Member Article

Job seekers told to scrub up

Temporary job candidates are spending time on their CVs, but not their appearances, according to new research. Almost half of recruiters said applicants’ major pitfall was giving employers a bad first impression by failing their ‘scratch and sniff’ test. In fact, poor personal appearance was employers’ most common complaint about job candidates, according to feedback from 200 recruitment agencies.

According to REC, who commissioned the research, turning up too casual was the biggest mistake. This slip-up was typically made by younger applicants, with most employers complaining of trainers, too much jewellery or revealing clothing.

Tom Hadley, a director at the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, which commissioned the research, said: “The feedback from many recruiters suggests that many job hunters are being a little too blasé when it comes to preparing for interviews. “Candidates are very much in the driving seat when it comes to choosing their next role but it’s vital they don’t become complacent and miss out on that all important job offer simply because of their appearance.

“By taking the time to prepare, job hunters are much more likely to be comfortable and confident during interviews.”

Candidate clangers in the research included one woman who was too vain to wear her glasses to interview that she mistook a cupboard for the door on the way out. One candidate, when asked to identify their biggest weakness, replied “my dishonesty,” while another responded to a question about their IT skills by saying he was an expert on Sony’s PlayStation.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .