I have an interview next week for a tenure-track math instructor position at a community college. This is my first interview for such a position. I’m not sure how well I need to dress for this, because
a) I’ve always been a t-shirt and jeans type of person, and I’ve never had a job where I’ve needed to dress nicer than this on a daily basis.
b) I’m a guy.
When I’ve interviewed for adjunct positions, I’ve worn a pair of Dockers, a button-down shirt with a tie, and a sweater. But this will be an interview for The Real Deal. I’ve done some Googling, and read conflicting advice from people who have served on community college search committees. Some say wear a suit, others say a suit is too fancy and makes the candidate look like they’re trying too hard. I would not have a problem with wearing a suit; the problem is that I can’t afford to purchase one.
So, what say you, people who have been the interviewer or the interviewee at community colleges? Can I get away with the clothes I’ve got?
Tenure track? Math? If you’re in CA or OR or something, or applying for, like, ceramics, it might look a bit formal, but they’d only hold that against you if they already have other problems with you. Looking professional is not a bad thing. At least some decent slacks (maybe not khakis) with a sport coat and a tie and a shirt with buttons. No polo shirt. No denim button-up.
A suit is probably more than you need for a tenure track position (unless it’s at some place like Harvard Business School). A sports coat and tie and other apparel in keeping with that would be appropriate. It might be more than you really need, but it almost certainly would not look over-dressed almost anywhere for such an interview.
Even in Oregon we dress up for important interviews. Y’know, a nice hempen peasant blouse and some feathers strategically placed in the dreadlocks, Birkenstocks, that sort of thing.
My ex is a tenured professor at University of Oregon, and at that professional level, people are expected to dress up for important events where you’d like to make a good impression, like a job interview.
Sport coat, tie, button down shirt, nice slacks, real shoes. It’s not so hard. Neither is it expensive. And to show you mean business, wear a tie tack.
Dunno about your school, but, I’d recommend a suit, and I’d bet if you watch the competition, you will see only suits.
The reason being, that most schools are state legislature funded. To make a long tale short, the legislature is a bunch of suits, trickling down, the school’s president/admin are a bunch of suits, HR is a bunch of suits, etc…and they would be more able to justify hiring another suit, and be more comfortable asking the legislature for more money for a school full of suits, rather than people more inclined to go their own way.
Of course, if you are Stephen Hawking or something comparable in your field, then you can get away with anything, but, if not…
Go to the school’s website and scour it for pictures, especially the “action shots” in a classroom. If the professors are dressed very casually (jeans, t-shirts, shorts), you should wear nice slacks, shirt and tie, and a sport coat. Make sure the shirt is nice enough that you can take off the coat if the interview is informal enough. If all the pictures are business casual or business clothes, wear a suit.
And don’t decide based on one picture. You are trying to get a feel for the tone of the institution. Badly missing the mark with your clothing indicates that you haven’t done any research on the school.
Always wear a suit to a job interview. There are very very few specific exceptions to this rule, and if an exception applies you will know about it (so, if you aren’t aware of an exception, wear a suit). Two exceptions that come to mind are interviewing (i) for a tech start-up in CA in the early 2000s and (ii) a law firm in the same city where you currently practice law (so as not to alert others at your current firm that you are interviewing).
Wear a suit, or at least a sport coat (not a sweater) and tie if you really can’t get a suit. I’m a librarian, not a professor, but we’re tenure-track faculty at my institution and I’ve been to plenty of job candidate presentations over the years and served on a couple of search committees. Every candidate I can remember wore a suit or similar. No one here wears a suit on a regular basis, but for a job interview you should not be shooting for “most casual outfit I can get away with.” Being underdressed is a lot more likely to count against you than being overdressed.
Dress like you were going to a funeral, even if you never plan to wear that again. Most interviewers assume that you look nicer on your interview day than you ever will again, so if you come in wearing khakis and a knit shirt they’ll assume when you begin teaching you’ll be wearing a wifebeater and a pair of bleach stained Miami Dolphins sweatpants.
ETA: I’ve been on several academic search committees. Appearance (neatness and attire) is definitely talked about; I don’t recall anybody ever saying anything negative about somebody wearing an inexpensive suit or cheap shoes or anything bitchy like that, but the woman who wore a too casual baggy t-shirt like top and the guy who’s tattoo was visible under his thin shirt or the one who wore a Star Trek tie (fine for once your hired but not while you’re interviewing) were noticed unfavorably.
Well if you literally can’t afford a suit - some suggestions…
Make sure your belt matches your shoes. At least in color.
Neat is important. Pick a shirt that looks good on you. Not too baggy - not too tight. Make sure it is ironed. Same with pants. If you can afford a new shirt - consider getting one measured - and if it is going to be a long day - consider going with a wrinkled free one. You can get an ok shirt at JC Penney. It will need to be ironed after you buy it.
Wear black socks. At least don’t wear white (or none).
Shine your shoes - also use something to clean the edges up so there is not dirt crusted up.
Get your haircut about a week before. This gives it a little time to have that “I just got my hair cut” look wear off.
Get a small mirror. Look at your ears (using the small and the bathroom mirror). Get a ear/nose trimmer off amazon and clean that up. Same deal with your nose.
Get a manicure - you probably won’t want to do this, but men can get manicures and it makes a big difference. Should probably be able to get one for $20 including tip. If this is too much use clippers and clean under the nails and trim them.
If you sweat - or have oily skin - get these and use them right before the interview. They are called oil blotting paper and work wonders. About $5.00 at target, cvs, Walmart.
Wear an undershirt with your shirt. Make sure it’s clean. Some people don’t need to do this, but its better to err on this side.
Bring some altoids with you and pop them at the same time you use the oil blotting paper.
if you have enough time before the interview - a couple weeks say - consider using whitening strips to whiten teeth.
consider not shaving the day before so you can get a better shave the day of (this doesn’t seem to work for everyone)
If you have pets - use a lint brush after exiting car/ or your house if you don’t want people to see you in parking lot.
I know these aren’t exactly what you asked for, but trying to give you best bang for your buck.
I think the advice here is good, especially looking at faculty pictures and headshots. Regardless of what you would wear day-to-day, it’s an interview. I never wear a suit in my daily work here, but I did for my interview, as has every candidate who’s interviewed at my uni that I can remember (among the guys). I do think academia is a place where quirks are tolerated, but I think people appreciate efforts to smarten up for a potential job at their workplace.
I’d say nice shirt, sport jacket, tie/bowtie optional, and go with what you feel comfortable wearing. If you can’t pull off a three-piece suit don’t wear one. Academic uniform for men usually includes slacks, sport jacket (tweed of course!), button down shirt. You can pretty much slap on a tie or nice shoes to class it up a notch.
Unless it’s an interview for a summer camp counselor, people generally wear suits to interviews. There are cases where you can get away with slightly less, but a suit is always appropriate.
It doesn’t have to be a great suit, it just has to fit. You really ought to have one, anyway. What do you do at weddings, funerals, presenting at conferences, etc? If you can’t afford it, this is the sort of rare emergency that store credit stores were made for. You can find good options at discount stores (I got my last one at Nordstrom Rack), and most midrange retailers have extremely deep discounts quite often.
I did look for pictures on the website. The “action” shots show teachers dressed quite casually - one had a t-shirt, another a pair of jeans with a sweatshirt.
The full-time math department faculty has headshots, but only two of them are men. One is wearing a t-shirt, the other a button-shirt and sport coat (no tie). The women are dressed quite casually. The department chair is wearing a t-shirt with one of those pull-over sweatshirts with a collar, that zips halfway down the front. My overall impression is instructors wear whatever they want, which is what I would expect at a community college.
Anyway, I never said I would go to the interview wearing a t-shirt and jeans. Of course I’m going to dress up to the best of my ability. I don’t have hundreds of dollars to plunk down on a suit, so I’m hoping I can get away with a nice pair of pants, a dress shirt and a sport coat (all of which I already own).