To Wear or Not to Wear?  

The Decision Could Cost You the Job 

That tattoo is you, but if you want the job, you better hide the body art.

Give this some thought before deciding what to wear to a professional interview:

- Within the first 10 – 20 seconds a person meets you, they will form an opinion of you. Fifty-five percent of our first impressions are based on visual information—how you dress and body language. Nonverbal communications carries five times the impact of verbal communications.

- The person interviewing you is probably the age of your parents or maybe even grandparents. In other words, they’re old and they have old ideas of what you wear to work and how you look. Body decorations—piercings, tattoos, branding or any other “stylish” body modifications aren’t going to cut it. Nor is revealing cleavage, clothing that is too stylish, tight or dirty, or bad personal hygiene.

Basic Principles

Interviewing at Starbuck’s as a barista is entirely different than interviewing for your first professional job out of college. When you go to work for a company, you’ll be representing the organization.

Think for a minute about your expectations of someone in the business world. Let’s say you go into a bank to apply for a car loan. If the person you meet with is wearing shorts, flips, a torn shirt, and his or her personal hygiene is less than shower fresh, what is your opinion of not only the employee, but the bank in general? The same applies to you.

Television shows, newspaper and magazine articles, books, and Internet sites on how to dress abound. Why? Because knowing what to wear for the right situation is complicated. Your favorite outfit or what you think you look best in may be entirely inappropriate for a job interview. Your appearance is the image you project. Are you trying to get a job as a garbage collector or a business professional?

What to Wear

Before you go out to shop for the new “interview” clothing, find out the environment in which you may be working. If it’s a large corporation or traditional profession, you’ll need a suit and tie for men and a suit for women (skirt or slacks acceptable). If you’re interviewing at a small or less traditional company, slacks with a pressed shirt and tie for men, and skirt and blouse, slacks and blouse or dress for women may be appropriate. If you don’t know anything about the company, you can always call the office at which you’ll be interviewing and ask the person who answers the telephone about the company dress code. If all else fails, use caution in what you select to wear.

Think about these points when you’re dressing for an interview and for business dress in general:

• Dress to meet the expectation of the decision maker(s);

• Think business first and casual second; and

• If in doubt or if it’s broke, don’t wear it.

Don’t Forget to Wear Deodorant

While what you’re wearing may be the first thing your interviewer may notice about you, don’t forget the importance of your personal hygiene.

Make sure that your hair is clean and in order. Long hair for both men and women needs to be kept in check. For men in particular, know your environment. While it may have been fun to have long hair during your college years, when moving into the professional arena, it’s best to get it cut. For women, make sure your hair is pulled back and out of your eyes. And, by all means, don’t play with your hair during an interview.

Unless you’re interviewing for a position as a mechanic or landscape developer, make sure your fingernails are clean and filed. The rule of thumb for the length of a businesswoman’s nails is an eighth of an inch. If you wear nail polish, wear a color that’s going to compliment you not make your nails stand out. Men: leave the nail polish off.

Perfumes and colognes aren’t recommended for business dress in general. While you may think you smell fabulous, others may think you stink. Also, many people have allergies to perfumes and colognes. You don’t want your interviewer coughing, sneezing, and in general, having an allergy attack while they meet with you.

And of course, make sure you’re shower fresh and wear deodorant, especially if you have problems with sweating or body odor.

What Is and Isn’t Appropriate

Clothing should be traditional in style and neutral in color. You can add color with shirts, blouses, ties, scarves, or jewelry. Don’t buy or wear clothes that are TOO…. short, tight, loose, low cut, show your underwear (be sure you wear underwear), or offends anyone. Clothing should be appropriately tailored to your body shape. Skirt length for women should be no more than three inches above the knee. Be careful of longer skirts that go below the knee as they can look dumpy. For a professional look, wear hose. The bare-leg look is casual, and in a professional environment may hurt your chances of landing the job. This goes for both men and women.

You want to be sure that the person interviewing you is paying attention to your brilliant comments; not your hair color, cleavage, body decorations, or anything else that’s distracting.
Make sure your clothing is always clean, ironed, and doesn’t need repair. If you don’t like to iron, send your clothes to the dry cleaner or buy clothes that don’t wrinkle such as a rayon or polyester blend.

Your shoes should always be polished and in good shape. For men appropriate business styles are leather slip-ons or lace-ups in black and cordovan. Wear black shoes with black, gray, or dark blue pants. Wear cordovan with all the rest. Stay away from penny loafers or shoes that look casual or clunky.

Women’s shoes should be leather or fabric/microfiber. Appropriate colors are black, navy, and brown (to coordinate with your other attire and accessories); stay away from white and pastels. For the most conservative look, toes should be covered. Sandals generally aren’t appropriate for an interview, but may be once you have the job. Shy away from sexy strappy high heels. Make sure the shoes you wear to an interview are comfortable and reflect a professional image. And, yes, women’s shoes also need to be clean or polished.

Conclusion

Remember that when you go to an interview the person with whom you’ll meet will form his or her first impression of you in 10 to 20 seconds. Also keep in mind the interviewer’s age. If you were standing in front of your parents or grandparents, would they tell you to go change or how nice you look?

The outcome of your job interview isn’t completely in your hands, but whether you’re perceived as a business professional is. What’s the image you want to project when you go to an interview?

P.S. Be sure to turn off your cell phone, smart phone or anything else that may beep, buzz, play music, or talk before you go into an interview.