THE JOURNAL
Will Ferrell and John C Reilly in “Step Brothers” (2008). Photograph by © Columbia Pictures/Everett Collection
Anyone who is actively hunting for a new job in the current market probably has more emotional scars than Ser Duncan the Tall following his trial by combat in The Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms. It’s brutal out there. The days when you could rock up to a building, CV in hand and hear the words “you’re hired” sound like something from a fantasy novel. There are so many hurdles. First, you need to AI filter-proof your CV, but silly you if you don’t actually use AI to fortify your CV in the first place. Then there are the tests, first- and second-round telephone interviews and, of course, the tasks. I once saw a job post asking candidates to create a TikTok-style video explaining why they were a good fit for the role, “the more creative the better”. Like I said, brutal.
If you’ve managed to fight your way through all that to get a date in a diary to sit down in front of real human beings, then you simply can’t afford even the most microscopic margins of error. And, though it may seem superficial to some, despite all your skills and experience, your outfit can be the difference between “Congratulations…” and “Unfortunately…”
People grossly overestimate how long it really takes to make a first impression. They think it’s about the firmness of your handshake or the way you introduce yourself, when in reality, there’s not enough time for those things to even register. A study in the journal Psychological Science found that people make judgments about a stranger’s likability, trustworthiness, competence and even their aggressiveness after just 100 milliseconds. What’s more, the study also revealed that more time interacting with the stranger didn’t cause those first impressions to change; instead, people’s confidence in those judgments became even stronger.
A little thing called “confirmation bias” weakens the success rate of second chances. Psychology teaches us that we unconsciously seek out opportunities to support or confirm our first impression of someone after we meet them. One hundred milliseconds are not enough time to say your name, let alone a good ice-breaking joke. So, what happens? Our brains are wired to process “thin slices” of information from a small fraction of an experience. Which means your clothes are one of the most powerful pieces of information that is processed during that blink of an eye. When you can’t speak fast enough, your outfit speaks for you.
Social psychologists found that people can use these snap judgments to accurately predict employees’ job performances. A 2013 paper in the Journal Of Experimental Social Psychology has demonstrated that these intuitive judgements are powerful predictors of how well teachers, salespeople and other professionals perform their jobs. Intuitive judgements of thin slices were also found to explain 15 per cent of the overall variation in job performance. Your clothes can influence how much power people think you have, how much help people are willing to give you, your competence and so much more.
Now that you fully comprehend the importance of your outfit to the outcome of your next job interview – and perhaps the trajectory of your life – there’s no need to panic. Here are five tips to thin-slice-proof your interview look.
01. The red-sneaker effect
If you’re aiming for a more senior position, make one element of your outfit something that speaks to your unique personality. A study in the Journal Of Consumer Research found that when people intentionally wore a distinctive pair of shoes that didn’t conform to standard dress codes, such as red sneakers, they were more likely to be perceived as having a “greater professional status” and being more “competent” than those who wear standard shoes.
02. The mimicry effect
The red-sneaker effect works for those in leadership roles because we expect more senior people to be brave enough to bend the rules, so we prefer that they lean more non-conformist. The same can’t be said for people in more junior positions. In that case, it’s best to follow the “birds of a feather” doctrine. Do some digging to identify the office’s general style, then lean heavily into it. Research shows that for entry- to mid-level employees, bosses gave brownie points to employees who dressed similarly to them.
03. Make it formal…
Studies have found that you’re more likely to win a negotiation when wearing formal clothes because the person on the other end perceives you as a more authoritative figure and “decreases their own perception of social power” in return. Due to the power of enclothed cognition, formal clothes also encourage you to speak more formally and engage in big-picture thinking.
04. …But add some casual elements
Research shows that while people certainly feel more authoritative and competent when wearing formal attire, they are friendliest when wearing casual clothing. A study of teachers found that those dressed more casually, in jeans for example, were seen as more sociable, outgoing and interesting. Call it high-low dressing or casual-chic style, there is a beauty in achieving balance.
05. Always get everything tailored
Tailoring is way more accessible than people realise. A quick trip to the dry-cleaner to shorten a hem or take in a waistband can elevate a first impression. In one study, a picture of a faceless man wearing either a tailored suit or an off-the-rack suit was shown to more than 200 people, who then judged his character after just a five-second exposure. The results found that tailored clothing means you’ll more likely be perceived as confident, successful, flexible and more deserving of a higher salary.
Don’t let an outfit faux pas be the reason you fumble at the final hurdle. If your outfit is already doing most of the talking, it’s your job to make sure it’s saying all the right things.