Job Search Tips: "Look Younger in 10 Minutes"

WINNERSVILLE, USA - We all understand the importance of maintaining a winning appearance in a job search.  Looking good has a self-reinforcing effect on candidates:  You look like a winner, so you feel like a winner.  And you will get hired faster, by better companies, and for more money because you act like a winner.  It's what I call duck logic: "Looks like a duck.  Quacks like a duck.  Must be a duck."

To that end, today's Wall Street Journal has a nice article called "Looking More Awake: A Dermatologist's Tips."  Although the article is written for women, I thought you guys might benefit from it, too.

That's right, George Clooney.  This is a tough economy!  You want to look awake don't you?  I've met lots of losers who were asleep at the switch -- but not many winners.  And I have never represented a winning candidate whose face looked like an old catcher's mitt.

So pay attention.  Here are Dr. Patricia Wexler's top five tricks to conceal dull skin and puffy eyes -- the primary causes of looking haggard in a job interview:

1. Get lots of sleep.  A lack of sleep can cause the skin to dehydrate, causing it to look thin and blue during your interview.
2. Stay hydrated.  Use moisturizer and drink lots of water during your job search.
3. Exfoliate.  After washing your face, use a microdermabrasion treatment to buff away the surface layer of skin.
4. Use skin-brightening eye creams that that include caffeine, cucumber, and yeast extract -- all of which deflate puffiness.  That's right, guys.  It's war out there, so you'll need some camouflage.  The best creams will also include botanicals such as white birch and mulberry to lighten your skin and make you appear more awake during those tedious panel interviews.
5. Avoid alcohol, spicy foods, and caffeinated drinks a day or two before the job interview.  While this time line is my own -- Dr. Wexler notes that all of these things bring swelling to the eyes.

Of course, in a pinch candidates can simply apply ice cold tea bags to their eyes.  According to Dr. Wexler, "Ten minutes will do the trick every time."
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Comments

[C]

Oh, I found this so amusing. Especially since you're reposting them for guys. Men seem to age well in general, I think.

As for #1 and #2, those are common sense.

[Eric]

Here are some other tips what I've found in one of the most unfair scenarios in business there is. The Job Interview.

1. Wear your nicest suit. I don't care what the local biz casual standard is. You aren't hired yet, so show respect and show you are a true pro. Dress nicely. Polish your shoes too. Women look at shoes first on a man. (believe it.) Shoes are where you can tell if a person has style and a successful income. Women use this measure to do a quick wallet biopsy. (this is a free dating strategy too by the way.) Shiny shoes show attention to detail and pride of place.

2. Get a haircut. Regardless of length or style, get it cut to look clean. Minimize facial hair. If you have it, wash it and keep it trimmed. This is totally optional, but you might consider dye it if you have a lot of gray.

3. Do your homework. Search the web for all the details you can on your new prospective company. Get their annual report and READ it. Those things will hand deliver what the most important goals are for the firm. Articulate those goals when you put your value proposition together. Explain specifically how your skills help achieve those goals. High probability the knucklehead interviewing you hasnt figured out how HE fits into that equation. hiring you might just get his ticket punched. Create value for the guy you are being hired by.

4. Google your interviewer. Google is an amazing tool. You can quickly determine a persons background, hobbies, education, former business roles, etc. Mentioning an interest in flowers to a person who grows them creates instant report. (thats one I actually did). It also gives you incite into how the interviewer thinks and perspective on your potential answers. Just like the military, intel is your friend.

5. Dont value junk. Who cares if you can dress in T-shirts and bring the dog to work? Thats great stuff but dont let a recruiter or a hiring manager sell you those "values" in exchange for a lower salary. This is a classic negotiating tool called an elegant exchange. You give up something of little real value in exchange for something of value from the other negotiator. For instance how valuable is it to work in a casual environment where you can wear jeans to work when you work at home and wear bunny slippers most of the day anyway?

6. If the interviews tend to be academic in nature or have a specific theoretical hiring model, adjust to it. Do your homework on the company and their interviewing style. Also when faced with a broad question...think broadly. Most of the time the company is not gaging your answer as much as your thought process. Google is famous for this.
I am seriously not above politely asking an interviewer questions on why they were selected to handle this interview. I use that to refocus the discussion on specific hiring requirements where possible.

Eric

[management recruiter]

Oh, come on! This was just a goofy little post about looking one's best for the interview. All interviews are theater. It's embarrassing to say that -- but this has been my experience.

[Ted Grigg]

I want to look my best. But I also want to meet the employers' expectations long term.

Corporate positions such as CMO are easy to oversell by good interviewers. Maybe that it why the average tenure for CMOs is 23 months.

So it is no longer just getting the assignment, but keeping it that seems to be at least as difficult as getting the job in the first place.

This is a good post. But how can we lengthen the tenure? Or does that really of concern to most headhunters who just want to make the sale?

[Harry Joiner]

I prefer the Huey Lewis approach: Slam my face in a bowl of ice water. Whooooosh!!

[Alex Andrei]

I personally prefer the John Travolta (in Face-Off) approach - where I secretly swap my old crappy face with the bright and shiny one of a criminal mastermind aka Nicolas Cage. :)