Here are some suggestions that will help you make the right impression:
Dress professionally. This interview should be just as important as an interview for any permanent job. If you want to work in an office and you are a man, wear a jacket and slacks or a suit, a dress shirt, and a tie. If you are a woman, wear a suit, a tailored pantsuit, or a dress (do not wear a miniskirt). Make sure your clothes look like they have been pressed.
Avoid flashy jewelry or accessories. Do not wear too much jewelry or makeup. A good rule is to be understated in your appearance rather than overstated.
Look the interviewer in the eye, be pleasant, and have a firm handshake. Avoid strong cologne, aftershave, or perfume. Use a mouthwash or have a mint to eat before you interview. Never chew gum at the service while you are completing the application, testing, or being interviewed on the phone or in person.
The person who interviews will give you a grade on your appearance and personality as well as your skills. In fact, many staffing services have codes that allow the interviewer to immediately select an impression of what type of environment you seem most suited for. This impression comes as much from the way you dress and communicate as from what skills you have to offer.
Try to dress as you would if you were going to an interview for a full time job. Even if you do not have a lot of money to spend on clothes, you can still be neat and clean.
If you are not dressed in a way that is appropriate for the professional technical temporary work you are applying for, someone from the staffing service may offer constructive criticism about your appearance. Do not be offended. The staffing service is just trying to set you up for a win win situation. It is important to the staffing service that you succeed. If you do not succeed, the service does not make money, so listen to any suggestions about dress.
If you do not dress appropriately or conduct yourself professionally, the service could document this on your application or on your record. The service may avoid sending you to their best clients. This will affect the amount of money you can make as a temp.
You don't have to have a lot of money to dress nicely and to be clean. You may be placed in an office environment that has a casual dress code. More and more businesses are being flexible about their dress code. The service should advise you about dress codes where they place you.
Be pleasant and professional with your service interviewer. Use correct grammar and mind your manners. No one wants to send out a temp who is rude and will not be a good representative of the service. Remember: You, the temp, are the product that the service sells. In order for the service to make money, you have to do a good job and make them look good in the eyes of the public.
When Jessica went to Service a she was nervous, since it was the first time she had ever tried temp work. She had a few years' work experience, found herself between jobs, and did not know what she wanted to do next; she just knew she had to have an income while she looked.
She wanted to work temp as an office manager in the Dallas area, so she dressed for her interview at the temp service as if she were an employee of the type of company she wished to temp for. She wore a navy business suit, plain navy pumps, a white shirt, and pearls. She avoided any heavy perfume. She even checked her teeth in the mirror of her car before she went into the service to make sure she had no food particles in her mouth.
Jessica made a very good first impression with her interviewer and was offered a temp job starting the next day. She did not always have to dress as conservatively as she did on the day she interviewed with the service, but that good first impression she made with the interviewer went a long way in landing her well paying temp jobs while she worked for the service.
Jared, on the other hand, did not try to make a good impression. He was an excellent engineer in the defense industry in southern California, but attitude deficient in people skills. He figured it did not matter how he looked when he went to meet the service staff, since he would not really be working there. He thought it only mattered how he looked when he went out to different places to temp.
Jared did not take a bath or shower on the day of his interview with the service. Instead, he splashed on some strong aftershave. He put on some khakis he had worn the previous day that were not pressed, a casual shirt, and loafers with no socks. He did shave but forgot to brush his teeth. He decided to chew gum instead of brushing or using mouthwash. He also wore his biggest earring, a bracelet, and matching necklace.
Jared did not bother to shake hands with the interviewer, did not have good eye contact, slouched in his chair, and chewed gum the whole time of his interview. The interviewer told him he thought Jared had great engineering skills but that he would need guidance on how to dress before he could be placed on any jobs. (The good staffing services will tell a temp that, so the temp will not be set up for failure by his or her appearance.)
Jared was very embarrassed when he realized the service thought he did not know how to dress for work or the importance of being clean. He told the interviewer he had not thought it mattered how he looked when he met with the service, that it only mattered how he looked when he worked for them. He could have saved himself a lot of embarrassment by preparing appropriately.
The story does have a happy ending. Jared finished his interview and acted in a professional manner the rest of the time he was with the staffing service. He went home, cleaned up, changed his clothes, and returned to the service, where he asked to speak to the person who had previously interviewed him. Jared was able to assure the service he would be a good representative and knew how to present himself. He was then placed by the staffing service on engineering jobs that paid very well. He was even able to wear a knit shirt, khakis, and tennis shoes to most of his jobs.
