Make them look in your eyes!
What you wear for your job interview depends on what you’re interviewing for, so only you know whether it should be a power suit or jeans. Whatever you wear, make sure it’s clean, appropriate and fits well.
For the purpose of this post, however, let’s assume you’re seeking a job that mainly uses your brains and personality—that is, all the stuff in your pretty little head. This means that you want the interviewer to focus above your neck, so it’s not the time for the hot pink jacket or purple polka-dot sweater that wears you. Instead you’ll want to choose certain colors to draw their attention upward to your face.
What colors should you choose?
The psychology of perception teaches us that our eyes subconsciously seek repetition in what we’re seeing, especially repeated color. Apply this knowledge to encourage the interviewer to look you in the eye by wearing your eye color in the garment closest to your face (shirt, scarf, jacket, etc). This will lead their eyes to look right into your eyes, creating a feeling of connection. In turn this makes you seem more credible and believable, and hence a good candidate for employment. It also helps you appear trustworthy in any kind of negotiation.
Your kindest and most approachable colors are those that reflect that reflect the natural coloring of your eyes, skin and hair. If I’ve created a custom color palette for you, those special color sticks are called “inherent” because they represent your essence, and are the foundation on which your personal palette is built. Here are mine, labeled for best use:
Wearing your skin tones or hair color also directs the viewer’s eyes to your face— the skin tones signaling receptiveness and approachability, and the hair as a frame. A top in your skin tone is much friendlier than a stark white shirt.
“Inherent” looks echoing skin and hair
Where do we look?
I love these two photos of Jake Gyllenhaal. On the left, the stark white of his shirt is what we see first–not ideal. On the right, his shirt is the blue-gray of his eyes, and we are immediately drawn up to them. I rest my case.
If you’ve got an important job interview or contract negotiation coming up and don’t yet know your best colors I’d love to help. Give me a call at (360) 903-3659 or email me here.
For further reading
- What NOT to wear to a job interview
- What to wear in an age of hoodies and sneakers?
- Suiting up for success (women)
- Forbes also has a few tips here.
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