My first internship, while still in college, was at a magazine in town. The interns and I all got a chance to sit down with the publisher one afternoon to hear more about the industry, and any other juicy tidbits he wanted to offer. One thing that stuck out to me was his interview style.
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To end the interview he would walk each candidate out to his or her car, depending on the elevated position at the magazine, to see the state their car was in. If there was trash, a bunch of clutter, or if it was dirty it was a huge mark against them, and it was a make or break a few times with determining if they got the job. He believed that if you didn’t have the time to straighten out your car, or put on something besides sneakers or loafers to an interview that you wouldn’t put the same pride and effort into your job at his company.
His seeds of advice make sense even now, and should be something to live by. Even if you’re not applying for a director’s role at a company, taking the extra time to iron your shirt, or throw the fast food trash out of your back seat can make a difference. Even if the hiring manager isn’t checking out your vehicle at the end of the interview, the extra effort can give you more confidence.
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