Research from Hays shows 10% of men and 6% of women spend more than two hours grooming prior to attending a job interview and 90% of respondents said they would put in more effort with their appearance for an interview than they would if they were going out for the evening.
Concern for appearance extends to those who are in employment, with one in 10 admitting dress-down Fridays are a bad idea in a recession.
Charles Logan, director at Hays, said: "The added competition for jobs means candidates need to pull out all the stops to secure a new position. While appearance is not the deciding factor, it can help to put a decision in your favour and, in hard times like these, jobseekers should be doing everything they can to put themselves at an advantage."
The research follows news from retailer Moss Bros that suit sales were up 27% for the first 16 weeks of the financial year, compared with last year. Brian Brick, CEO of Moss Bros, added: "Our core competency of suit selling has seen considerable demand. People who have not got a job are smartening up to find one, and people who have got a job are smartening up to keep it."
Jobseekers make a bigger effort to look smart for interviews
Looking good has become the main priority for jobseekers with more than a third of women and 24% of men spending one to two hours getting ready for job interviews.
