What colours are best to wear to an interview?
Good or bad – you decide!
The tube snakes it way into London much like cream when added to flour, surrounded by a sea of black, navy, brown and grey – the grey is multiplied by the expressions and stress reflected on the faces around me. All of a sudden they enter a tube a couple, people stop, the atmosphere in the train lifts and I see a few tentative smiles. Why the sudden change, the women is wearing a red overcoat, with matching lipstick and the man, overcut has a herringbone tweed coat with matching red scarf both have huge smiles.
The question does COLOUR make an impact? I believe it does!
As part of my body language workshops, I always talk about the impact of colour, and always get an interesting reaction from my audience. We debate why people don’t wear colour? Responses, ‘I don’t want to stand out, please do not notice me, everyone will stare, black is safer’. What do you think?
A phrase used by Amy Cuddy in her brilliant Ted Talk – ’The mind can change the body and the body can change the mind’.
Colour makes a difference in everything we do what we eat, presentation makes or breaks a meal. Celebrity chefs are known for their ability to do amazing things with food. Using of colour, textures and style made them famous. Imagine a plate of food that is grey, cream black or brown would you want to eat that!
Colour is used in articles, books to bring the experience alive
Some examples:
What colour is my Parachute.
Dress for Success. Where analysis is done to determine what colours should be worn and why.
Can colour affect the way you feel, can it help when interviewing for a new job? Yes! The impact can create critical advantage in interviews, presentation and networking.
In Colour Psychology, they discuss the impact of colours. According to their research warm colour evoke emotions ranging from feelings of warmth and comfort to anger and hostility. Pink is calming, Red makes people feel confident. Read the article and see what your favourite colour means. The worst thing that can happen during the interview process is you blend into the crowd and are not remember, the choice is yours!
Be like the couple of the tube, step out of your comfort zone start with a splash of colour, for men cufflinks, tie, socks and lightly coloured shirt, women embrace lipstick, shoes, scarf or a jacket the choice is yours. Go on brighten someone day and stand out from the crowd! Nail that interview.