24th
Define Professional
Many of you are in positions where you aren’t looking for a career change. Nevertheless, imagine for one moment that you are looking for a new job. You find some possible positions you believe you’ll be perfect for, spend hours honing your resume and cover letter, and secure an interview. You walk into the interview wearing scrubby blue jeans, a t-shirt, and your favorite sneakers.
Now can stop imagining. Would you take that prospect seriously? Most likely not. And neither would a lot of people.
At a recent chamber of commerce event I asked members how the appearance of a site influenced their purchasing decision. The consensus was that they would leave the site and look for another company to purchase products from if a website did not look professional. This is not just limited to my small focus group. One study put out by eMarketer found that 68% of U.S. online shoppers distrust a site that does not have a professional appearance. Another study found that 75% of consumers make judgments about a company’s credibility based on the website’s design.
