Presentation: It’s more than just the coat and tie when it comes to job interviews.

They know these things have been carefully constructed by the jobseeker for the occasion so are resorting to checking cars for more genuine insights.

Business coach Terri Billington said employers and recruiters would walk a jobseeker to their car at the end of an interview for a sneak peek.

“A car can tell you a lot about a person because if it’s horribly messy then they take little care in their presentation, which will cross over into the workplace,” she said.

“It’s a really good gauge because most people wouldn’t expect someone to look at their car and judge them on it.

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Business coach Terri Billington. Picture: SuppliedSource:Supplied

“One employer mistakenly only looked at a car after giving the applicant the job — the floor was littered with rubbish and the outside was rusty — and the staff member has proven to be a problem with hygiene, turning up to work dinners in the same pants he’d been wearing while fixing his cars all day.”

PERSONALITY PROFILING

The type of car a person drives might also be an indicator of personality.

Billington said to an extent a sporty car could suggest the candidate is an extrovert, while a conservative car could suggest they are more introverted.

“With so many people applying for jobs and applicants getting their resumes professionally done, employers are being forced to be smarter in determining who is best suited to the job,” she said.

“Bosses aren’t just looking to fill positions with the necessary skills, they’re interested in finding the right person with the right values for the role.

“They will look at appearance, they will look at the state of their car, they will look at their social media profiles, they will find out if you have done your research on their business.”

Ray White real estate agent Damon Warat says in sales, presentation, including that of your car, is very important. Picture: Claudia BaxterSource:News Limited

RESENTATION, PRESENTATION, PRESENTATION

For real estate agent Damon Warat, presentation is important.

The Ray White Queensland salesperson of the year said while he hadn’t heard of employers checking cars in the hiring process, he had seen agents told to clean their cars before open homes.

“Presentation is paramount and I am sure that if a candidate was seen arriving with a visually filthy car it would not be beneficial in obtaining a job position, especially in real estate where our car is our really our mobile office,” he said.

“You only get one chance to make a first impression and when we meet a customer or client, our car is generally the first thing we are judged on before they meet us.”

Warat said he chose his work vehicle with clients in mind.

“Being an agent I often take the position of driving clients to a number of houses,” he said.

“Although I am single without children and would naturally gravitate towards a coupe or smaller sports car, I chose the four-door Mercedes so that it was easy for clients to get in and out of the back seat. I also think it’s important to not be driving a car that your clients might be embarrassed to be seen in.

“My car was a gift to myself for reaching personal targets I set for myself. (It) is parked out the front of 10 open homes each weekend as the first impression buyers get before they see me.”

For more employment news, read Saturday’s CareerOne section in News Corp Australia’s metropolitan newspapers.