Ed asks, "What do you think about these interviewing pitfalls to avoid? What does wearing a Taz tie to an interview have to do with job performance?"
That Business Week Online article says, "I interviewed a gentleman for a product-manager position who was smart and friendly. He arrived in a lovely wool suit, but wearing a necktie with a large Taz on it -- you know, the Tazmanian devil. Now why, I couldn't stop thinking, did this guy wear a Taz tie to an interview? He didn't mention it, so it wasn't some sort of rapport-building device.
"I sure as heck didn't mention it, but the Taz tie took up more and more space in the room, until I couldn't tear my gaze from it. Why a Taz tie, in a business job interview? Does the guy own the whole Looney Tunes character collection? It was too weird -- a big deal. Why didn't he wear a different tie?"
Well, I have a different take on that. I think I would be compelled to ask the candidate, "What's with the tie?" It seems to me that such an incongruous getup begs the question and the answer could be interesting and relevant.
Here's what happened when I came face to face with another version of a Taz tie:
The candidate wore plaids -- two -- and that never works quite right. Plaid pants and another plaid in the jacket arrested my attention. So did the colorful lizard printed across the bottom of the page his résumé was on.
The content of the résumé was solid, so we talked about his experience as a community news reporter. He was earnest, serious amd from the sounds of him, hard-working.
I could resist no more: "What's with the lizard?"
"I was out of my usual paper, but wanted to use something distinctive."
"It is. But does a lizard say anything about you?"
"Not the lizard specifically. I just want to be different. I do everything in a different way. I dress flamboyantly. People remember me. I bet you'll remember this résumé. I'm a community news reporter. Dressing like this makes me memorable in the community and brings me stories. When I write my stories, I try to be different then, too. I always try new ways to tell stories. I don't like to write the same old, boring leads."
I was OK with all of this. He convinced me that he was a serious reporter who did solid work and that sources, who might initially be taken aback by clashing plaids, would come to look past that and see him for what he was: a reporter who was serious about his job -- and who is not like all the others.
For me, it is no stranger to wear a Taz tie to an interview than it is to pretend it's not there.
