Lucky underwear tops the list of confidence boosters worn by 84 percent of candidates at job interviews.



Six out of 10 admit to choosing their favourite underwear in the hope it will get them the job, sometimes unwashed.



The findings come from a survey of more than 3,000 workers by employment law firm Peninsula. Some 84 percent of respondents said they would wear an item they believed to be a luck charm.



Onrec reports these superstitious job hunters also tend to read their horoscopes on interview days in the belief it will be an indicator of whether they will be asked to fill the position, with nearly three quarters checking their stars.



Peninsula’s research found the top 10 lucky charms candidates take with them to a job interview are:

• Lucky Underwear (sometimes unwashed!)
• Lucky Jewellery
• Brooch
• Lucky shoes
• An object from Childhood, i.e. blanket/teddy
• Four leaf clover
• Key ring
• Lucky stone
• Lucky Pen/Pencil
• Lucky photograph of someone i.e. boyfriend/relative

Peter Done, Managing Director of Peninsula told Onrec: "Union-jack underwear is not guaranteed to get you the job, so get prepared, turn up early for the interview, dress smartly and sell yourself, leave the lucky underwear at home. I'm amazed at how superstitious people are, one employee we spoke to took wearing lucky underwear to the extreme claiming his briefs are so lucky that he refuses to wash them.



"Employers want to know your skills and expertise, so use the interview as an opportunity to market yourself. Do not run the risk of being late because you forget your lucky charm because an employers biggest gripe is candidates who are late."



Done added: "Candidates who believe their horoscope can predict the outcome of an interview may need a reality check. Your star-sign is not going to determine how you perform or what the outcome will be. The habit of checking our horoscope seems to get the better of us, it's all too easy to look for the smallest of clues in the hope that it tells us whether we are going to be successful or not, when in reality, luck plays no part at a job interview and it's down to how we perform on the day that counts."