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When you’re hiring an accountant, you’re looking for someone who can talk the talk and look the part. Here are tips for interpreting the interview attire of your accounting job interviewees.
If you’re in charge of hiring for your finance team, it’s important to know what to look for in a finance job candidate. And while credentials, past experience and a good rapport cannot be overstated when assessing a person vying for a finance job, candidates should also be assessed with regard to the clothes he or she wears to the interview.
A finance job candidate’s choice of interview attire says a lot about them, revealing things like how serious they are about the job and their level of professionalism. If you’re unsure of how to interpret a finance job candidate’s interview duds, you should, at the very least, mind the following: cleanliness, formality and comfort.
Cleanliness
Cleanliness, or lack of it, is a strong indicator of a candidate’s level of professionalism. More important than the type of one’s clothes or the way they fit, if an individual vying for a finance job at your company does not meet a certain level of cleanliness, this should be a giant red flag. So, the candidate’s every item of clothing should be spotless (no coffee stains), clean and freshly pressed. Their hair should not look unwashed. While this sounds superficial, finance jobs are highly competitive, and require a great deal of responsibility. For a person to show up looking unkempt or not entirely clean suggests they can’t be trusted to maintain a certain level of professionalism on the job.
Formality
If a finance job candidate takes the initiative to dress up for an interview, it means he or she takes the opportunity seriously, and is committed to making the best possible impression. If, however, an individual shows up wearing casual attire, this is definitely cause to question how motivated they are to get the job, and how much effort they’ve been willing to put into preparing for the interview.
Comfort
Sure, not everyone feels comfortable dressed up in their most formal or fancy threads, but if a finance job candidate demonstrates complete discomfort in the clothes he or she has donned to the interview—and we’re talking tripping in their heels or constantly fidgeting with their tie—you’ve got to wonder how generally comfortable they are with a high-powered corporate environment, or how much experience they have within the finance world.
…if a finance job candidate comes across as unpresentable, unkempt, or unprofessional, this should not be taken lightly.
All in all, you don’t want to be judging a candidate on the brand names (or lack thereof) they’ve got on or on his or her ability to look slick in a power suit. Looks and clothes will, of course, only get a person so far in the work world. But if a finance job candidate comes across as unpresentable, unkempt, or unprofessional, this should not be taken lightly.
Let us know what you think! At Clarity Recruitment, we’re always interested in hearing from accounting and finance professionals like yourselves, who are ready for new, exciting opportunities that can take their careers to the next level. And be sure to follow us on Twitter (@clarityrecruits) and connect with us on Facebook for more great tips and advice!