# Smart or casual? Help me decide! **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 17, 2004, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-or-casual-help-me-decide/224985 "2004-01-17T20:12:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Herge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a183cd/32.png) [@Herge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Herge)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2004, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-or-casual-help-me-decide/224985/1 "2004-01-17T20:12:09Z")
I have a job interview on Monday! I’ve spoken on the phone to the lady who will be interviewing me, and I’m feeling fairly confident. The job is at a very large law firm, and involved reception and security duties. I think it will involve wearing a uniform. The job requires me to be smart and well presented, as I will be greeting and helping staff and visitors to the building, amongst other duties. My only quandry is whether to go to the interview in a suit or just smart casual. A suit looks good, and is very smart, but I just feel it could be over the top considering the nature of the job. I would probably feel more comfortable wearing smart jeans and a shirt… but would I be making a mistake? Help me decide… cake or death? Smart or casual? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![burundi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3ec8ea/32.png) [@burundi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burundi)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2004, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-or-casual-help-me-decide/224985/2 "2004-01-17T20:15:00Z")
Wear the suit. Even if you won’t be wearing suits for the job, it sends the message that you take the interview seriously. Good luck! ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2004, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-or-casual-help-me-decide/224985/3 "2004-01-17T20:21:16Z")
Never wear jeans to any interview. I don’t care if it’s an interview to muck out the stalls at a local dairy farm… Wear the suit and reference **Burundi’s** post. ---
**Author:** ![Herge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a183cd/32.png) [@Herge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Herge)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2004, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-or-casual-help-me-decide/224985/4 "2004-01-17T20:33:24Z")
Thanks for the advice. Other people have told me to wear a suit, but I was worried that I’d look over dressed and over confident. So, I promised myself I’d take the advice given in these replies - looks like smart is the way to go! ---
**Author:** ![gwendee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@gwendee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gwendee)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2004, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-or-casual-help-me-decide/224985/5 "2004-01-17T21:06:10Z")
I think wearing jeans to an interview would convey overconfidence more than a suit would. ---
**Author:** ![Horseflesh](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horseflesh/32/7502_2.png) [@Horseflesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horseflesh)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2004, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-or-casual-help-me-decide/224985/6 "2004-01-17T21:58:55Z")
I try to match the type of wear of people that already work there (scout them beforehand). If they wear uniforms, then it’s business casual. For any management job interview wear a suit. ---
**Author:** ![monica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a183cd/32.png) [@monica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monica)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2004, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-or-casual-help-me-decide/224985/7 "2004-01-18T04:16:51Z")
What about something in between? The two choices you’ve stated have been a) jeans or b) a suit. What about nice pants and a nice shirt? Looks a bit more professional than jeans, but not as over-dressed as a suit. ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2004, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-or-casual-help-me-decide/224985/8 "2004-01-18T04:21:01Z")
I disagree. Even if everyone there is in “business casual,” showing up in a suit shows that you consider the job worth showing your best. It will give you the best first impression. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2004, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-or-casual-help-me-decide/224985/9 "2004-01-18T05:37:19Z")
Definitely wear the suit. Law is still a very conservative environment, and even if some offices (mine included) are business casual most of the time, you should definitely wear the suit to the interview. It’s always better to overdress than to underdress. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2004, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-or-casual-help-me-decide/224985/10 "2004-01-18T14:48:55Z")
I vote for a suit. As a manager who interviews, I usually feel that people who couldn’t take the time to get dressed up didn’t really feel that they needed to impress me and therefore didn’t want the job.