How To Dress For An Interview
As the famous saying goes “the way you dress is the way you will be addressed”. This is applicable everywhere including in interviews. During an interview session, the first impression is created by the dress outfit of the job applicant before he even utters a word. Before you go for an interview take your time to select an appropriate cloth or accessory. Use your best judgment to come up with clothes that make you feel comfortable. Dressing appropriately may be your first step to securing your dream job. This article will explore some guidelines that will help you dress appropriately for an interview.
Tips for dressing appropriately for an interview
- Choose clothes that make you feel comfortable and confident
- Avoid revealing clothes
- Ensure your clothes are ironed
- Avoid multi-coloured clothes or colour riot
- Choose a cloth that is adaptable to the season such as the rainy or dry season
- Dress neatly and avoid clothes with stains, snags, pet, hairs, and holes
- Research the organization’s dress code
- Use your best judgment to dress and don’t overdress
- Polish your shoes and use perfume.
Dressing for an interview solely depends on the gender and below are a few tips men and women can follow to dress appropriately.
Men
- Dress in a manner that is professionally appropriate to the position you are applying for. In most cases, if you are applying to a formal workplace then the appropriate dressing code is suited. Most banks and organizations love this form of dressing. A suit goes with a tie, dress shirt, pants, socks, shoes, and matching jacket. Do not go with a suit that is too coloured, a dark-coloured suit with a light dress shirt is suitable.
- Make sure you wear a suit that you are comfortable and confident with. It is not good for a suit to be too tight. So do not just pick any old suit and wear. For example, a suit you wore five years ago for a date is not appropriate. Buy a new suit.
- Avoid flashy coloured ties or shoes. A black or red tie is appropriate. You can use a brown or black pair of shoes. Get new shoes or make sure your shoes are good to avoid getting embarrassed.
- To dress professionally, you can also wear long sleeve plain shirt and plain trousers. Stock in the long sleeves plain shirt with your belt to look smart. You can use a tie.
- Having a dressing stylist may not be a bad idea, you can get dressing advice from your personal stylist
- Neatness is also very important. Wash your clothes thoroughly or get the service of a dry cleaner. Iron them or you can take the option of buying new clothes. Take a shower or bathe the morning of the interview, brush your teeth and apply a mouth freshener to avoid mouth odour or bad breath. Shave your beards or mustache to look neat and also apply perfume to smell good. Make sure the perfume is not too strong.
- Make sure you have fresh breath and it is best not to eat before going for the interview. Do not smoke or drink any alcoholic substance before the interview. Some people take alcoholic substances to be confident before the interviewer but this will give you bad breath.
- Make sure you shave your hair or get a haircut; it is dishonorable for a man to keep long hair. Try your best to be conservative.
Women
- Be conservative, women can also wear a suit with a skirt or pants. But it is more appropriate to wear a skirt because some working environments are not in support of women wearing trousers. Make sure you research the company’s dress code.
- Make sure the suit is well fitted not too tight or too loose. Make sure the suit is adjusted to your body type.
- Avoid heavy make-up. Apply light make-up that is neural to your skin tone and avoid too much coloured nail polish.
- Wear a conservative blouse with your suit and do not wear bright colours or anything lacy.
- Use minimum jewelry and hair accessories. Make sure you style your hair moderately and do not leave your hair rough, or too long. Visit a hairstylist before the interview and style your hair decently. Avoid coloured hair like green, blue, and many more which will give the interviewer a wrong impression about you. Dark hair or blonde is the best.
- Use conservative shoes. Do not wear heels that are too high and will attract a lot of attention. Make sure you wear low heels or flat shoes and do not wear shoes you use for dates or clubs. The salesperson in the store or your personal stylist can recommend the best shoes for you.
- Do not wear revealing clothes. Do not wear a blouse that shows too much flesh or a short and tight skirt that reveals your knee. Wear a skirt below your knee to give the right impression.
- Take a bath in the morning, brush your teeth and apply deodorant to smell good. Wash your clothes and iron them thoroughly before the interview. Another alternative is to apply the service of a dry cleaner or buy new clothes.
This may look like a lot of rules to follow but this will give the interviewer the right impression of you. Dress like you are the boss and do not appear casually for the second interview. Dress professionally and not casually to give your interviewer the best impression. The best way to dress is to get new clothes and when you go to the store ask the salesperson for a recommendation on what clothes you should buy. The dressing may vary across different cultures of the world; you can also wear traditional cloth and suitable shoes. If you will choose a traditional accessory; make sure the colours blend and it is not revealing. For casual workplaces, jeans and a pair of shirts are appropriate. These are the acceptable guidelines you should follow when dressing for an interview.
In a nutshell, dress to impress and not to distract to land your dream job. Follow the guidelines above to dress appropriately for an interview.