First impressions important in students' job interviews

Most people agree that first impressions are lasting ones. So what one decides to wear to an interview can express as much as the words said once there.

Cal State Long Beach career counselor Carol Bosman-Anderson said the approach to dressing for the interview is to be very conservative.

"The uniform is a suit for women and men," she said. "It's not offensive and there is no way you can go wrong with a suit."

Bosman-Anderson advises students to avoid bright colors and choose muted ones such as olive, maroon or navy blue.

For men this means wearing long sleeve dress shirts, matching jackets, pant suits and dress shoes, Bosman-Anderson said.

And for women it means business blouses with matching jackets and skirts and mid-heel to flat shoes. Accessories for women should be minimal and hair should look professional.

"You don't want to go into the interview with hair hanging into your face, or with anything such as big earrings that will be distracting," she advised.

The Career Development center offers mock interviews, in which counselors mimic potential employers. The sessions are taped.

Also available through the center are interview skills workshops. This time, actual employers are brought on campus for students to ask the questions.

The last workshop available this semester will be on April 20.

Dress aside, what are prospective employers allowed to ask? Or better yet, what aren't they allowed to ask? And where does one go if discriminated against?

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits a potential employer from asking questions dealing with race, national origin, color, sex or religious affiliation.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is where to go if any of these questions pop up on the application or in the interview.

According to the commission, a claim needs to be filed within 300 days of the alleged discriminatory act.

Potential employers are also not allowed to ask questions that deal with people's disabilities, health, or whether someone has applied for workers compensation, commission Program Analyst Rosa Viramontes said.

"They can't ask if the person has asthma or what their past medical condition has been," she explained.

Also considered discriminatory is asking about physical limitations, as disabilities became discriminatory with the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990.