Woman loses job interview- outfit not "conservative" enough

[Tiny]

Oh my goodness.... the only thing I want from 'service' people is service! As long as they are knowledgeable, polite, and helpful - I don't care if they are green and from Raxacoricofallapatorius!!  



I've been 'helped' by plenty of "nice looking" people who couldn't find their way out of a paper bag, so I'll happily work with a pink haired, tattoo'd, pierced person as long as they can actually help me (or are polite).  I don't care what they look like!   Even if they ultimately have to say "I don't know" as long as they can point me to someone who does know or who can help - they are perfect for the job.

[Shooby]

  They didnt like her or want to hire her.  So, she can argue about it and continue to be unemployed or she can try to figure out what an employer is looking for.  

[chiver78]

Mar 9, 2017 22:40:08 GMT -5 Shooby said:

  They didnt like her or want to hire her.  So, she can argue about it and continue to be unemployed or she can try to figure out what an employer is looking for.  

actually, they did offer for her to come back to shadow in different clothing.... so clearly there was some interest. but don't actually read the link or anything.

[msventoux]

We've had interns that looked worse than that. Maybe not the hair, but everything else.

[zibazinski]

Ugh

[steph08]

I thought she looked professionally dressed. The article says she sent a photo so they knew what to expect.

It's a Boots in London. When I studied abroad there in college, I was waited on by all sorts for people at shops and restaurants. It wouldn't have bothered me.

In fact, she has a unique style and I think that would have transferred well to matching glasses to a person's face.

[moon/Laura]

Mar 9, 2017 22:40:08 GMT -5 Shooby said:

  They didnt like her or want to hire her.  So, she can argue about it and continue to be unemployed or she can try to figure out what an employer is looking for.  

An employer is looking for someone to do a fucking JOB. Right? Did her appearance have anything to do with her skills?

[zibazinski]

Maybe, maybe not. No idea what her skills are or were. That part isn't discussed.

[Miss Tequila]

Mar 10, 2017 6:25:04 GMT -5 moon/Laura said:

Mar 9, 2017 22:40:08 GMT -5 Shooby said:

  They didnt like her or want to hire her.  So, she can argue about it and continue to be unemployed or she can try to figure out what an employer is looking for.  

An employer is looking for someone to do a fucking JOB. Right? Did her appearance have anything to do with her skills?

That doesn't always matter. I come from public accounting and you were expected to dress conservatively. We dealt with clients on a daily basis. We actually fired a kid because he showed up to a bank audit with a tongue piercing. The cfo called the partner to complain. It was a violation of our dress code (we all sign acknowledgement of the code when we are hired) and he was pissing off clients.

Where I work now it is not as conservative but we have visitors to the office on a daily basis. You are expected to dress and look professional. if you show up to an interview looking way out of line with what is accepted you will not get hired

The way we present ourselves matters. It is different in different industries, though.

[Shooby]

Mar 10, 2017 6:25:04 GMT -5 moon/Laura said:

Mar 9, 2017 22:40:08 GMT -5 Shooby said:

  They didnt like her or want to hire her.  So, she can argue about it and continue to be unemployed or she can try to figure out what an employer is looking for.  

An employer is looking for someone to do a fucking JOB. Right? Did her appearance have anything to do with her skills?

Most employment at least here is "At Will".  And, employers can hire whom they choose to hire.  She isn't entitled to a job.   Personally, i think she looks fine.  But, i am not the one interviewing and hiring.  So, i really don't see what getting angry serves to do?

[skubikky]

Mar 9, 2017 16:12:56 GMT -5 zibazinski said:

She might fit in better with a less professional job. She's more of a free spirit. Not a good fit.

Well, she would probably by a very good fit to interact with people who are maybe a bit younger than 65 and dress similarly.
More and more you're seeing more edgy fashion, as she was dressed, in metropolitan areas.  Particularly in London, Manchester, Leeds etc.

Actually in some areas her dress and appearance would be MORE appropriate than someone dressed in a conservative suit and blouse.

JMHO

[countrygirl2]

I think it was the hair, it said her head was shaved, don't know if the topknot was artificial

or what. But she looked a lot better then many people I've seen. She had on a skirt, hose,

blouse and looked ok to me.

[Lizard Queen]

She's cute, but her outfit not so much. (It's okay, but a bit ugly, IMO.) It does seem fairly conservative, as she's mostly covered up. For retail, worker bees reflect the image the company wants to present. It's part of their marketing. If her look turns off some customers, then it hopefully attracts more other customers. If it doesn't, then her look is hurting sales.

[hoops902]

Mar 10, 2017 6:25:04 GMT -5 moon/Laura said:

Mar 9, 2017 22:40:08 GMT -5 Shooby said:

  They didnt like her or want to hire her.  So, she can argue about it and continue to be unemployed or she can try to figure out what an employer is looking for.  

An employer is looking for someone to do a fucking JOB. Right? Did her appearance have anything to do with her skills?

An employer in a customer-facing role is looking for someone to represent the company...part of that is doing the actual job tasks...part of that is the image you convey. 

[Miss Tequila]

Mar 10, 2017 8:32:44 GMT -5 skubikky said:

Mar 9, 2017 16:12:56 GMT -5 zibazinski said:

She might fit in better with a less professional job. She's more of a free spirit. Not a good fit.

Well, she would probably by a very good fit to interact with people who are maybe a bit younger than 65 and dress similarly.
More and more you're seeing more edgy fashion, as she was dressed, in metropolitan areas.  Particularly in London, Manchester, Leeds etc.

Actually in some areas her dress and appearance would be MORE appropriate than someone dressed in a conservative suit and blouse.

JMHO

Good point. But we must also understand that if you don't live in a metropolitan area that her appearance might not fly.

[Phoenix84]

For the kind of job she was applying for, the outfit seemed fine.

If it was for a more "professional" job, I'd say she was under dressed and should lose the haircut and piercings.

[Miss Tequila]

Mar 10, 2017 10:20:26 GMT -5 Phoenix84 said:

For the kind of job she was applying for, the outfit seemed fine.

If it was for a more "professional" job, I'd say she was under dressed and should lose the haircut and piercings.

But if she is dealing with customers that might not be the look the company wants their customers to see. We don't get to make that call. 

[Phoenix84]

Mar 10, 2017 10:29:33 GMT -5 Miss Tequila said:

Mar 10, 2017 10:20:26 GMT -5 Phoenix84 said:

For the kind of job she was applying for, the outfit seemed fine.

If it was for a more "professional" job, I'd say she was under dressed and should lose the haircut and piercings.

But if she is dealing with customers that might not be the look the company wants their customers to see. We don't get to make that call. 

That's fine, a company can hire who they want or not for any reason.  No employer is obligated to employ anyone.  I'm not going to cry crocodile tears because she didn't get the job. 

I'm just saying in my opinion, her look was acceptable for retail. 

[Value Buy]

Mar 9, 2017 22:40:08 GMT -5 Shooby said:

  They didnt like her or want to hire her.  So, she can argue about it and continue to be unemployed or she can try to figure out what an employer is looking for.  

I felt her pictures were actually okay. No problem there.
Since we do not have the actual content of her interview, hard to come to the proper reason she was left abruptly in the middle of the interview.
She may not present the proper verbal presentation needed for the job. 

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Corporate said they don't have a dress code when they replied to her and even invited her to interview at another location.   I wonder how much autonomy do the individual stores have to set dress codes.

Because it sounds like it's a personal preference of whoever owns the store vs an actual company wide policy.

Which at least for me would be confusing because, and I may be wrong about this, I don't interview in a suit for retail type jobs.    To me what she is wearing is perfectly fine to interview for a retail type position.   I save my business wear for my professional job.


I will also say I don't get the attitude about the piercings.   Every dress code I have read has said it's fine if you have piercings/tattoos so long as they can be covered up or removed while on the clock.   She even told them that she would remove them/cover up while on the clock.   What does it matter if you leave it in for the interview?

[Tiny]

What's implied in the article is that perhaps if hired she will 'revert' back to her 'less conservative' mode of dress.        Which is also kind of a stupid prejudice because, you know, everyone dresses JUST like they dress for work when they are NOT at work... 

I think that's one of the things that employers just have to take a leap of faith on - that as long as someone manages to dress correctly for the interview - that they will also be able to dress correctly for the job if they are hired. In other words  not revert back to their day wear of sleep pants and hoodies OR whatever other style of clothing they wear when not at work.

Then again, most places of employment have some sort of dress code - which hopefully they would discuss with EVERY person they are seriously considering hiring - even if the interviewee has to bring up the subject.  

Again, I don't really care what someone looks like - as long as they are competent at their job (and generally polite)... I just don't care.  

I realize I do not have the "touchy feely" gene and I am not particularly OCD where everything MUST meet specific rules/expectations or I can't function, so maybe someone who doesn't look like expectations IS an issue for some people.  

[Miss Tequila]

Mar 10, 2017 10:38:22 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

Corporate said they don't have a dress code when they replied to her and even invited her to interview at another location.   I wonder how much autonomy do the individual stores have to set dress codes.

Because it sounds like it's a personal preference of whoever owns the store vs an actual company wide policy.

Which at least for me would be confusing because, and I may be wrong about this, I don't interview in a suit for retail type jobs.    To me what she is wearing is perfectly fine to interview for a retail type position.   I save my business wear for my professional job.


I will also say I don't get the attitude about the piercings.   Every dress code I have read has said it's fine if you have piercings/tattoos so long as they can be covered up or removed while on the clock.   She even told them that she would remove them/cover up while on the clock.   What does it matter if you leave it in for the interview?

And that very well be. I have done a lot of hiring over the years.  As long as I do not discriminate against a protected class it is up to me to make the decision based on who I think is the best fit for the position.  A lot of times there are things I just can't put my finger on but a candidate will rub me the wrong way. 

I have always looked very professional when interviewing, even back when I was in college and not looking for a professional job. To me, how a person presents themselves means a lot to me. It doesn't to you. The issue is, if I'm the one doing the interview the person dressed too casually will not get the job (or too weird looking for our company/area). Since you will never know if you will interview with someone like me versus someone like you, if the person really wants the job they should try to look at professional as possible. Or, they realize it would not be a good fit to work for me (because they show up on day one looking like a bad fit it won't work)

[Miss Tequila]

Mar 10, 2017 11:06:23 GMT -5 Tiny said:

What's implied in the article is that perhaps if hired she will 'revert' back to her 'less conservative' mode of dress.        Which is also kind of a stupid prejudice because, you know, everyone dresses JUST like they dress for work when they are NOT at work... 

I think that's one of the things that employers just have to take a leap of faith on - that as long as someone manages to dress correctly for the interview - that they will also be able to dress correctly for the job if they are hired. In other words  not revert back to their day wear of sleep pants and hoodies OR whatever other style of clothing they wear when not at work.

Then again, most places of employment have some sort of dress code - which hopefully they would discuss with EVERY person they are seriously considering hiring - even if the interviewee has to bring up the subject.  

Again, I don't really care what someone looks like - as long as they are competent at their job (and generally polite)... I just don't care.  

I realize I do not have the "touchy feely" gene and I am not particularly OCD where everything MUST meet specific rules/expectations or I can't function, so maybe someone who doesn't look like expectations IS an issue for some people.  

Isn't that the problem, though?  She wasn't dressed appropriately for the interview.  

[imanangel]

Mar 9, 2017 16:12:56 GMT -5 zibazinski said:

She might fit in better with a less professional job. She's more of a free spirit. Not a good fit.

I have a professional job. I have several tattoos and my nose is pierced. 

[zibazinski]

Do you show them to your students?

[weltschmerz]

I think she looks fine. I was expecting much worse.
Nothing wrong with her appearance.

[imanangel]

Mar 10, 2017 20:45:15 GMT -5 zibazinski said:

Do you show them to your students?

My students have seen 2 of my tattoos. Not because I have said "hey, look at my tattoos", but because they are in places that if I wear my hair up, or wear certain clothes, they can be seen. 

[Rob Base 2.0]

Mar 11, 2017 8:41:36 GMT -5 imanangel said:

Mar 10, 2017 20:45:15 GMT -5 zibazinski said:

Do you show them to your students?

My students have seen 2 of my tattoos. Not because I have said "hey, look at my tattoos", but because they are in places that if I wear my hair up, or wear certain clothes, they can be seen. 

Can I see ur tattoos? :-)

[raeoflyte]

The president of our company sent a woman home from an interview and asked her to return dressed more appropriately.  That was 15+ years ago and she's quite successful in the company.  I'm pretty sure she showed up in a clubbing outfit though which didn't meet our dress code.   

In some ways I'm glad the interviewer gave her a reason instead of just passing her over for the job.  But if her clothes met the dress code and she interviewed well enough to move on to the next stage, sending her home because they don't like her style doesn't sit well with me.  It looks like there is an awful blue smock as a uniform that she'd have to don if hired so I don't think we can say she wouldn't dress appropriately if hired.  

The shaved head could be her style, but its always possible she's making the most of medical issues.  I have a coworker who nearly died in a domestic violence attack.  The first couple weeks after she came back she wore head coverings but eventually got a very edgy short cut/shave.  I don't think it was a style she would have chosen on her own, but she had to work with what she had.  She already had a job and since it was publicized in the news no one questioned her about the change.  If she had been staying home, she would have been looking for a job to support herself at that point and it would suck to lose opportunities for that.  

[swamp]

yesterday was one of those days when I had 0 fucks to give. I did not have court and had 2 office appointments.

I wore jeans and a hoodie.

Would you walk out if your attorney was dressed that way for a day at the office?