Q: How should I dress for interviews? Show me the way.

How many times do you need to hear the old adage that says you only have one first impression. Come on, people, get it right, will ya! In 10 years of headhunting, I’ve seen a lot of good and also plenty of bad. I’ll never forget the candidate who walked into a final interview with the president of a multinational advertising agency wearing an orange suit. Needless to say, he didn’t get the job.

Make sure you get designer threads with style, threads that walk and talk. And wear a tie: It’ll give you swagger and show the interviewer that you mean business. Trust me, better to be overdressed than underdressed; it’s a game of respect. Remember to iron those threads, too. Your future employer doesn’t want any signs of “rough around the edges.” How many times do you need to hear the old adage that says you only have one first impression. Come on, people, get it right, will ya! In 10 years of headhunting, I’ve seen a lot of good and also plenty of bad. I’ll never forget the candidate who walked into a final interview with the president of a multinational advertising agency wearing an orange suit. Needless to say, he didn’t get the job. Make sure you get designer threads with style, threads that walk and talk. And wear a tie: It’ll give you swagger and show the interviewer that you mean business. Trust me, better to be overdressed than underdressed; it’s a game of respect. Remember to iron those threads, too. Your future employer doesn’t want any signs of “rough around the edges.”

Women, just continue with your instinct. I’m convinced you know what works best. Be professional, never flaunt too much (you know what I mean).

I’ve been told a million different things so tell me once and for all: What should my resume include?

Okay, this checklist is your resume bible:

• Put your name centred and in bold at the top of the page, with email address underneath in bold. (Your phone number and snail-mail address should go at the bottom of your resume.)
• In a sentence or two, and in bold again, describe/capture who you are. For example: “Profile: A driven ad guy from the land of Dundee who eats up the opportunity to deliver flawless execution, service and strategic brilliance.”
• Within the profile, include your objective: e.g. “To join an entrepreneurial team and add significant growth to business.”
• Do your career history. List the names of current/past employers in bold and date-stamp everything. Under each job, write “Responsibilities” in bold and list in bullet form. Then make another heading called “Major Accomplishments” or “Achievements,” and list those in bullet form, too. Your accomplishments are what will really sell you.
• List education.
• List computer skills.
• List “Interests & Activities.” Don’t just write down “gourmet cooking.” Please, what kind? Italian? Okay, but why? Were you inspired by travelling in Italy? This section can be a perfect ice-breaker during an interview.
• Make sure your resume is no more than three pages. Two is good, one is ideal.
• Take a risk. Be creative. A young grad once put the Nike logo at the bottom of his resume. The words underneath were: “Just Hire Me.” It worked; I placed him.
• Leave off “References available upon request.” Until you’re through a couple of interview stages, no one really cares. Be prepared to supply three to five when asked. Former bosses are best.
• Finally, never lie about what you’ve done or not done. It will come back to bite you. If your prospective employer finds out that you actually left something off your resume, you need to explain yourself and it becomes an issue. Not only do you look bad, but I look bad. And you don’t want me mad at you. I won’t call you again, either.

How can I make my boss like me?

1. Manage expectations. In work and life, I’m convinced it boils down to simply keeping one step ahead of good and bad news. I learned this lesson early on while servicing a tough client: I didn’t have appropriate candidates for a job and wasn’t delivering to the timeline. I failed by not keeping my client in the loop. I was scared. She left me a voice mail that said, “Your silence is deafening.”
2. Be solution-minded. Bring along two or three well thought-out suggestions to an issue or problem.
3. Keep tabs during the year about all you’ve accomplished (big and small), and cover those off during your annual review. This will give you leverage and confidence when asking for that raise.