I was reading an article on the use of perfume during the interview process and surely thought - that does not happen anymore. Well, guess I was wrong and there were some aspects I did not consider on the subject that this read got me thinking about. Perfume or any scent used by men/women are not appropriate for the interview process. Lets flip the shoes and see what you think should someone arrive in your office with a smell that simply repulses you. Well, we all know the answer - it would be a short interview.
Now some will say that wearing a light scent is not an issue…..how do you define light? What if the light scent is still appalling to the person conducting the interview? My personal favorite - allergies. With all of the rare and odd things placed into scents these days - what if someone was alergic to something in your scent? Would that person ever hire you? The simple answer is NO. You could be the best person for the role, but if every time you sit down the staff breaks out in hives - forget it.
The focus of the interview is to get the person in front of you to see how much value you offer to the company, or vice versa. Well, if the only thing on a person’s mind is getting you out of the office and away from their nose - do you think they are going to pay much attention to what you are talking about? Don’t get me wrong, I love a good smell. But when you have one time to make a good impression, don’t take the chance with something so unique as to how people handle and feel about smells? Be clean, do not smell, and be dressed for battle. When you are done, pour a whole bottle on yourself if need be, but for the time being hold off on the nose candy.
