Wear contact lenses or glasses for interviews?

[UCDavisISokay]

waht are your thoughts? thanks

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[Depakote]

I always wore my glasses and never fealt self conscious. then again I was always one of those people that just couldn't stand the thought of contacts...

if you feel comfortable in both, pick the one that makes you feel the most confident or makes you think you look better.

 

[UCDavisISokay]

i feel more comfortable physically wearing glasses. However, I look better with contacts. Does my looking better give any advantage during interviews?

 

[foreverLaur]

i always wear contacts. i feel i get much better vision - in classes if you aren't looking directly through the lens, the world is blurry 🙂

 

[dcp7]

Glasses. Definitely makes you look smarter 🙂

 

[Depakote]

i feel more comfortable physically wearing glasses. However, I look better with contacts. Does my looking better give any advantage during interviews?

Never an official policy, but it is impossible to 100% eliminate the subconscious bias the interviewer gets when the interviewer sees you. That's just the way the brain works.

 

[mountainhare]

Hmm. Back when I took social psych during college, I vaguely remember running across some research papers that suggested that, for certain jobs, interviewers have a slight bias against glasses-wearers. I forget why; maybe it's because glasses look too bookish or introverted or unattractive or something. If someone could locate a link to a research paper, that'd be great. In my case, my mom badgered me into getting contact lenses for the first time right before my first interview, because she had an intuition that I would somehow look more confident and personable in contacts. I guess it all depends on what you're more comfortable with. I personally think other factors are much more important.

Edit: So, I searched for journal articles about "eyeglasses job interview," and there doesn't seem to really be a consensus. Some articles say eyeglasses help, some say they're indifferent, some say there's a gender difference, and some say there isn't. In the absence of conclusive science, I'd say go with your gut instinct. Just for fun, though, here is the abstract of one paper I found on Pubmed:

"Terry RL. Eyeglasses and gender stereotypes. Optom Vis Sci. 1989 Oct;66(10):694-7.
"Under the guise of forming impressions of a job applicant in a hiring interview, subjects rated a videotaped male or female stimulus person (SP) on several gender stereotypical and task relevant traits. In one condition, the SP's wore eyeglasses, and in the other condition they did not. Eyeglasses, especially when worn by the stimulus male, were associated with feminine stereotypes and positive task relevant attributes. The results were interpreted to suggest that men who wear eyeglasses may be the target of some negative social judgments but also redeeming task relevant attributes, whereas women who wear eyeglasses are more likely to be the target of only negative social judgments."

 

[Tartheheel]

Whatever you're comfortable in, and whatever makes you feel that you look your best i guess...

 

[emquiksilver]

i feel more comfortable physically wearing glasses. However, I look better with contacts. Does my looking better give any advantage during interviews?

Looking better is subjective. You might be screwed if your interviewer thinks you look fugly without glasses.

 

[jon stewart]

 

[Puffle]

Hmm. Back when I took social psych during college, I vaguely remember running across some research papers that suggested that, for certain jobs, interviewers have a slight bias against glasses-wearers. I forget why; maybe it's because glasses look too bookish or introverted or unattractive or something. If someone could locate a link to a research paper, that'd be great. In my case, my mom badgered me into getting contact lenses for the first time right before my first interview, because she had an intuition that I would somehow look more confident and personable in contacts. I guess it all depends on what you're more comfortable with. I personally think other factors are much more important.

Edit: So, I searched for journal articles about "eyeglasses job interview," and there doesn't seem to really be a consensus. Some articles say eyeglasses help, some say they're indifferent, some say there's a gender difference, and some say there isn't. In the absence of conclusive science, I'd say go with your gut instinct. Just for fun, though, here is the abstract of one paper I found on Pubmed:

"Terry RL. Eyeglasses and gender stereotypes. Optom Vis Sci. 1989 Oct;66(10):694-7.
"Under the guise of forming impressions of a job applicant in a hiring interview, subjects rated a videotaped male or female stimulus person (SP) on several gender stereotypical and task relevant traits. In one condition, the SP's wore eyeglasses, and in the other condition they did not. Eyeglasses, especially when worn by the stimulus male, were associated with feminine stereotypes and positive task relevant attributes. The results were interpreted to suggest that men who wear eyeglasses may be the target of some negative social judgments but also redeeming task relevant attributes, whereas women who wear eyeglasses are more likely to be the target of only negative social judgments."

I can't site the precise article myself, either, but it's often thought that on some level, people who wear eye glasses are in some way inferior; which in fact, we kinda are. Had I been born in the age of hunting and gathering, a saber-tooth would surely have picked me off long before now. However, in "modern" times, glasses send a subtle message that, because one is not as physically adept, we've honed our intellectual skills instead.

My advice: find out the names of your interviewers, go to the university website, find their pictures, and wear what they wear. Narcissism always wins out. 😛

 

[PeepshowJohnny]

Wear glasses because you can use them as a prop.

Like at the end of your "why are you interested in medicine?" typical question you can say,

"And that is why, sir..."

*pause dramamatically, remove glasses and look the interviewer in the eye*

"...I want to be a doctor"

 

[EM_Rebuilder]

Wear glasses because you can use them as a prop.

Like at the end of your "why are you interested in medicine?" typical question you can say,

"And that is why, sir..."

*pause dramamatically, remove glasses and look the interviewer in the eye*

"...I want to be a doctor"

ROTFL... i love it...



I can already see the next Pre-Med thread coming up: Should I get Fake Glasses For Med School Interviews?

 

[etf]

ROTFL... i love it...



I can already see the next Pre-Med thread coming up: Should I get Fake Glasses For Med School Interviews?

too late, i've already got them. not to say that they are fake or anything - they are my real prescription, it's just that i never wear glasses. in fact, the glasses i got match my interview suit perfectly, and that's the only reason i got them.

 

[Depakote]

Wear glasses because you can use them as a prop.

Like at the end of your "why are you interested in medicine?" typical question you can say,

"And that is why, sir..."

*pause dramamatically, remove glasses and look the interviewer in the eye*

"...I want to be a doctor"

But what if your interviewer also has glasses...*gasp*

 

[sarat]

Speaking of fake glasses...

I worked for an optometrist this spring, and we had a guy come in to replace a broken lens in his fake glasses (actually paid 50 dollars to do this!). He said he got them for interviews a while back, but wears them a lot now to look smarter & older. The story got much more amusing when we found out he was a pediatric resident.. haha...

 

[IHeartNerds]

Guys. I understand the want to control absolutely everything about your interview day. But some things just DO NOT matter. This is one of those things. Let it go. Work on being able to talk intelligently about why you want to go to school xyz, not your facial hardware. 👍

 

[Tropicana100]

I wore contacts in all my interviews last year. My eyes got dry and irritated during the interviews, causing me to blink a lot to keep them from falling out. I'm sticking to glasses at interviews this year (even though my secondary photo is w/o glasses).

 

[Tropicana100]

Guys. I understand the want to control absolutely everything about your interview day. But some things just DO NOT matter. This is one of those things. Let it go. Work on being able to talk intelligently about why you want to go to school xyz, not your facial hardware. 👍

The effect of glasses on acceptance is probably p> 0.05. However, overall appearance DOES matter. Not being cleanly shaved, showered, groomed, etc. is simply unprofessional.

 

[TheRealMD]

But what if your interviewer also has glasses...*gasp*

Colbert can pull anything off.

Personally, stick to contacts if possible. Eliminate any bias against you, for whatever reason it may be.

 

[Tropicana100]

Colbert can pull anything off.

Personally, stick to contacts if possible. Eliminate any bias against you, for whatever reason it may be.

You're not making any sense. You might as well suggest people to avoid tie clips, watches, hair clips, leather belts, shoe laces, and earrings. 👎

 

[hp540]

On a somewhat related note: what's the stance on facial hair?

 

[Tropicana100]

On a somewhat related note: what's the stance on facial hair?

If you have a cleanly trimmed beard/mustache, it's OK. Never look scruffy. Shaving is especially important if your facial hair does not grow uniformly.

 

[EM_Rebuilder]

On a somewhat related note: what's the stance on facial hair?

My undregrad advsior kept telling me I better shave my Go-Tee.....my thought was if they have a problem with my Go Tee then screw em.


Having been on the other side now, nobody could give a rats you know what about your facial hair.. as long as things are tidy. If you have burns, beard, stach, go tee, etc... run a trimmer over it and make sure the hair is all the same length... the rest of the skin should be clean shavened.

So many doctors have facial hair anyways.


Be yourself (well, to a certain regard.. i get scruffy and dressy poorly when I do not need to work.. but I know when to be tidy as well).

 

[whateva07]

I prefer contacts. I look completely look different in glasses. Glasses make me look really serious but I think I'll go with contacts. I feel more like myself in contacts and I think I look more like girl next door.

 

[foreverLaur]

On a somewhat related note: what's the stance on facial hair?

I don't know about for medicine, but I do know that every job I interviewed for in the business world - if you had any facial hair you automatically would NOT be hired no matter how qualified you were. After you are hired, facial hair is not a big deal, but for the interview it is.

good thing i'm female 🙂

 

[Picklesali]

I don't know about for medicine, but I do know that every job I interviewed for in the business world - if you had any facial hair you automatically would NOT be hired no matter how qualified you were. After you are hired, facial hair is not a big deal, but for the interview it is.

good thing i'm female 🙂

Seriously?This seems really hard to believe

 

[foreverLaur]

Seriously?This seems really hard to believe

Not saying it is true for every company, but it is true for the ones I worked for... and that included one of the Big 4 audit firms. Apparently, a facial hair doesn't mesh well with a professional image, or so I was told.

But hey, if you want to accuse me of lying then go right on ahead.

 

[cyclingmo]

What about the whole "glasses make you look smarter" theory?

 

[Mayday]

Post a pic of you with and a pic of you without. It's difficult to say if we have no idea what you look like 🙂 Some people look ugly with glasses, and some people look ugly without them - it all depends on the shape of your face and the size/shape of your eyes.

 

[Picklesali]

Not saying it is true for every company, but it is true for the ones I worked for... and that included one of the Big 4 audit firms. Apparently, a facial hair doesn't mesh well with a professional image, or so I was told.

But hey, if you want to accuse me of lying then go right on ahead.

Sorry. I didn't mean to make any accusations. It just seemed outrageous that a firm would not hire an extremely qualified applicant solely on the basis of facial hair. But, of course, I have no experience in that field...hence, the surprise. I guess if it's a well-known fact that facial hair is a no-no in that career field than an applicant who defies the norm ought to see the axe coming.

 

[Picklesali]

Post a pic of you with and a pic of you without. It's difficult to say if we have no idea what you look like 🙂 Some people look ugly with glasses, and some people look ugly without them - it all depends on the shape of your face and the size/shape of your eyes.

My glasses make me look like a librarian 😎

 

[axp107]

What's the deal with facial hair...?

Most people do look better without facial hair IMO.

 

[Puffle]

Just do what every guy in my med school class did.

Be Mr. Straight-Edge at your interview, i.e. clean-shaven, shiny shoes, boring, but money tie. Do your whole schpeel about wanting to practice in the underserved hinterlands of the Upper Midwest or the Inner Cities.

Then, once you're safely in, bust out that soul patch, or your Unabomber beard, and start openly expressing your desire to open up a cash-only DermSpa.

BTW, I'm not being sexist. Plenty of my female classmates had to take out their tongue rings and got some heavy duty make-up to cover their body art for interviews.