Job Interview Clothing Issue

[Orual]

@Pixilated

PS Best of luck - you can nail the interview, I know you can!

Thanks! I really appreciate it.

@aesop

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. …
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.

The confidence issue is definitely something to think about. (Of course, I would feel most confident in jeans. Ah well.)

@aesop

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.

Heh. At this point, I just want to work. For C. DeVil in the Puppy Acquisition Department, if need be.

@lee

Unless they are a very casual office, no one is going to think less of you if you wear a suit to an interview.

See, this is also what I’ve been thinking. If I wear the suit (changed up), I can’t think of why that would make my interviewers think less of me.

@aesop

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 realize that good clothes give me, at best a good first impression that only lasts until I open my mouth. I just wanted to make sure I’m not overtly messing stuff up for myself. The fact that there are so many varied opinions on the matter is oddly comforting.

[Elendil_s_Heir]

Knock 'em dead - good luck in the next interview, and hope you land the job!

[Huerta88]

@Khadaji

Wear the suit. If a man interviewed you chances are he has no clue what you wore last time, unless your suit is purple plush velour.

QFT.

No straight man will notice, and not all women will notice or care. Even a woman who notices will, if the workplace is as business-casual as the OP suggests, understand that someone might own only one interview-and-funeral suit, because most of the office may be in the same boat.

ETA: Good luck with the interview. My two cents – cultivate a mindset like you are interviewing them, i.e., walk in there like you own the place. Take as many interviews as you can, even ones that seem hopeless, to practice this. I hated interviewing, but my lateral interviews were much easier than the ones during school, both because I’d run the gauntlet before, and because it quickly became apparent to me that after working for awhile, I could ask and answer intelligent questions about the job without feeling like a fraud, as I had when I had never actually worked in my field.

[Frank]

@Leaffan

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.

That possibly explains why I did not get a job in Ottawa.

I guarantee, however, that had I not worn a suit to the interview to my current job (in St. Louis), I would not have been hired.

[Leaffan]

@Frank

That possibly explains why I did not get a job in Ottawa.

I guarantee, however, that had I not worn a suit to the interview to my current job (in St. Louis), I would not have been hired.

Shirts and ties were commonplace attire here (for professionals) maybe 15 years ago. However in the last decade or so not even the CEO wears a tie any more. Well, the last place I worked he did, but on average business casual is the standard. I’m actually quite surprised to find out that this is not the case elsewhere. My business travels have taken me to various parts of the U.S. as well as Taiwan, Malaysia, The Philippines, and the U.K. No one wore a suit or tie. Therefore why the heck wear one in an interview? I don’t think I’ve ever worn a suit or tie to an interview, come to think of it.

[Frank]

@Leaffan

Shirts and ties were commonplace attire here (for professionals) maybe 15 years ago. However in the last decade or so not even the CEO wears a tie any more. Well, the last place I worked he did, but on average business casual is the standard.

My current workplace is business casual (even including pullover shirts, which I never wear), except 8-10 days a year when the board is meeting, when we are expected to wear - at minimum - a dress shirt and tie. Neither of those would have been good enough for an interview.

shrug go figure

I’ve always assumed that there is no such thing as ‘too dressed up’ for a job interview. (Or court. )

[Bites_When_Provoked]

This is an interesting thread in terms of finding out how different areas and industries view the ‘suit vs non-suit’ issue.

In South Australian State Government, for example, you’d be expected to turn up in the best suit on the first interview, but if you turned up overdressed for the interview on the second occasion … well, it wouldn’t count against you in terms of hiring, but they would note that you didn’t seem particularly well aware of your surroundings. Most government offices are pretty much smart slacks, nice blouse or good shirt. No polo tops unless you’re in IT. (Don’t ask me why THAT is; I just work here, and for some reason IT get to wear polo shirts.)

A full suit would be overdressed, but it’s hardly a sin. Again, I stress that it wouldn’t cost you the job - on the other hand, if you turned up in jeans to a clearly business-casual environment, that likely would cost you the job, so I guess it’s safest to err on the side of caution.

If I saw an office full of workers in jeans, I’d definitely ask in the interview what the dress code was, because you’d look a right prat turning up to Interview 2 dressed in jeans when it turns out they were participating in some charity ‘jeans for genes’ kind of day the first time you were there!

[DianaG]

I’d say it’s definintely an “err on the side of caution” situation. Honestly, I’ve never worked anywhere that a suit would be a dealbreaker (and I worked in a place where we could pretty much show up in our pajamas), but I’ve definitely worked in places where I would never consider hiring someone who showed up for an interview without a suit on, unless perhaps they expressly told me that they currently work in a business casual environment, and didn’t want anyone to know they were looking for another job.

[bengangmo]

@Karyn

Maybe I’m the only one that sees it differently because this is a more casual place and I tend to notice women’s clothes. The first time that I interviewed them I would expect the suit, and if they wore it again I wouldn’t hold them against it in the least but I might worry a bit that they don’t know that they aren’t going to be working in a suit and tie environment. I might notice that it’s the same suit but I wouldn’t care at all, especially since they wouldn’t be needing one to work there anyway. If in doubt, the suit is safest.

Anecdote is not data and all that - but I did go to one interview in shirt and tie (which is the equivalent of a suit for interviews here) and got from the recruiter “I am not sure you fit our culture - you look too corporate”

So I would go with you gut - if you get the vibe after being shown around the office (were you?) that skirt and sweater is more in line with culture, then go for it.

[bengangmo]

@Leaffan

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 once interviewed somebody for a creative job (designer for event / exhibition company), he turned up in a suit when every other person was in jeans and t-shirt. I definitely marked him down for the suit - because it showed such a total lack of knowledge of local culture and expectations (which is the vibe that I got from him irespectvie of suit anyway). And he was a pretentious jerk also.

Note: I would certainly have given extra marks to any of the other candidates had they worn smart casual / business casual

[Tapioca_Dextrin]

I wore my nice jacket and tie this morning. Tomorrow night, I’m going out to some some sort of fancy restaurant to meet my new work mates. Good work Hermes

[Orual]

UPDATE:

I don’t know if my natty sweater/jacket/trousers ensemble had much to do with it, but they must’ve liked something, 'cause I landed the job!

::pause for dance of joy::

Thanks again for everyone’s input.

[scout1222]

Right on! Congratulations.

[Kolga]

Excellent ending to the story. Congrats!

[gigi]

I’m so glad to hear it! Thanks for reporting back.

[Bites_When_Provoked]

Hey, congratulations!

[PastAllReason]

Congratulations, Orual. I hope you enjoy your new job!

[rbroome]

@Orual

I finally (FINALLY) have landed a second interview. This is cause for much rejoicing and celebration. But I am presented with one small quandary.

I wore a suit to the first interview, as is generally expected. However, I only own the one suit, and am concerned that if I wear it again I will look like a penniless goob.

I have plenty of other professional clothing, and given my druthers I would wear a nice skirt and sweater ensemble. (I look better in it, because it is not a suit.)

I’ll cheerfully wear the suit again if that is what’s required - I just don’t know if the good impression made by wearing a suit is lessened by wearing the same (ugly) suit twice.

The job is at a smallish office, where the standard of dress seems to be the nicer side of business casual - no one in suits, but no one khakis-and-polos either.

Any insights you all might have would be appreciated.

IMHO,
the important thing is to show Enthusiasm for the job. That is, dress as well as you can for a business setting just to show you are truly interested and trying your best. If the best, that is nicest business outfit, you have is the suit where it a second time. If you have an outfit that clearly shows you are wearing your best that is fine. In my line of work, kakis or jeans is quite acceptable for normal office wear. But all our interviewees come to the interviews in suits. Well not all, but all the ones we take seriously. It is part of a package: are you Enthusiastic about the job, are you technically qualified, will you fit in with the team, how confident are you at addressing a problem (not self-confidence per se. that can be a negative as much as a positive). But nice clothes for the interview is part of the positive impression you are presenting. So, a suit unless you have something you feel is equally special.

[don_t_ask]

I do lots of interview panels however being a guy I pay little attention to what people are wearing. Once in a while one of the female panel members will remark on someones poor taste after interviewing them and we will all tut tut about it. However I have never known it to be salient when we are deciding who got the job. I can only imagine a panelist being laughed at for wanting to use someone’s clothing as a reason to downgrade them.

I now see it is too late to tell you, don’t wear the suit. Wear something in which you feel good.

[gigi]

@don_t_ask

I do lots of interview panels however being a guy I pay little attention to what people are wearing.

Heh. My boss (who happened to be male) would sit on interview committees and afterwards I would ask him how the candidates were dressed, groomed, decorated (jewelry). He would have no clue. It was only months later that I learned one of the CFO candidates (female) had worn red stiletto heels. In January, in the snow. :smack: