Job Interviews, and "Professional" Fragrances

[MarquisdeSod]

So I was interviewing for a position in my company and a candidate arrived wearing one of the Givenchy Plays, I think original since I didn't smell the prominent chocolate note in Play Intense...Anyways, I started thinking, "unprofessional, clubkid." I dunno, I mean obviously it won't have any bearing on the outcome, but I walked away thinking gourmands and sweet scents just don't give off an air of professionalism. I mean it's one thing when you're in a club trying to cut through the heat, BO and competing scents, but in a workplace, smelling sugary seems to send the wrong message.

Anyone else have shared or differing perspectives? I mean I may be off base, I don't know, but I do know the impression I got just wasn't positive. And it isn't that I'm a gourmand hater, I actually love my A*Men, Hanae Mori, etc. but I dunno, for a professional environment, gourmands seem to be the aromatic equivalent of wearing a loud patterned club shirt to the office.

[Picard]

I wear Pure Havane to work

[change1]

If I was the candidate I would wear one of the following fragrance....

Chanel Platinum Egoiste

Chanel Pour Monsieur Concentree or the EDT

Guerlain Vetiver

[lovingthealien]

Sweet can also be quite professional as well - Troisieme Homme, Jaipur Homme, and Heritage all come to mind.

[JiveHippo]

I agree, a gourmand is not appropriate for a job interview. If i was going to wear anything it would be something light and inoffensive like Mugler Cologne or Prada Amber.

[Ete]

I wore TdH to my last interview, needless to say I got the job

[change1]

Now if i was the interviewer, I would wear one of these fragrance....

YSL Kouros

Muscs Kublai Khan

10 sprays of Joop

[del]

+1 on TdH.

However, I also wear gourmand and other sweet scents to work. Rochas Man, A*Men, Play Intense to name a few. I guess if you can carry it confidently, then wear it.

[JiveHippo]

Now if i was the interviewer, I would wear one of these fragrance....

YSL Kouros

Muscs Kublai Khan

10 sprays of Joop

Lol that'll let em know who's boss!

[Jridgen]

I wear all sorts of frags to the office, but tone it down for interviews/meetings...

Interview
+1 Terre d'Hermes
Mugler Cologne
+1 Platinum Egoiste

Meetings
MI/Silver Mountain Water
Guerlain Homme L'eau
Dior Homme Sport
L'Instant Extreme

[>BOOMER<]

I think Gourmands are fine at the office or work, AFTER you get the job and know the people. For interviews (I have interviewed many people in my career) I always appreciated a person intent on a strong 1st impression or no impression as far as a fragrance. Of course this could be many frags but an example would be Gucci Pour Homme and going light on the trigger. Actually, in an interview it doesn't hurt to not wear anything. It can be a distraction for the interviewer and maybe not a good one. Be smart.

[MysteryBuff40]

Best not to wear any fragrance at a job interview. What are the chances that you interview with someone who is a fragrance lover and who happens to like the fragrance you're wearing and thinks it's office appropriate - a 10,000 to 1 lottery shot? Why take the risk of being considered unprofessional?

[hedonist222]

Anyone else have shared or differing perspectives? I mean I may be off base, I don't know, but I do know the impression I got just wasn't positive.

I think you are off base and a taking it a tad bit too seriously.

I mean if he had sprayed overtly then any perfume would be a nuisance but a couple of reserved gourmand sprays are acceptable IMO.

[MJM_77]

Creed Original Vetiver sounds good to me.

[KMF]

I wouldn't wear a fragrance to a job interview. Even something most would consider light and harmless might not seem that way to the person doing the interviewing. The job market is difficult / competitive enough as it is. Don't give a company another reason to not hire you.

Once you're in the position for a while, then you can't experiment with certain scents.

[CaliDude]

If I had an interview, I would wear my favorite fragrance. And that's Creed Silver Mountain Water.

[pbjguy]

I have had job offers wearing Platinum Egoiste - light in application though.

[L'Incandescent]

I don't wear any fragrance to interviews. (It's practically the only time that I don't wear a fragrance.) My rough cost-benefit analysis goes like this: the interviewer might find your fragrance off-putting, or even nauseating. This can happen even with "safe scents." If that happens, the interviewer is left with a strong negative impression. The potential downside is very big. The benefit, if there is any at all, would be tiny. It's just not worth the risk, IMO.
If I were to wear a fragrance, though, it wouldn't be a gourmand.

[Renard]

I think Rive Gauche PH will settle down any interviewer and make them think you are solid and steady.

[hednic]

I think it depends on the environment where one works.

[starshipvelcro]

TdH sounds good to me too, also Gucci PH 2

[chili_willi]

And it isn't that I'm a gourmand hater, I actually love my A*Men, Hanae Mori, etc.

Hanae Mori is a gourmand?! I am such a noob. That stuff smells like powdered flowers to me. I gotta get my sniffer tuned up.

[xiuxia]

Hanae Mori is a gourmand?! I am such a noob. That stuff smells like powdered flowers to me. I gotta get my sniffer tuned up.

Vanilla and lemon in front and some people get chocolate in the basenotes.

I know what you mean, though.

[jasonx]

So I was interviewing for a position in my company and a candidate arrived wearing one of the Givenchy Plays, I think original since I didn't smell the prominent chocolate note in Play Intense...Anyways, I started thinking, "unprofessional, clubkid." I dunno, I mean obviously it won't have any bearing on the outcome, but I walked away thinking gourmands and sweet scents just don't give off an air of professionalism. I mean it's one thing when you're in a club trying to cut through the heat, BO and competing scents, but in a workplace, smelling sugary seems to send the wrong message.

Anyone else have shared or differing perspectives? I mean I may be off base, I don't know, but I do know the impression I got just wasn't positive. And it isn't that I'm a gourmand hater, I actually love my A*Men, Hanae Mori, etc. but I dunno, for a professional environment, gourmands seem to be the aromatic equivalent of wearing a loud patterned club shirt to the office.

Live and let live man, don't hate. I wear everything in my wardrobe to work from soapy to heavy floral

[Primrose]

Use Derby. Understated elegance that means business.

Try not to go for anything gourmand or too aquatic.

[Gerard_Butler]

I can see Gucci PH 2 working really well with job interviews and professional settings.

[indianwells]

Nothing. Zero. Zilch. I cannot see how wearing a fragrance can gain you an advantage in an interview scenario. I can see very real disadvantages however.

[LloydLlewellyn]

IMHO saying that a person shouldn't wear a gourmand to a job interview is just following a stereotype, namely the one that he's not a formal guy. People tend to associate woody scents with masculinity, but the truth is that gourmands are so extended already that this impression just doesn't fit reality anymore. Just my two cents.

[dollars&scents]

I wouldn't wear a fragrance to a job interview. Even something most would consider light and harmless might not seem that way to the person doing the interviewing. The job market is difficult / competitive enough as it is. Don't give a company another reason to not hire you.

Once you're in the position for a while, then you can't experiment with certain scents.

I tend to agree ... if you must, something very light ond inoffensive ...

[Merely]

I would tend to agree that gourmand aren't perfectly appropriate for work or for interviews, though doubtless some people can get away with it. Scent, too, is secondary to the person's other qualities - industriousness, intelligence, etc - which hopefully makes their fragrance somewhat irrelevant. Still, I see little wrong with semi-gourmands - gourmandish, but inedible, as some things are. Like Caron's Nuit de Noel extrait, say.

Regarding professional fragrances, I was amused to note recently, when in a shop that caters for the most part to the barristers and judges of my city (most of what they sell is legal regalia, wigs, etc), that they sell the Trumper line, keeping no other set of fragrances other in stock. Apparently they sell them to their intended clientèle often, and Trumper is a perennial favourite of barristers here. I asked from curiosity what were their best sellers, and apparently Portugal and Malborough are the most favoured, and after those two the evanescent non-scent of Limes.