In the current employment market, being a job seeker means doing everything you can to get yourself to the front of the queue. First impressions count and making the right choices when deciding what to wear to a job interview can give you a serious leg up or leave your interviewer with a less than positive impression of you.
According to a recent survey by careers website The Ladders, 37% of bosses say they have decided against hiring an applicant because of the way they dressed rather than answers to the interview questions. So, if you want to make sure you come across as the committed professional that you are, then here a few tips on what to wear for a job interview:
Women
Avoid dresses and bright colors. The majority of interviewers feel bright colors – red in particular – are an inappropriate choice for a first interview. Dresses are also viewed as too casual an option, unless it is tailored dress that would not look out of place in a room full of suits.
Tone down the accessories. If you want to wear jewelry to an interview it should be subtle and not attention grabbing. Most employers will mark you down if you turn up in dangly earrings or overly-sparkly jewelry that seems more suited to a bar than a meeting room. The same goes for make-up and nail varnish – keep these simple and muted.
be all about business, not sex appeal. Most women want to be able to begin a job on an equal footing to their male counterparts and avoid being objectified. Prevent raised eyebrows and unfair judgments by avoiding flashing inappropriately large amounts of leg or cleavage. Wear low or medium heels rather than six-inch stilettos and sell yourself on talent alone.
Perfect interview outfit: a conservative, but well cut, suit, low heels, minimal jewelry and make-up.
Men
Wear a suit and tie. If you are not sure what to wear for a job interview, it’s often safest to go for a suit and tie – a conservative suit and a non-flashy tie. A huge number of employers will mark you down if you don’t wear one so don’t disadvantage yourself from the off by not dressing the part.
Avoid casual dress. If you don’t want to wear a suit and tie but still want to look formal, there are certain items of clothing that will immediately create a negative impression. These include, a leather jacket, trainers, jeans, chinos and polo shirts.
Limit accessories to the bare minimum. It’s not just women who need to pay attention to how they accessorize a look. Avoid jewelry of any kind, other than a wedding ring, and take out earrings or facial piercings. Get a haircut and trim or shave any facial hair.
Perfect interview outfit: long sleeved shirt, blue, black or grey two-piece suit, dark shoes and socks.
There are also some rules that apply to both sexes – these may seem obvious but sometimes in the stress of a pre-interview situation they can get forgotten: Cut and clean your nails, don’t overdo the perfume or aftershave, don’t chew gum, and if in doubt when it comes to choosing clothes, go conservative.
If you are really worried about getting the look wrong, then just call the HR department of the company you are interviewing at – all you need to find out is whether the clothing policy at the company is ‘smart casual’ or ‘formal office attire.’ If it’s ‘formal’ you know to wear a full suit, ‘smart casual’ and you can open a button/lose the tie/leave your jacket at home. Either way, make sure you look professional. If you are not able to present yourself professionally in the job interview, you are not giving the company any motivation to hire you to represent them in any other professional situation.
About the author: This was a guest post by John for Monster jobs. For more interview prep advice see the interview tips and interview questions in our career advice section.