GROUP

Topic 2: How would you feel if you had to change your style of dress
or behavior to suit the business culture of a foreign employer?
I. INTRODUCTION
- There is no universal rule as to the best dress for an interview. Depending on the position
applied for by the company or agency, the candidate needs to be well-prepared in terms
of how to dress to suit the environment they want to work in in the future. It is very
important to dress and behave appropriately, the first assessment the interviewer makes
will be based on how the candidate is dressed. For example, going to an interview for a
position at a bank, if you wear a T-shirt, will send a message to the employer that you do
not understand what is related to the job you are looking for. In most of the interviews,
candidates should wear professional attire appropriate for the office environment of the
company they apply for.
- Therefore, it is extremely necessary to change the style of dress to match the business
culture of foreign employers.
II. CONTENT
1. Dressing style and behavior of Vietnamese people when going for an interview
a. Dress style
- Fashion shows the way and point of view of each person's own life. So when going for a
job interview, besides a great CV, a job with a bright and eye-catching appearance will
also help your chances of getting your dream job easier.
- For women, when interviewing, they will often choose the following clothes:
 Clothes: Women's clothing is very diverse in both designs and colors. However, when
going to interview Vietnamese people often choose a simple set of clothes. A shirt
combined with a dark pencil skirt or standing trousers always helps the interviewer to be
more elegant and confident.
 Footwear: If you choose a dress model, subtly distribute it with high heels to enhance
your figure. When considering interview shoes, it is advisable to prioritize closed-toe
shoes and medium heels for the most professional look.
 Accessory: To distribute more accessories, you can refer to watches and bags, and
jewelry as simply as possible.
- For men, when interviewing, they will usually choose the following services:
 Clothes: Men do not need to worry when men's interview attire is quite limited. Long-
sleeved shirt, light color (light blue, white,...) with dark trousers, quite polite to go to an
interview. However, if the vacancy is senior or the company culture is more professional,
it will usually be possible to pair it with a vest. Choose clothes that fit your body shape
because men often sweat a lot.
 Footwear: Black, brown, and dark blue leather shoes will be a safe choice because they
are easy to coordinate and suitable for many different outfits and colors.
 Accessories, ties: To create more accents, they often choose to add 1 watch and do not
wear too many accessories that will confuse them. Caravat (tie) is also the optimal
suggestion, both simple and elegant, pay attention to choosing the right color for the shirt.
b. How to behave
- Arrive for the interview on time:
 Among job interview skills, punctuality is a must. At the appointment time, you find
yourself lacking in preparation as well as a lack of responsibility for the company,
wasting both parties' time.
 It's best to research directions to the company's address at least 1 day before your
appointment to determine the location. Also, don't forget to prepare everything from the
homepage, and papers from the night before. Ideally, you should arrive 10 to 15 minutes
before your scheduled interview time.
- Prepare knowledge by the job description:
 When preparing yourself for interviewing and answering skills, you need to pay attention
to the items in the Job Description. You can print it out and focus on the areas of
experience, skills, and expertise that employers require.
 Take notes of examples from your past work and how your current qualifications and
skills match these requirements and focus on them while you are talking about your
experience.
- Make a script to answer the situational question:
 Many employers want to test a candidate's ability to handle situations and interview skills
with unexpected questions, beyond basic information such as Introduction and Work
Experience.
 To prepare for this conundrum, you can refer to the posts about the job itself on Youtube,
and blog posts. Or you can ask yourself, “If I were an employer, what would I ask?” so
that you can be prepared for as many situations as possible.
- Practice with acquaintances:
 Practicing your interview answers out loud can help build your confidence. You can
speak to yourself or, better yet, to someone you know, asking them to act as the
interviewer. This will help you when the actual battle will be less "matched".
- Prepare questions for recruiters the query is a two-way exchange. Not only do you need
to prepare for a job interview, but you also need to know how to ask questions.
 Here are some questions you may want to ask your interviewers:
o Can you explain some of the day-to-day responsibilities this job entails?
o If I were in this position, how would my performance be measured? And in time
how long?
o With which departments do these departments work in groups regularly?
o What are the challenges I face in my role?
2. Requirements of foreign employers
a. Dress style requirements
- When attending interviews, it is common to wear a polite shirt or blouse with casual
trousers. In addition, you can wear over simple coats, which can be taken off when going
 to the office. Finally, combine with flat shoes, loafers or a pair of heels that are not too
bulky.
- Don't wear t-shirts, ripped jeans, sunglasses and sneakers to any interview! In addition,
only one button should be removed from the top of the shirt to avoid offending.
- If you are a man, cut your hair neatly before the interview, neither too long nor too short.
If you're a woman, comb your hair neatly before going out.
b. Behavioral requirements
- When it comes to looking directly at the interviewer, this is the action of someone who is
straightforward, honest, and confident.
- Smile and humility need to be shown, this helps employers feel secure about your spirit
of cooperation along with the development of the business.
- The volume is just enough to listen to, and the gentle, warm voice will help the interview
atmosphere be peaceful and comfortable for both parties.
3. Working culture of Vietnamese people in foreign companies
a. Advantages
- There are always preferential hiring practices for employees of different nationalities in
general and Vietnamese in particular, which is one of the beneficial aspects of foreign
enterprises that we can observe. In order to minimize linguistic and cultural gaps, they
always strive to establish a comfortable and welcoming workplace. Vietnamese people
are adept at understanding the advantageous business conditions and swiftly acclimate to
the workplace environment. They are capable of understanding the working style and
self-improvement. Additionally, because we Vietnamese are equally concerned about
maintaining the Vietnamese national identity, they are able to quickly acclimate to
foreign cultures while simultaneously resisting the want to disappear into them.
- Thus, living and working alongside foreigners presents us Vietnamese with a number of
benefits, especially at a time when the globe is becoming more open to global integration.
This not only increases the nation's economic and labor potential but also strengthens
Vietnam's standing, which is represented in each and every person of Vietnamese descent
who is always working hard day by day out to establish their value. Moreover, in order to
highlight our advantages, we should share Vietnamese culture as well as learn about the
cultures of other nations in general and the international companies we work for in
particular. We should have pals abroad to deepen the connection.
b. Disavantages
- About weaknesses in the working culture in general and during the interview in particular
of foreign enterprises. The majority of Vietnamese people, in general, have not been able
to meet the demanding standards of employers, including qualifications, job experience,
pressure tolerance, or even time and place of employment. One of the issues that
Vietnamese people deal with is culture inadequacy. Additionally, when Vietnamese
people start working for an employer for the first time, they frequently experience culture
shock or have trouble integrating into the professional working environment.
- Therefore, in my opinion, in order to solve the aforementioned issues, we should actively
promote cultural awareness in our workplace as well as learn from and adapt other
 nations' working practices. It not only increases our productivity at work but also deepens
our understanding of other people's cultures.
III. CONCLUSION
- It's not always radical or traditional to judge someone by their appearance. Your personal
style, together with the apparel and accessories you choose out, conveys who you are and
how you want other people to see you. Your modesty and politeness will also disclose a
portion of who you are. To gain favor with international employers, you must pay great
attention to the aforementioned two factors and relate them to their culture, particularly in
the workplace or during an interview. Of course, there are benefits and drawbacks to this.
- Positive: You'll discover an entirely different you. The knowledge and comprehension of
a new, previously unexplored culture go hand in hand with that. You'll observe a brand-
new version of yourself. Along with that comes familiarity with and comprehension of a
novel culture. Gain knowledge and start on another path for yourself. Or do you develop
a more sophisticated approach to dealing with all types of clients.

- Negative: Gradually stop doing the daily rituals you enjoy, such as wearing your favorite
shirt, your new clothing, or the previous style you adopted. Due to cultural differences, it
could be challenging; it will take some time to practice and adapt. Sometimes it seems
awkward to behave that way because it's accepted in their country but not in mine.

- In short, if you want to succeed in whatever you choose, change negative circumstances
into positive ones in order to work hard and achieve the objectives you have set, from
which you progressively learn how to advance. Additionally, always think of trials and
difficulties as the first stage in learning; gradually become used to them so that nothing
can later cause you problems. The next step is to steadily better yourself, see yourself
from many various angles, get rid of the things that aren't good, play to your strengths,
and eventually become the best version of yourself.