It’s been said that you make your first impression in seven seconds. This is all too true for a candidate going in for a job interview, especially if you are a college graduate going in for your first job interview or gunning for your first internship that will help your career.
One thing interviewers will notice is how someone presents themselves, not just with personality, but how they dress. And, for many college graduates and students, they aren’t too sure how to dress the part especially if it’s their first time. Take, for example, Own The Boardroom Founder and CEO Erica Zahka’s previous role, where she managed entry-level employees at Brainshark.
“I was managing the customer support team, and the dress code was pretty casual,” Zahka said. “However, there were situations where individuals asked ‘What to wear?’ For example, maybe they were invited to visit a customer with the sales rep.”
She also began to realize that many college students are focusing on resumes and not so much on their attire for interviews.
“It’s not something they think about,” adds Zahka. “And not only is it a major influencer in how you're perceived, it also elevates how you feel, and therefore act, walking into the room.”
Zahka’s startup Own The Boardroom (OTB) is providing an answer to this concern for college students and graduates about to go into what could be their first job interviews.
The founder compares the company to Rent the Runway, where women can rent designer clothes for weddings and other related events. OTB is an online store where consumers pick out an outfit and rent it for up to a week. Browsing the OTB page, there are collections of outfits that range in different styles and fit into any business meeting.
Photo cred: Hornick Rivlin Studios | Dress design: Simone Simon
“We are working directly with manufacturers to create and sell the outfits,” Zahka said. “When we first started, we featured clothing from a handful of designer brands like Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein.”
While OTB is currently in an online marketplace, Zahka is looking into the idea of creating an OTB app for smartphones.
The website offers consumers much more than just clothing with OTB publishing content that focuses on all aspects of finding a job after college, including resume tips, building your own personal brand, and how to mentally prepare for an interview.
Currently, OTB is described as a “one-woman show” by Zahka, but she maintains a strong network of freelancers, who are also college students, to help out the content and website maintenance.
Zahka has been working with college career development centers in the Boston area. Some of them include Northeastern University and her alma mater Babson College.
“As an entrepreneur, I’ve had the chance to speak at a few of Babson’s entrepreneurial classes, offering my own advice and interview tips for upcoming graduates,” Zahka said. “It’s been a great experience to ‘share the wealth,’ so to speak, on job interviews with our audience directly.”
Aside from working with colleges and getting a chance to speak with students about to enter the workforce, OTB has made appearances at other Boston tech events. The company competed at HUBWeek’s Demo Day, and was part of Mass Innovation Nights #103, where she was part of a group entirely made up of women founders.
Anyone looking for a job should be hyper-focused on their resume and preparing for the interview. Worry about what you are going to wear shouldn’t be stressful and OTB takes the pressure off, allowing job seekers to hopefully nail the interview.
Colin Barry is a contributor to VentureFizz. Follow him on Twitter @ColinKrash.