Opening the Chances
–Appearance is the first key to open the closed chances, to attain success!
Appearances are a glimpse of the unseen.
– Anaxagoras
Of course appearance matters. Appearance is not the God given face. It is not, as most of us think, beauty. It is how we present ourselves at the important of times. It is how others can view us from the outside, to make them realize we are as capable in the inside.
Walking inside the interview hall in a baggy pants and an untucked tees, with an unshaven face… would it give the interviewer the desired effect? Maybe he will remember you… as someone who appears to the interview straight from the bed.
I remember this guy during my college days. He wore a beard and my professors would always advise him to shave it off. He never listened.
I really don’t have any bad opinions about someone wearing a beard or not. That is their own way of choosing, but my professors, especially my favorite lecturer had a lot to say about him.
She’d everyday ask him, ‘Is this a fashion statement?’
He would stand and stare, never responding. When she continued to talk, he would shake his head and frown at her, ‘Ma’am, I like it this way.’
Maybe, he did think of that as a fashion statement or he just loved to disobey all the professors… I couldn’t get what was the real reason behind his insistence on never shaving.
Some of my friends would comment saying, ‘He doesn’t look like a professional student.’
Sometimes… we all have some criteria to judge. And to be a professional… untucked shirts, long hair, beard… they would get a negative point for it and this guy boast all those.
Years passed in a rush and when we were in final year, every one of us started to prepare to face our future. It was the point where we couldn’t depend on the parents anymore. It was the point when we had to take the first step to join the outside world, from the cocoon of protection and college life.
Job interviews started to happen in the campus.
The first thing my ma’am did was finding him and asking him to dress properly. He was a great student and intelligent, but what… he just didn’t want to comply with others’ wishes.
He said, ‘They will select me for my brain, not for my beauty.’
My ma’am argued with him, but he didn’t do anything about it. Yes, he tucked his shirt, but the long hair and beard stayed.
Like he said… he had attended the first interview and the second.
We all were surprised to find out that he didn’t get selected. I think… he was surprised, as well. He complained about it to a professor during the class hour.
‘I know… they will select you for your brain, but the very first time you step in, what they will notice is your appearance. They need someone who can look after himself, so that he would look after their company. It is that simple. If you fail to impress at the first meeting, they will still hesitate even if you prove yourself to be competent in all the other areas. Appearance is not beauty, as you said. Appearance is how you upkeep yourself.’ One of my professors said to him in front of the whole class. That time, I thought… poor guy, he needs to hear all these rebuke! What is wrong with the beard!
All the while, I was thinking that he didn’t get the job because he didn’t perform well.
During the third interview, he turned over a new leaf. His prized beard was gone. Every one of us were surprised to see the change.
‘I hope this can win me a job.’ He said bitterly.
He won the lottery the third time. Of course, he got selected in the third attempt.
But I was still wondering… did the appearance really make that much of a difference?
Maybe YES!
“Appearance matters a great deal because you can often tell a lot about people by looking at how they present themselves.”
― Lemony Snicket, The Miserable Mill
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This post is a part of #WillYouShave activity at BlogAdda in association with Gillette.
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