First, people are replying to job postings as if they are replying to a text message or an email to a friend. They don't check their work, they use familiar names, they use text message shorthand. When showing up to an interview, people show up in ill fitting clothes, revealing clothing, and just generally unpresentable.
The first thing that you must understand about the job process is that the company is looking to find someone they can entrust to do a job and make them money. You need to present yourself as the kind of person that the company can trust to make them money. If your writing style or your personal style is not matching what they have in mind as a responsible, serious person, you will not get the job.
When you are looking through job postings, read them. If you have around 50% of what the posting asks for, and if you have heard of the other 50%, go ahead and apply. A posting, for the most part, is a list of requirements that the employer wants in an ideal candidate. You may not be the ideal candidate, but you might be close enough to get an interview, or to even hire based on your salary requirements and your willingness to get up to speed.
If you DON'T have at least 50% of the requirements, move on. The employer will just round file (trash can) your resume.
When you decide you are going to reply to the posting, look through it to find the person's name who authored the posting. This is very important.
Use the name that you found and address your reply directly to that person. Use the formal presentation of their name in your greeting: Mr. Donaldson, Ms. Takayama, Dr. Jones. DO NOT use the author's first name. You don't know them, and they might be sensitive to that kind of thing.
Personally, I do my greetings with just the author's name, I don't put a "Dear" in front of it. The word implies a closeness that does not exist, and just doesn't belong in a business setting.
I like to write out my responses to job postings in a word processor program. I use Microsoft Word, because it has both grammar and spell check. I want to make sure that my replies are grammatically correct, has correct punctuation, correct word usage, and proper spelling. In other words proof read your reply before sending. This is not a text message, it is not an email to your friends. This is the very first contact with a potential employer, and you want to sound like a person that they would want to give thousands of dollars a year to. Nearly every job posting has the requirement that the candidate have outstanding written and verbal skills. This reply is the very first impression of your written skills. Take it very seriously, because the business certainly will.
Remove any type of slang or personal jargon from the reply. I immediately discard any replies that use "u" for you, "ur" for your, or use its, it's, your, you're, and to, too, and two improperly. Its basic English, guys. If you can't figure those things out, I have little hope that you can tackle the requirements of the job.
Having a reply that is correct grammatically tells me that you are through, pay attention to detail, and care about your impressions. That is the kind of person I want on my team.
Do not use "What's up?" as your greeting... Ever. Do not use the phrase "Hit me back." at any point as well. These also are immediate round file triggers.
So, you sent a reply and now you have an interview. Sweet!! Take out any piercings that may be seen as unusual. Women, take out all but the bottom couple of your earrings. Guys, if you have those gauges in your ears, you are doomed to working at the coffee shop for the rest of your life. Way to go dumbass.
Look at your wardrobe while you still have time to shop. Make sure you have a suit that fits. This goes for men and women. make sure to wear something that covers ALL of your tattoos. If you have ink that shows on your neck or your hands, you will be working at the coffee shop the rest of your life. Way to go dumbass.
If you haven't worn your suit in a while, get your suit cleaned and pressed. It makes the creases look sharp, and gives the look that you prepared very specifically for this interview.
Men:
Take a good long look at your dress shirts. Ignore any shirt that has an obvious stain or discoloration. The choice of color is yours, but you should go with a conservative white or blue. Stripes are ok as long as they are subtle, and try and stay away from the pinks and lavenders. I like these colors, ESPECIALLY with a black suit, but you don't know they type of person you will be interviewing with. They may have an open mind, but they also have an idea of what a man should be wearing. They may not find favor with these colors.
Make sure that the shirt fits well. Fitting well means that it is not billowing out at the waist, or straining at the buttons. It should form nicely around your body. If your shirt doesn't, go to a men's clothing store, not a big box store, and buy one that fits you properly.
Choose a good tie, and learn how to tie a proper knot. They can help you at the men's store. It isn't difficult to learn how to do, and it is a very important detail to your look. Not just any tie knot will do. The knot that you use will be dependent on the type of shirt collar that you have chosen. A skinny knot will not go with a wide collar, and a wide knot will not look right on a narrow collar. Again ask the men's store clerk for some guidance.
I don't mind a bit of whimsy in a tie, as long as it was subtle and the knot was properly made. I have been known to wear little airplanes, little Tiggers, and Batman ties to interviews. The key is not use the over stated ones, but the ones where the whimsy is woven almost imperceptibly in to the tie.
Here is a great example of a subtle Star Trek tie:
DO NOT go for the skinny ties. They are not the look that you want for the interview.
Women:
Your job is much harder than the man's. I'm sorry, and I wish it wasn't so, but this is the way it is. Women have to run the balancing act of looking nice with out flaunting any sexuality, but, at the same time, come across as very feminine. Very tough. The toughest people to deal with when it comes to how a woman dresses for an interview are other women. I have seen candidates get eliminated because of the brand of shoes they chose to wear. The men didn't notice but the women did, and they couldn't get their minds off of it.
If I were a woman, and I am not, take that in to consideration if you are... I would wear a pants suit. There are too many ways to go wrong with a skirt. Length, tightness, cut, pleats, on and on and on. Go with the pants.
Blouse should be business style, again color is up to you, but make sure it is subtle, can't go wrong with a nice light blue, or white.
Be careful of the buttons... Too few and you won't be taken seriously, too many and you end up looking like you have something to hide, or that you are not a very confident woman.
Shoes... I don't know anything about woman's shoes, but I do know that too much heel is a very bad thing. Very bad. Also flats are a very bad thing.
Go for a shoe that has a bit of a heel, and is a closed, rounded toe. Be sure that the heel is wide, not super thin. The super thin ones are what got the woman above discarded...
Back to everybody:
Remember that how you dress is a reflection of your personality. If you come in looking bad, or a detail is overlooked, that is how you will come across as behaving in your personal and professional life.
If the job comes down to two equally qualified candidates the one who presented himself better at the interview will get the job.
If you come in looking nice, put together and confident, you have an advantage over most of the candidates that will be interviewed, who will come in looking like they threw something on at the last moment.
