Sarah Setterfield, Pf’s answer to Gok Wan, explains the importance of the first few seconds of an interview  and deciphers the ‘smart-casual’ mystery.

Why exposing yourself is good

We’ve all heard the phrase ‘people buy people’ and of course we all know it is true, but how can you increase your chances of people buying you? Whether in a business or social situations, we are all looking to build rapport with anyone we meet for the first time. Much of that ‘chance of rapport’ takes place before we’ve spoken, the good old ‘sizing one another up’.

Once you get chatting though, get past the weather and mode of transport as quickly as you can. We feel most comfortable with people who share similar values, experiences and interests as us.

The more you expose, the greater the chance of finding common interests quickly and that leads the start of a relationship.

Interviews – so little time to get it right

Did you know the University of Toronto carried out research into interviews and how quickly interviewers decide whether they want you or not? 500 interviews were stopped after 15 seconds and the interviewer asked whether they would or would not employ based on that first 15 seconds. The interviews resumed and at their natural conclusion the interviewers were asked again. 84% stuck to their first 15-second answer!

An interview is designed to see whether you will fit into the organisation’s culture, environment and team, not just to go through your CV. If you know someone who is going for interviews at the moment and particularly those who are leaving college/university, email me for a copy of my Guidelines to Interviews.

Smart Casual – deciphering the Code

The problem with this is that when you see ‘smart casual’ on the invite/guidelines, most people start worrying about what clothes to wear and what others will be wearing to avoid the risk of standing out for being inappropriately dressed.

The real question is what is the occasion and what influence do I want to have? Irrespective of the dress-code, if you want to influence then a more formal silhouette will work for you – a jacket becomes a good garment for both men and women to give you a visual sense of gravitas. If, however, you are not looking to influence but to impress then grooming and individuality are more important.

Email me with Style Scale in the subject line if you would like a copy of the psychology behind what different outfits say about you.