I hate to miss an opportunity to share a career lesson related to pop culture. Did you watch the Oscars? Did you, like many, wonder how in the world anyone had let Anne Hathaway out of the house in a dress that made it look like she was having a MAJOR wardrobe malfunction? You’d think that if she’d looked in the mirror, she might have noticed, but the dress was hardly flattering for the best actress in a supporting role. What a shame that everyone seems to be focused on the dress error instead of her big win.
(If you missed it, you can view some photos here.)
Then, Jennifer Lawrence fell UP the steps on her way to picking up her best actress award. (Take a look at the video.) Luckily, she did not seem hurt, and made a joke of it on the podium, but if you take a look at the dress she wore, it’s not surprising that she fell.
What career lesson can we learn here? The Business Insider link about Anne Hathaway says she decided to change her dress choice three hours before the show. Apparently, she switched to the Prada dress instead of the Valentino — after Valentino had already announced she would be wearing their gown. Seems a faux pas, but more importantly — the lesson here is do not make last-minute choices when it comes to your job hunt.
That means you should set out your interview attire (and try it on) way in advance of even having an interview scheduled. While your wardrobe malfunction probably won’t cause the buzz that Ms. Hathaway’s did, you never want people talking about what you wore when they should be remembering you for your ravishing skills.
As far as the lesson from Ms. Lawrence — think about everything in practical terms. I’m not sure how she ever planned to get up the stairs in that huge dress. You don’t want to (literally OR figuratively) fall on your face when it comes to your job hunt, so think about the different eventualities; what will you be asked to do? What questions might you need to prepare to answer? Don’t “stumble” through your job hunt, because you probably won’t be forgiven as quickly as an Academy Award winner!
People have short attention spans today, and recruiters and hiring managers are no different from the rest of the population. 
Preparing for interview questions does not require memorizing answers to the most popular inquiries. Instead, job seekers need to focus on what they offer as it relates to what the employer wants. 
I’m sure many of us have been guilty of just taking a job because it was available, or because the pay was better than another job that may have been more suitable to our goals. What should you think about when it’s time to look for a job? 
Yes, there are specific things you can do to land a job more quickly. In fact, I am pretty sure that many (how’s that for non-specific?) people become part of the “long-term unemployed” statistic because they do not know how to look for a job in today’s market. Or, they miss important steps because someone told them they weren’t important.