12/17/09

What to wear, what to wear...

I was going to drop a resume off at a local restaurant today. It's very trendy and most of the ritzy people go there. But it's actually VERY busy. Their web site says they are hiring for all the staff positions, kitchen, serving, and banquet.

But, I didn't go in because I had jeans on. When I was at lunch, my friend told me that they have a dress policy there and that I would be way under dressed if I went in the way I was. The jeans were dark, I had on a black tee, and ugg boots.. plus I was all done up with my hair and makeup. I thought that was good enough. I've never thought that one should get dressed up when applying for labor type jobs. I mean in the normal workday you would wear comfortable clothes to work in.. so why should you get all gussied up just to turn in a resume?

I guess they work in black pants and button up tops. So I'm going to wait for my black pants to return from being hemming and go in dressed up.

I am wondering what other's experiences are with turning in resumes. If the restaurant is upscale should the applicant dress up in business attire? Anybody out there actually conduct interviews? Do you care what they wear in the food industry? I guess I'm just going by my previous restaurant.. which was VERY casual during the day. At night the bartenders dressed up.. but I would never expect someone to come in black pants to turn in their resume. I've seen people come in sweatpants.. and it didn't affect them in the hiring process.

I think I'm going to go with black pants and a white blouse. But I still feel weird getting dressed up business style.

5 comments:

south said...

I own a restaurant and yes you should always look nice. If someone came in wearing sweat pants here, they would not get hired. Not by me. It is never bad to make a good impression by dressing nice and can only help.

A good rule of thumb is that when applying for a job you should dress nicer than what the current employees are wearing.

SkippyMom said...

My husband and I did all the hiring for a company that employed skilled labor and I can tell you your attire does matter in the application process. It really showed us who cared and who didn't.

I like the other posters rule of thumb. So yep, I say if it is upscale you should dress the part.

Hope that helps. Good luck.

BB said...

Thanks for the comments, that's a big help. I am going to take your advice and wait until my black pants get back from being hemmed and make sure I look the part before going on to drop off my application.

I like that rule of thumb .. and it will come in handy for all my interviews!

JumpIt said...

Regardless of what kind of place I'm dropping off an application, I always wear a nice pair of slacks, a nice sweater/blouse, and a pair of heels or nice flats. I do the same thing when I go in for interviews unless I am specifically told otherwise.

Unknown said...

I manage a bar and dress is a huge deal when dropping off the resume. In fact I throw away most resumes as soon as the person leaves. You would be surprised at some of the things people do when they are applying for a job.