I'm back! Unofficially went away because school is actually killing me and I'm still going to be dead for the next 2 weeks. But I know it's interview season now, for us grads, and most of us are probably in the job market. So realistically, I don't have any tips on how to land the interview. I can't even land an interview. Landing an interview is all on you. Write a solid resume, include a cover letter for every email/application you send, even if they don't ask for one. But now that you've landed the interview... what comes after? And that's where I come in, to attempt to help you.
Take my advice with a grain of salt, of course. Every company is different; some are more liberal and relaxed, while others are very traditional and have strict dress codes to adhere to. Look at the two shutterstock photos I used! Some jobs, you'll probably want to wear dress pants/skirts and a dress shirt. Others... you could get away with just looking cleaned up and approachable. Depending on the company, tailor my advice as necessary, but please do not blame me if you don't land the job. If you didn't land the job, there are a multitude of reasons why. Ask the recruiter.
When doing makeup for interviews, you'll probably want to stay on the neutral side. Unless you're applying for a job as a makeup artist in Sephora/Ulta and whatnot, basic, neutral tones are always a safe bet. You literally can't go wrong with neutral makeup looks. If you're not confident of your eyeshadow skills, I suggest using either 1) a matte brown shade to deepen your eyes, or 2) a pearl shimmery shade all over. The latter is probably better suited to those of you who look young, are actually young (applying for part-time retail jobs and not full-time entry level jobs), or applying for a job where visuals are important (i.e. being the face of the party company, etc.).
The model's eyeshadow look would probably be a safe bet for most companies. Her eyes have some depth to them, and the white/shimmery eyeshadow at her tear drop make her look more awake. She doesn't look too done up, and looks neutral.
Let's play a game now. Below are pictures of 5 different (white) girls, wearing 5 different type of looks (I'm super annoyed that there's a lack of POC on shutterstock, can you tell). Can you tell which ones are more appropriate for office, entry level jobs interviews?
Let me know your answers in the comment box below! I'm not advocating that there is one best makeup look for office interviews, but that there is a preferred look for that type of culture. So here's what I think is appropriate for most interviews: Girl #4
But why? I think we can all agree that Girl #2 and Girl #3 are definitely not wearing interview appropriate makeup. If they were applying to Microsoft for the position of Sales Manager, wearing colourful eyeshadow does not tell the recruiter that they are serious about the job. Colourful eyeshadow screams "fun" and "party" - adjectives that do not line up with office culture usually.
Girl #5 looks okay - for the modelling situation that she's in. Her eyes look sultry with all that dark brown in her crease. She looks sexy. Is sexy really the adjective you want to go with? Sexy isn't really a positive adjective in the field of interviewing for office jobs. If your recruiter thinks of you as sexy, then you are being other-ed. You are being objectified and not being valued for the skills that you can bring to the team/company. You want to go with adjectives that compliment your skills - hard working, outgoing, team player, leader, efficient, etc. I'd go for the adjective friendly over sexy in this case.
Girl #4 looks the best for interviews (in my opinion) because she looks well put together. You wouldn't necessarily call her look "too much makeup" or "not enough makeup". She is definitely wearing makeup, but her neutral look is appropriate for office settings. She is not standing out for her makeup. Recruiters may look at her and give no more than a courtesy glance at her makeup. Virtually, I'd say that there is nothing bad to say about her makeup, especially in an interview setting.
So now that I've reinforced the idea that basic, neutral eyeshadow looks are probably the best for job interviews, let's talk lip colours. I'm sure we can all agree that "unnatural" lip colours, such as purple, green, blues, black, etc., are not appropriate. Unless your company is super hip and young (beauty start-ups may appreciate you being "out of the box" with your makeup, but that's an exception), I can't see any HR recruiter liking purple lipsticks. Bold and unnatural lip colours are a statement piece and as such, are considered to be a negative in interviews.
I wouldn't even wear red lipstick to an interview unless I was interviewing for a position that would give me power over subordinates (manager, executive positions). Red lipstick is a classic but implies confidence. Red lipstick's imagery is related to confidence and power. Interviewing for entry-level jobs means I'm the lowest on the food chain. In this situation, red lipstick would be inappropriate.
In the image above, there are only a few shades I would recommend to job interviews. If you do not regularly wear lipstick, then don't. If it makes you more confident to just not wear lipstick - more power to you. You do you. But if you do want to wear lipstick, I would suggest a MMBL shade or a light pink. A lip tint would also be okay. Nude shades are okay on a case-by-case basis depending on how nude that shade is. If you are a POC and you decide to wear a "nude" shade (and by that I mean a shade that would be considered to be nude for a white person), that's probably not okay for interviews. What is even considered a "nude" shade for POCs? Someone let me know. MMBL shades are always the safest bet.
These tips only cover the bare basics. Of course, my tips are not applicable to everybody out there. Adjust as you feel is needed. I've worn red lipsticks to part-time/intern interviews before and no one said anything. One-on-one interviews with a cisgendered female recruiter are different from one-on-one interviews with a cisgendered male recruiter. Whenever possible, figure out who's interviewing you. Find out their position/rank in the company. Tweak makeup as appropriate. If there are more than 2 people interviewing you, I would be even more careful in my choice of makeup.
At the end of the day, research the company. Find out what kind of company it is - liberal? Traditional? Predominately male? A good mix of genders? Are you applying for the administrative position? The editor position? These are all questions (but not all the questions!) that will change the variable in what kind of makeup you can wear to your interview. If you have any more questions that I didn't answer, write me a message, or leave a comment below! I'm interested in hearing your own interview tips - maybe that'll help me land a job after graduation. If you disagree with any of my tips, let me know too!
Until next time :)
Not a sponsored post, all images taken from shutterstock.
