Dressing for a job interview.....

[DizBelle]

What do you take into consideration when dressing for a job interview or when you are interviewing someone for a job?

 

[CapeCodTenor]

I've always worn a suit and tie for all of my interviews, the ones outside of high school at least. I just think it looks sharp and shows how serious the candidate is, but that's me. I've never interviewed someone, so I've never been in that position; however, I would be looking at how they dressed for the interview (depending on what they were interviewing for).

 

[gwynne]

There is no one size fits all. The answer will vary quite a bit depending on the individual and the situation.
Are you asking for a friend, a teen, you, or are you evaluating a potential co-worker?
What type of work? Full? Part-time? Internship? Other?

 

[Klayfish]

It will depend on what type of job you're looking for. If you're looking for a part time job at the local convenience store, then I'd say jeans and a polo shirt type things are fine. If it's anything in what is typically considered the "business world", then business attire is appropriate.

I work in auto insurance. I have done literally hundreds of interviews. I expect the person to come dressed in some kind of business attire, but I don't expect them to wear a brand new $800 suit with a formal jacket. If you have a good overall appearance and clearly take the time to prepare yourself in appearance, I'm perfectly happy. I don't really notice if you're "overdressed", probably because I'm not a fashion kind of guy...but I can assure you I'll notice if you're clearly underdressed.

 

[indygirl99]

I am a nurse and the majority of my jobs I have interviewed for I have been in my pj's. One interview I was actually covered only in bubbles from the bath.

I worked several years as a travel nurse and all my interviews were phone interviews.

 

[SC Minnie]

When I'm interviewing for someone at our company, at a minimum I expect a guy to be in a long sleeve dress shirt and tie, a suit is better but men don't wear suits/ties here so shirt/tie wouldn't be a deal breaker, for a woman a conservative dress, skirt, or slacks. With the skirt/slacks a conservative top or twinset or even a jacket.

 

[Poohforyou]

Personally I want to look more dressed up than the people doing the job I'm interviewing for. I don't think you can be too dressed up sticking with classic business attire.

I'm in a pretty casual place now. I've even seen people in shorts and flip flops on Fridays. With that said, I wore a shirt dress, blazer, tights and heels for my interview back in the winter. I was definitely one of the most dressed up people here. I could have skipped the blazer and been fine.

 

[sam_gordon]

It will depend on what type of job you're looking for.

This. You're going to wear something different to apply for a fast food job than you would working at the headquarters of a Fortune 500 company.

 

[pryncess527]

I'd try to be as dressed up as I think people in that job would ever be. So I'd be aiming for their "we have an event today" or "Big Boss is in the office today" look.
I work in Academia -- so I'm really saying I wouldn't' show up in Summer Casual, even though I know everyone dresses more casually at a Uni in the summer.

 

[BadPinkTink]

the best thing to do is research the company and industry and if possible to a pre visit to the comapny. That way you will see how the current employees dress.

There are different levels of interview dress code depending on the company or industry. Most places these days just expect smart casual, plain clothes, no logos etc. A bank would expect a more formal interview dress code than a restaurant for example.

 

[porschegrl]

Way back when, I was taught the rule of thumb to dress one step "above" what the position requires on a daily basis. Most of the interviewees I see these days seem to follow that guideline, more or less. On a day-to-day basis, our male professional staff wear khakis and polos/button-down shirts. They interview in suits. Our technical staff wear t-shirts/polos & jeans to work most days, and they usually interview in polos & khakis.

 

[Lilacs4Me]

My current company has a "jeans and nice shirt" casual dresscode, but as an interviewee, I would expect someone to wear a nice set of pants or slacks, women - a blouse or very nice shirt or a dress/skirt, and men, a dress shirt and tie.

Once they get the job, they can wear a polo or nice shirt and jeans like the rest of the us.

I was in a position to conduct interviews for about 3 out of my 6 years here. I'm kind of glad I don't have to do that in my current position anymore....it was fun sometimes, but always a little uncomfortable knowing my decision about someone could be the difference between them having a good job, or not being able to pay their bills.

 

[Magpie]

It really depends on the job!

Dressing up is not always the right thing to do. When I was applying to be an Army Reservist, I very unwisely listened to my mother's advice on what I should wear. As a result I went to the interview looking like a Catholic school girl (and not the naughty kind, either!).

The nice man conducting the interview spent most of his time trying to talk me out of applying. I didn't clue into why, until I went into another room to write the aptitude test and realized everyone else had shown up in jeans. Oops! I definitely did not look like the kind of young lady who could carry a pack and tote a gun and dig a ditch.

Fortunately, the army almost never says no to anyone.

 

[bcla]

My industry (electronics) is one where a T-shirt and jeans is common. Years ago, I showed up in a dress shirt, tie, and slacks but no jacket on a warm day. My interviewer told me to please take off the tie, as it was making him uncomfortable. I got the job though and worked there for years until we had some financial difficulties and started losing good employees over several years.

Since then I've typically interviewed in a polo shirt and khakis, although once it was clean (no rips) jeans and a casual long-sleeve outdoor shirt. Other than the casual leather shoes, I looked like I might be ready to go hiking. The hiring manager said it was fine, and I was less casual than most of the interviewers.

I don't think I've worn a tie to an interview in years. I did own a few suits and would occasionally wear them to work just for a change of pace. The typical questions from coworkers were "So who are you interviewing with?" or "Are you going to a funeral?"

 

[MrsCobraBubbles]

I consider what I will be wearing to work there. Libraries are business casual so I'd dress up a bit for the interview, either wear a dress with a nice sweater to cover my arms or dress pants, a nice shirt, and possible a blazer or sweater. I'm about to interview for an office job in a business casual office and I'm planning my outfit, this post was nicely timed for me : )

 

[bcla]

I can just describe my first industry interview, back when I was still in school. It was for a part-time position and it was an eye opener. I had a suit and had worn it before for assorted summer job interviews. However, this was my first interview in Silicon Valley for a mid-sized company. First of all, all my interviewers were women, although that wasn't really a distraction. Still - none were wearing what anyone would consider "business attire". Their clothes were somewhat ill-fitting (jeans, shorts) with a bit of back showing and one even had some underwear showing. The interviews were conducted professionally, but it did leave me with an impression that Silicon Valley wasn't quite the same as working in a typical office building setting.

 

[King Schultz]

I would definitely wear clothes of some kind.

 

[GaryDis]

I would definitely wear clothes of some kind.

I wouldn't. My last set of interviews were entirely phone interviews.

Though come to think of it, this was back around March, so I probably had jeans and a t-shirt on. These days, I work in shorts, sometimes just boxers.

 

[King Schultz]

I wouldn't. My last set of interviews were entirely phone interviews.

Though come to think of it, this was back around March, so I probably had jeans and a t-shirt on. These days, I work in shorts, sometimes just boxers.

Having a job like that would make me so happy.

 

[Jennasis]

If I were interviewing someone to work for me, I would expect them to be wearing breeches/boots and a polo, or clean jeans/boots/polo...I own a horse farm and would be interviewing either a professional riding instructor or barn help.