Appearance questions..

I think if you are neat in appearance, shower, brush your teeth, comb your hair (long or not) etc... you should be ok. Dress nice. You don't have to wear a suit your first day but a nice button down shirt or collared shirt with khackies or a nice new pair of jeans with some nice boots will probably be just fine. Leave the hat with the pot leaf on it at home! Make a good impression. The companies want to know that you are capable of representing their company while you are out there on your own.

 

It may hurt you with some.

But I wouldn't worry about it too much. I've seen some real freaks show up and get a job.

Long hair and a goatee would have been an improvement.

 

Chompi said it best.
They look at how you dress as it represents the company if they hire you.

 

simple dress code....no ripped jeans, no underarm sweat stains, and frankly NO dreadlocks....personally, i find those repulsive.......even on females by the way.

you will be always the first person the customer see's when you go to thier loading docks. you are a representative of the company, and as such, you want to put your best foot forward.

some companies WILL HAVE a dress code. some states (mine in particular) an employer CAN TELL YOU how to dress....many other states do not have such freedoms, and let you dress as you wish. i personally didn't hire a mechanic (years ago when i co-owned a shop)that had long hair......he had the qualifications, but hey, it was MY SHOP and MY RULES. think of the NY Yankees as an example......wannabe on that team....Look at Johnny Damon and how he HAD TO SHAVE and CUT HIS HAIR....!!!!

in any event, for you, your long hair, pulled back and a trimmed goatee should be ok............

 

I would agree with most of this. But speaking as someone who has held management positions in the past where hiring and firing were part of my job, I can say that I personally would never wear jeans to a formal job interview. Even if you're talking about a trucking job, heck even if you're talking about a job shoveling poop, never wear jeans to the interview.

Regardless of what the job is, when you go for the interview, you're not there to do the job, you're there for a business meeting. Therefore it is in your best interest to dress for a business meeting. You don't have to wear a suit, but jeans are a no no. And yeah, I realize at some companies they won't care if you show up for the interview in jeans. But at other companies it could very well make a huge difference and the problem is you won't know which type of company you're walking into until after the meeting is over. The bottom line is wearing clean khakis will never hurt you in a job interview but wearing jeans (even clean dressy jeans) very well might.

And while we're on the subject here is another point worth mentioning. Unless and until you actually get hired by a company, you should consider any and all contact with that company to be an interview. What I mean by this is if you're just stopping by to drop off your resume with the receptionist, you should be dressed and prepared for a formal interview when you do it. I can say with 100% certainty that I have been hired for jobs over other more qualified applicants because I did this.

And one last tip for all perspective job hunters. If you have accounts on facebook or twitter or any other social networking site, make sure you set any and all preferences so your profile is as private as possible. It is becoming standard procedure at more and more companies to look up social networking profiles of any potential new hires. And the last thing you want any HR department person to see is those facebook pictures of you from your last super bowl party where you were doing beer bong hits and wearing a tutu.

 

as Dad used to say: You ONLY get one chance to make a first impression.
Dress neatly not like a teen ager attempting to impress another teenager!
Forget the dreadlocks even after hiring. They look stupid on ANY man black or white and even on women! Look at Whoopie! She looked great when she didn't have them but with them I really don't care for her. Besides thay ALWAYS look dirty even when you come out of the shower.
I had a friend of mine who tried them. Lasted about a week when he unbraided them. He couldn't sleep because they were like sleeping on pieces of rope!

 

It depends what area you are in. My company required that we wear uniforms but we had drivers with long hair and they looked presentable. But you get back in the areas that haven't come out of the 40's or 50's you might have a problem. As long as you're clean and neat in my mind you're ok but in some they think you're a hippie and a dope smoking bum. Just be aware.

 

Clean nice looking jeans are just fine for any driving job, IMO, and I have been on lots of job interviews. Don't like me, I dont want to work for you.

I dont use Facebook for that very reason. E-mail is just fine by me.

If your think your info really is "private" on FB, think again.