Job Interview Dress Code Tips – How To Dress For A Job Interview
Intellectual and psychological preparation for an interview is crucial, but there are other more basic but essential aspects to consider. If you think that some of what follows sounds obvious – it is, but there are still countless candidates who let themselves down in the job interview dressing area by not knowing how to dress for a job interview (or understanding the job interview dress code) and turning up late for interviews, failing to read instructions about what they should bring with them, and appearing in a suit that has not been to the dry cleaners for a year and still bears the evidence of three wedding receptions.
Good personal presentation is an absolute must when it comes to job interview dressing. Knowing how to dress for a job interview appropriately also makes you feel much better, much more confident and much more in control.
Being dressed for success is essential. It is quite understandable that candidates are anxious. Being too casual might imply that you couldn’t care less – being too formal could suggest that you are stuffy and boring.
The unwritten job interview dress code means it is safest to opt for smart and formal. If you turn up for the interview and find that staff around the office are casually dressed, you can dress down when you have secured the post.
Formal job interview dressing will not count against you, whereas being too casual might give the impression that you couldn’t really be bothered, and that you are not taking the interview seriously.
Job interview dressing selection may be down to common sense, but it is worth reminding yourself of a few basics. This is especially so if this is the first time you have had to go for job interviews.
Job Interview Dress Code Do’s and Don’ts
Men:
- Do wear a suit, a dean shirt and a tie (without a football team or a picture of your pet crocodile on it).
- Don’t forget to clean your shoes – this is a common mistake.
Women
- Do wear a suit: a skirt, blouse and jacket or a dress and jacket or a trouser suit
- Don’t wear really high heels.
On every occasion you should carry either a briefcase, smart bag or organizer. Walking in with a plastic bag from a supermarket or a half-finished cup of coffee doesn’t go down particularly well.
Of course, you do need to balance all this advice with what you know about the organization you are applying to join. A law firm may have a different dress code from a software design company or a food manufacturer but, as has already been stated, when in doubt, opt for formality. Company brochures or websites with photographs of the office or plant and the staff that work there can give valuable pointers.
It hardly needs to be stated that excellent personal hygiene and good grooming are a must; but even these can catch unwary candidates out. If you have spent the previous evening chomping on garlic bread, quaffing large quantities of alcohol or chain smoking, you don’t want your interviewer to be able to sniff this out.
Even well-prepared candidates can let their standards slip. One human resource director of a large engineering company commented on how many applicants for a whole range of jobs, many at quite senior levels, would appear very welt turned out and presentable, with well-polished shoes, smart suit, etc., but with surprisingly dirty finger nails.
If you are using fragrances, opt for small amounts and something very understated. No interviewer likes a cloud of scent to arrive in the interview room two minutes ahead of the candidate. Many human resource professionals advise not using fragrance at all, especially bearing in mind that these can trigger allergic reactions in some interviewers.
Avoid heavy make-up, excessive jewellery and boldly displayed body adornments. As always, common sense dictates what will be appropriate, a firm of management consultants will have different expectations to a youth-support project or the cosmetic counter of a leading department store.
Ensure that your wardrobe is organized in plenty of time, that your suit has been dry cleaned, you have respectable shoes and that you are not using a supermarket carrier bag as a rather understated briefcase. Whatever the rules and niceties of job interview dress codes, it is most important that you feel comfortable and at ease.
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