Job interviews with guts

[spikesmike]

Notice to all:  alicialehoux from -- For the Girls -- section Asked, would you wear stilettos to a job interview? Hell yes. I wore high stiletto heels to a job interview this summer (2022) with the State of Ohio.  I didn't give a crap - I got the job.  Mike 

[Shyheels]

What was the job? 😊

[Cali]

3 hours ago, spikesmike said:

Notice to all:  alicialehoux from -- For the Girls -- section Asked, .........

The notice is that as a male you can not respond to this question in the For the Girls section.

I have only applied for one job since I started to wear heels, back in 2018. I didn't wear stilettos, but I got the job.

[bambam]

Beautiful! And the shoes are nice too. I've been looking for real, leather high heel oxfords for some time now. no luck...

[Pierre1961]

Peter Chu ,Sobern propose Oxford shoes. Just ask for the real leather option 

[spikesmike]

Shyheels : I was a shuttle driver at the Ohio State Fair. I drove a Johne Deer tractor- pulling two (2) large wagons to transport fair goers from the massive parking lot to the pay booths and entrance, just north of 17th avenue.  Loads of fun.  Mike

[Shyheels]

36 minutes ago, spikesmike said:

Shyheels : I was a shuttle driver at the Ohio State Fair. I drove a Johne Deer tractor- pulling two (2) large wagons to transport fair goers from the massive parking lot to the pay booths and entrance, just north of 17th avenue.  Loads of fun.  Mike

Sounds like fun! Great job!

[balletboot]

23 hours ago, Pierre1961 said:

Peter Chu ,Sobern propose Oxford shoes. Just ask for the real leather option 

I was actually looking through the Sobern heels the other day and thought several of the styles sure do look alot like Peter chu.

 

I'm assuming they must be the same

[Jkrenzer]

10 hours ago, spikesmike said:

Shyheels : I was a shuttle driver at the Ohio State Fair. I drove a Johne Deer tractor- pulling two (2) large wagons to transport fair goers from the massive parking lot to the pay booths and entrance, just north of 17th avenue.  Loads of fun.  Mike

Sounds like fun. Not a career challenging interview. I wear my heels at work but never for a real interview. 

[Shyheels]

Yes it would be a tough sell if you were interviewing for the head of General Motors. 

[Cali]

9 hours ago, Shyheels said:

Yes it would be a tough sell if you were interviewing for the head of General Motors. 

Maybe it could help you standout.

[Shyheels]

54 minutes ago, Cali said:

Maybe it could help you standout.

You’d stand out all right, but I don’t think it would help

[Cali]

You can be a glass half-full or a glass half-empty about this. I prefer to finish off the glass and refill.

[Shyheels]

I’m not being pessimistic just a realist. If you showed up for a job interview for a high powered position in stiletto heels, the interviewers would rate you as not a serious candidate, regardless of your qualifications. Like it or not appearances matter, and a guy in stiletto heels is not the appearance big companies are looking for. You might wish it were otherwise, and so might I, but it ain’t. 

[Chorlini]

On 10/8/2022 at 8:02 PM, Shyheels said:

I’m not being pessimistic just a realist. If you showed up for a job interview for a high powered position in stiletto heels, the interviewers would rate you as not a serious candidate, regardless of your qualifications. Like it or not appearances matter, and a guy in stiletto heels is not the appearance big companies are looking for. You might wish it were otherwise, and so might I, but it ain’t. 

I disagree. I think you would be exactly what they are looking for. Maybe not the CEO of the company, but they see a guy showing up in heels and they think Ka-Ching! Instant ESG rating and Alphabet Cult credit!

[Shyheels]

There is no way they’re going to be excited about a guy showing up in heels. 

[Cali]

You got to get to the position where it doesn't matter the shoes on your feet, but what you mind can create.

[Shyheels]

I happen to be in that position - because I am a freelance, and work from home.

Within a corporate framework, where who you know and your overall fit within the firm matters every bit as much, or more, than what you produce or can do, fronting up in heels will not be your ticket to success.

[mlroseplant]

We have to constantly remind ourselves that we are but a tiny slice of society, and an oddly dissected slice at that. It is easy to labor under the delusion that wearing heels is somehow a plus, showing that we are more creative and more inclusive. This is simply not the case.

[Jkrenzer]

I wear mine at work but I'd never interview that way. Took years, external public observations etc. People then knew well in advance that I was a high heeler.  Also I'm a good producer. 

Finally, after I knew it would be OK, did I introduce my heels at work. Even, still only in my work area. Never around customers and obviously not in either the factory or engineering lab.

Must know your audience for something perceived as outlandish to most as  a man in heels.

[spikesmike]

Heelers : I have to agree with many of your comments and thoughts about the job or position for which you are applying. Let's take a look from another viewpoint. Maybe the interviewer also is a high heeler like JKrenzer, how do you think you would fare with that scenario? OR you may be applying for a shoe sales job. How about location - The Midwest can be a tuff sell but not along the west coast where people a lot more progressive. Who amoung us are qualified to be the CEO of GM? High heels or not. Mike

[Jkrenzer]

Mike you still have that pair of heels? Pretty old photo.

[Shyheels]

Maybe the interviewer wears heels? Really? Yes, it's possible - all kinds of things are possible, but the odds are vanishingly small. Would any sensible person care to bet their career and future prospcts o such a thing? Better to buy a lottery ticket - the odds are about the same and the return is much better. 

[Cali]

Maybe I'll wear my knee highs the next time I pitch a book.

 

What happens if the interview committee includes the Diversity Officer?

Edited October 14, 2022 by Cali

[Shyheels]

For starters a book pitch is nothing like a job interview - entirely different thing. 
 

Secondly, I doubt very much the presence of a “diversity officer” on the interview panel would make two cents worth of difference. Wearing heels is a style choice. So is wearing a fish-shaped necktie or a revolving bow tie. It’s up to you what you do but don’t expect the rest of the world to buy into it. They won’t. 

 

[mlroseplant]

It seems like we're beating this subject into the ground, but I wonder how far out most of us here are from actually having to interview for a job? For me, it's been 25+ years. I know there are some younger folks here, but most of us are closer to retirement than we are to a job interview. So it may be that the lens through which I view the subject is not as accurate as the lenses with which Shyheels makes his living, but it seems to me that the restrictions on what is appropriate to wear to a serious job interview are way more far-reaching than just not wearing high heels as a man. Suppose I wore a perfectly tailored suit, styled for a man in every way, to interview at a law firm, but the suit was purple. I'm pretty sure that's a no-go, too, never mind your shoes.

To be fair, I think some of these rules apply to women as well, though not quite as many. For example, it would be highly inadvisable to wear 5 inch stilettos to that same law firm interview. Or even bright red shoes. People are funny.

[pebblesf]

19 hours ago, spikesmike said:

Heelers : I have to agree with many of your comments and thoughts about the job or position for which you are applying. Let's take a look from another viewpoint. Maybe the interviewer also is a high heeler like JKrenzer, how do you think you would fare with that scenario? OR you may be applying for a shoe sales job. How about location - The Midwest can be a tuff sell but not along the west coast where people a lot more progressive. Who amoung us are qualified to be the CEO of GM? High heels or not. Mike

I had thoughts like this myself.  Wearing heels to an interview could actually put you to the top of the candidate list..  But, unfortunately, the odds seem against this.  Unless you do research on the firm and interviewer beforehand, could be someone progressive like Mike mentions.  

[Shyheels]

These rules would indeed apply to women - five inch stilettos or OTK boots won’t get you far.

Like it or not - and I certainly don’t like it - but .most companies have a certain image and if you do not fit that image you’re out, or rather not in in the first place. 

Showing up for an interview in heels simply shows you don’t care about their image or that you think you are bigger than that - in either case, frankly, it’s what you’re showing about your attitude that’ll get you the boot, so to speak, just as much as wearing heels 

Edited October 15, 2022 by Shyheels