Blog Post: Comments on dress standards and filling out applications when you have a resume

Two readers on my last post had very valid comments.  One noted that not everybody at a job fair everybody is looking for a job that demands a suit.  The other commented on the fact that many hiring folks give you go fill it out and bring back.  I think both of these comments are worthy of some consideration.  Let’s talk about them for a moment.

The first reader is quite right.  Many of the jobs at a job fair do not require wearing a suit on a daily basis.  Some of them never require a suit.  For these jobs in may be counterproductive to wear a suit at the fair.  However it is always, unproductive to show up sloppily dressed and poorly groomed.  For men dress slacks, a button up shirt, and dress shoes with polish are the basics.  The same rule of thumb almost covers women’s dress.  The difference of course is that a blouse and skirt or a dress are acceptable.

In the next few weeks i will have a friend of mine who is a wardrobe consultant visit this blog.  He will discuss dress from the approach of how it makes you feel.  How you feel has an impact on how you present yourself and your chances for success.

I also get pretty annoyed when somebody hands me a form to fill out at a job fair.  After all I’ve worked pretty hard to put together a good resume.  Why won’t they read that?  They probably will read it if it’s attached to their form.  However, they really like to have it their way and their way is having all the information for all job seekers presented in the same order.  They accomplish this by using a form.  You probably would fill out the same form if you showed up their office with a resume.  On the bright side, you least made a bit of a good impression if you received the form to fill out.

Now as far as the form goes my reaction has often been to fill it out as quickly as possible.  I mean they can read the resume of they can’t read the form right?  Well they probably will not read the resume if they can’t read the form. The application or cover sheet plays an important part in this process.  It sequences the information so that it can be read as a checklist.  For the reviewer this is much faster than reviewing documents that present the information in various different sequences.  It also provides the business representatives with cues for questions to ask you.  The application will at times remind you of skills you might have left out of your resume, or a verbal presentation. 

You need to realize that a many businesses receive far more job applications then they can possibly review.  So their process with job applicants is one of elimination.  The very first way to create a manageable “read pile” is to create a large reject pile. The next step is to narrow the resumes down to the folks that will get interviewed.  Your process is one of staying in the game.  So, make a good impression, fill out the application and move forward.