Silly Accessories Can Make You Memorable – Too Memorable
DECEMBER 1ST, 2017 | BY RUTHI POSTOW
Inanimate objects speak! They even tell jokes.
If you don’t believe that, try sitting at the HR assistant’s desk in the lobby of a human resources department and look at some of the accessories people bring to their job interviews.
The HR assistant is the first to see the accessories people bring to interviews and the clothes they have chosen to wear, and knows they speak.
The things they say can cause the candidate to be out on the street in minutes.
Imagine what’s going through the assistant’s mind when she sees the things people do to sabotage themselves.
“I see some crazily dressed or accessorized person come out of the boss’s office, scratching his head as though wondering: ‘Why? I don’t understand. She only interviewed me for 10 minutes and didn’t ask me any questions about my skills. Why?’ I’d love to tell the person that it’s because his accessories did all the talking!”
The HR assistant’s thoughts about some of the accessories she sees:
The clown-car purse.
The woman carried a huge and bulging purse when she came for the office manager position. When the HR assistant asked for her resume, she riffled through the purse, pushing things aside, trying to find it. She plopped the purse on the assistant’s desk and continued to plow through it.
“It’s here somewhere.”
She pulled things out and piled them on the desk – iPhone, letters and bills, lipstick, hairbrush, used tissues, an apple and a woolen cap.
“Sorry. I know it’s in here.” She kept digging.
A box of mints, candy bar, gum, pill bottle, and a novel.
As more things were pulled from the bag, the receptionist it as a clown-car with too many clowns climbing out.
Gum wrappers came from the bottom, then loose change, and the purse was empty.
For a minute the woman looked baffled. Then, with an ah-ha expression, she looked inside the book where she found the much-folded and wrinkled resume.
The plastic, grocery bag full of – interview necessities?
“Why did this reasonably dressed young man see fit to bring a grocery bag to a professional interview? Hmmm… Looks like he came from the gym.” Through the semi-transparent plastic, she could identify red gym shoes bulging out on one side, and a wad of red and green cloth? Gym pants maybe? Tee-shirt? She couldn’t be sure. “I see the edge of the iPad there, and, oh, what’s that? A sandwich? No. A pack of cigarettes. And a book – does he really think he will be here long enough to need novels? He’s wrong.”
Jazzy shirt, arrogant expression & sunglasses – trifecta!
“Give me a break! I give his interview 12 minutes.”
The femme fatale’s fatal fittings
“Uh-oh. This one’s gonna set off alarms that can be heard all the way to the c-suite. That dress she’s almost wearing doesn’t leave any unanswered questions. Can’t wait till the director sees it.
Wonder what job she thinks she’s applying for. Sex kitten, seductress, coquette? Maybe man-eater? Home wrecker? Trouble! I’ll bet the Director has her out of his office before you can say inappropriate!”
Backpacks – killer of the corporate vibe
“The boss will love this accessory. She loves the dirty-backpack look. Maybe he thought this was black Friday and he’d have to camp out in front of my building to be first in line?”
Flourishes, flounces & frills – adorable and then some!
“Oh, my. Isn’t she sweet? All pretty in pink with ruffles from neck to baby-doll-length hem. And the headband with a pink and yellow polka-dot bow! She looks just like a little girl in a Disney cartoon. If the boss wants to play peek-a-boo rather than do serious work, she’s the gal.”
Anything over-the-top
Fake eyelashes, big jewelry, or anything that makes noise: “High-maintenance!”
Bluetooth earpiece
“Nothing matters to you as much as connecting with your buddies. If the boss’s plans conflict with yours, the boss you will just need to make adjustments. That’ll work.”