The office only has about five people total. I’m sure I’ll be dealing with the same interviewer (though probably a couple other people as well).
Heh. No, my interview uniform is terribly understated.
Oh, man, I have to wear a tie? I though girls got out of that, because we have to wear high heels! 
That was actually part of the reason for my concern - it’s only going to be a week between the two interviews.
If not a suit, wear a nice dress with closed-toed shoes and heels. I have one “suit” but I also have a few dresses that are distinguished enough to wear to an interview.
Even the U.S. Supreme Court now lets female lawyers appear before it in pantsuits. The U.S. Secretary of State is known (notorious?) for wearing them. Anyplace that wouldn’t let you wear a pantsuit is probably not a place you’d want to work.
I’d just wear a different shirt and different accessories if possible.
I think you’re being a mite quick off the mark with that advice. There are industries and/or professions where a suit is absolutely expected, and you would not be taken seriously if weren’t wearing one. From personal experience, I can tell you that the legal profession as a whole still dresses conservatively. Those I’ve worked with who are management consultants dress conservatively in suits as well. Banking isn’t much different.
Orual, I’d go with the suit as well, with a different colour shirt and accessories. If the suit is a generic grey, I think you’re pretty safe. Worse case scenario, there are some of the same people at the second interview, and they think you like grey.
I guess I stand corrected, but my experience in high-tech is that you would look like a doofus wearing a suit to an interview. Casual pants with a dress shirt would go a long way in projecting your image in this field. A suit is a definite pretentious label and would hamper your chances of being hired.
YMMV depending upon your industry of course.
I think you are wrong. I work in tech and everyone I’ve ever saw interviewed wore a suit. It is a sign of respect. It is not always the techies who interview you first. Granted when you get the job you would probably look as a doofus in a suit
Wow. Not here. Ignorance shared!
Hell, I’m waitin to see a man come in wearing a skirt (I guess a lot of people overlooked the skirt indicating you are female)!
Having been someone who has conducted interviews and has seen an office go from professional dress code to business casual to uniforms (some areas remained business casual), I would STRONGLY suggest wearing what fits you as long as it is within the dress code. If you had a suit that flattered you, then I would not worry about the timeframe nor whether or not it is the same person conducting the interview, as others mentioned - just change it up a bit. If the suit is of poor quality and doesnt fir correctly, you might seriously consider the skirt option and dress it up with accessories (but not too much!).
Do they happen to have one of those places that lends “interview” clothing to unemployed persons?
PS Best of luck - you can nail the interview, I know you can!
I’ve interviewed more programmers than I care to remember and I hoped for a suit for the first interview with me (after getting through HR) because it was a signal that they were taking it seriously and really wanted the job. That said, I’ve hired any number of brilliant geeks who showed up in jeans and a t-shirt for their interviews on the recommendation of my lead software engineer. No one cares what they look like when they’re that good.
I think the only people I’ve ever seen interview in a suit at my company are kids who just graduated from college and were told that’s the standard attire for an interview. You could almost guess their ages by whether they had a suit on. Recruiters only talked to them on the phone, and all their real interviews were done with the technical people. Those who showed potential are left with us for an hour or so and we give them the informal but thorough questioning. If the geeks say yes, they get an offer. If the geeks say no, they don’t.
I work for a billion dollar software company and am a software engineer. I’d call that ‘working in tech’.
I interview folks all the time. Wear the jacket over a different pair of pants. If it’s a gray jacket I’d do pearls and a white/pastel shirt with black dress pants and heels. Still dressy, not the same look.
Don’t wear a twinset to an interview unless you’d interviewing for a job at the mall.
I have an interview on Tuesday to work on an oil rig. Made to measure Zegna jacket for the interview. On the rig - not so much.
It all depends on the industry and the position. Lots of places expect more of management than the rank and file.
I agree with the others…a different blouse, different accessories, a scarf, even a belt (with some suits) can make it look completely different.
It sounds to me you would feel more confident in the skirt/sweater ensemble. And if you feel confident, you’re going to project confidence, and that’s a huge differentiator in an interview.
I interviewed 80+ people last year, and I can remember what exactly one of them was wearing – the guy who wore jeans. And he had a good reason for being in jeans, so it didn’t count against him.
Never forget, your interviewer wants you to do well in your interview. Bad interviews are tough on both parties. Your interviewer is hoping to be dazzled by you. And if you’re going to to feel more dazzling in a skirt and sweater, I say go for it. Wear whatever is going to make you walk into that office feeling like a million bucks!
Anyone who would base their hiring decision primarily on whether you wore a suit or a sweater probably isn’t the kind of person you want to work for anyway.
By way of reference, I am a former management consultant and currently a senior manager in an investment bank.
An investment bank where suits aren’t the norm? Where?
Unless they are a very casual office, no one is going to think less of you if you wear a suit to an interview. The advice that I had from professionals way back when was on the second interview, dress as formally as you did on the first, but go a bit bolder somehow, while staying quite business like. If the suit is a solid color and not otherwise distinctive, I would go with a different shirt and jewelry. I don’t wear jewelry except when I need to dress up for business. It needn’t be real, just something nice looking.
When I was interviewing in person my second interview suit was a bold red and black jacket over a black dress. It worked, that round, I put out 8 resumes, got 4 interviews, 2 second interviews, and both second interviews made attractive offers. Sometimes I really miss the 90s.
I was a host for people doing entry level interviews at my current company which does business casual. We all thought the ones in suits looked so cute and earnest, but really, no one wore anything that really registered, which is excellent. I don’t know if the interviewers had any opinion, but I seriously doubt it. What did register were manners. We had them there most of the day and fed them. The interviewers came in and ate lunch with us. The ability to have a conversation with people you never met before and know very little about while eating is key.
We did an ice breaker, and someone came up with the idea of everyone drawing a portrait of their neighbor, and having everyone guess who the portraits were. What a minefield that was, and all of the applicants handled it beautifully. Three really impressed me. No drawing talent to speak of, but as soon as they knew what they were supposed to do, they started on it, worked a reasonable amount of time, maintained conversation, and had very good humor through it all.
Currently with Morgan Stanley, first in Operations and now in Data Management. But it was the same at UBS in Legal & Compliance. (And prior to that, as a consultant, and back in the dark ages, when I worked in high-tech).
Nowadays I will sometimes bring a tie to work when I will be conducting interviews, but lately I’ve been forgetting to do that, too.
There’s no doubt the presentation layer is important, and one should always dress appropriate to the venue. But I think there is more latitude there than people realize. And if you interview well enough, I will scarcely remember what you were wearing anyway, because I will be so blown away by what you said.
Dazzle me with your brilliance, not your wardrobe.
I don’t mean to pile on, but this is just completely off-base. It may be true in your field but is just not a chance anyone should take.
OP, if you have the wherewithall to get a different jacket that coordinates with the suit skirt, that would be one way to go. But if the suit is your only jacketed option, wear it again with a different shirt. I would go with the more formal option because even if it’s a second interview, you’ll be meeting some people for the first time and making a first impression of respect.
So the upshot is that people have different attire expectations even within the same industry. Just another danger zone in the lovely minefield that is job hunting.
I’m not in the tech industry. I believe that if I were a hotshot programming wunderkind, I probably wouldn’t be worrying about all this.
