A Sack Letter Without Being Employed

I still remember that day like yesterday.

I had woken up early to beat Lagos traffic.

Ironed my clothes the previous night.

Researched possible questions that would greet me upon entering the interview room.

Despite all I did, it was a flop.

They didn’t have to tell me I flopped.

I knew it in my heart of hearts.

I saw it in the lady’s expression as she looked at me from head to toe.

I saw it when her eyes fell on my toes.

A strange look of dissatisfaction danced in her beautiful eyes.

And I could tell that what would follow next would be the most dreaded rejection guised as the cliché:

We’ll get back to you.

I wanted to explain to her that it wasn’t my fault that I wore sandals to the interview.

I should have worn cover-toe flats but the one I had was bad and I couldn’t fix it on time.

I wanted to tell her that but was it even necessary?

It wasn’t like she had even said anything about my feet.

So, I instead complimented her beauty, said my thank you, and walked out of the room.

Do I need to tell you that they never got back to me?

That period I kept refreshing my mailbox for a miracle mail of success but found nothing.

I took it as one of the losses that come with success in life.

But that didn’t change the fact that I had learnt my lesson which was:

Before you leave your house to attend any job interview, know the dress code of the organisation.

Many organisations have different dress codes.

For example, if it’s a tech company, casual or smart casual will be good.

If it’s a bank, you know you have to appear in formal office wear.

If it’s a media organisation, business casual could work.

You need to know how their employees dress to work and tailor what you wear to suit it too.

Otherwise you’ll achieve two things:

You’ll either be overdressed (which is even safer) or underdressed (like I was).

But there’s a prepared guide to show you what to wear to job interviews.

Read it so you can ace any interview or client meeting you attend offline.

That one is for females.

And here’s the one specifically for men.

Remain kosher while I’m away.

The Writer who knows how to do Fashion,

Victoria Willie

Creative Director, Ria Kosher