said that casual attire for job

interviews is exhibited mostly by individuals who have not been in a professional environment.

“They’re new to the environment, and they don’t realize the importance,” she said.

Although a professional look is a plus, Abbott said, it’s OK if an applicant comes in casual attire – as long as he or she has made an effort to be presentable.

“If you go to someone’s office, someone you do not know, you need to present yourself as neat and clean and orderly as possible,” Abbott said. “It doesn’t mean you have to have on expensive clothes. That has nothing to do with it.”

Abbott said he thinks the casual trend in the business world has reached its peak.

“I think employers are drawing the line,” he said.

Thomlinson and Snow said that their expectations about how applicants should dress vary depending on the type of position and the particular employer’s dress policy.

For clerical work, Thomlinson said general business attire for men is a business shirt tucked in, dress pants, dress shoes, and the applicant should be well-groomed. A tie isn’t necessarily required. Similarly for women, business dress often means a skirt or dress pants, a dress shirt, closed-toe shoes and a well-groomed appearance.

Snow’s definition of professional dress differed from Thomlinson’s in that for Snow’s applicants, professional dress is a suit.

While Merry agreed that dress code requirements vary by job, applicants “need to remember that professionalism starts with dress and attitude,” and an overall clean, neat and crisp appearance is mandatory.

One coaching tip Merry gives individuals who come to her office is to “be proud of who they are and represent themselves as professionally as they can.”

“They always have to remember there’s somebody right behind them who can get the job,” Merry said.

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