Looks great without making a statement

Interview Dress Code:

Because every company is a little different, there is no “single” dress code for job interviews.  My advice is to be mindful of the dress code and wear what is appropriate for the company you are interviewing with.  If you get nothing out of this post, remember it is OK to ask the recruiter about the interview dress code.  I am representing the candidate. I don’t want them to embarrass me.  Nothing is worse than introducing a candidate who is under or overdressed when everyone in the company follows a specific dress code.  Before I make recommendations, remember:

For a job interview, clothes do NOT have to be expensive to look good.  They need to fit well.  

There is no “single” dress code for all job interviews.  My advice is to wear what is APPROPRIATE FOR THE COMPANY CULTURE you are interviewing with.    It is perfectly acceptable to ask your recruiter about the interview dress code.  They represent you. Contrary to popular belief, they are on your side!   Remember, most recruiters consider themselves as the face of the company. They are conscious of their appearance. This, in turn, makes them conscious of your appearance.  When the dress code requires a blazer and a candidate shows up in jeans, the candidate is not only embarrassing himself or herself. They are embarrassing me the recruiter!  I put my name on the candidate and recommended that the hiring manager take time to conduct the interview.  The hiring manager will find another recruiter if I don’t bring solid candidates.

Ill-fitting clothes will be noticed. You don’t want to be seen or remembered for the wrong image.

Interview Dress Code rules:

For 90% of the jobs, you cannot go wrong with a pair of cotton khakis and a professionally laundered, solid-colored button-down shirt. Finish this look with black dress shoes and a black belt that buckles in the third hole.  If you are interviewing for a senior position, wear wool slacks and add a blazer. Research the company culture. If in doubt, ASK THE RECRUITER. After your first meeting, if appropriate, the recruiter may let you know you can step it down a notch. Most people will think the below guidelines are too conservative. This is the point.  No one wants to be noticed for anything negative in an interview. 

The below guidelines will NOT send up any yellow flags.  Again, this isn’t a date on Saturday night; this is a paying gig between 9-5.  Decision makers are usually of an older generation.  They are usually more conservative than their younger counterparts. I am NOT hiring you for your sense of fashion, but you will be a representative of the company and, hopefully, a role model to others.  There are a lot of great classics to wear, below are a couple of easy, universally accepted, and most importantly business appropriate ensembles. We will most likely be in a small interview room/office when we talk.  Crush some breath mints before you meet me, not just one, “some.”

Interview dress code for Men

• Make sure your pants and sleeves are the correct lengths.  They are too long if you are stepping on your pants or holding your shirtsleeves between your fingertips and palms.  Spend the money to get all your clothes the correct length.
• No cologne.  No cologne, no cologne.  Most men won’t appreciate another man’s cologne, and this isn’t a meeting where we may be cruising chicks.  Regardless of how little you apply, it will be too much for someone.
• Press your pants and have your shirt professionally laundered.  Don’t forget the collar stays.  Please, no tie clips and no clip-on suspenders.
• This is a personal rant, but if you have a mustache, I would consider losing it till you land a job.  Very few men can pull it off.
• If you have earrings, piercings, or tattoos, do what you can to cover or remove them.
• The only “safe” jewelry is your watch and your wedding ring.

Dress code for women:

• Regardless of the position, a two-piece pantsuit can’t be beaten.  A dark blue or black suit with a solid white blouse or French blue shirt will be both professional and conservative and present a clean image.  If you want to sex it up, add a silk scarf.
• Closed-toe shoes.  You won’t offend anyone with tasteful heels or flats.  Regardless of brand or cost, boots, stilettos, open toes, and sandals can potentially send up a yellow flag.
• Make sure everything fits.  There is nothing worse than seeing a female candidate in the lobby with too long sleeves or a skirt too short.  It may be great on Saturday night, but this is 9-5.
• I would skip the perfume at this stage.
• Keep jewelry to a minimum.  A wedding ring, a single earring in each ear, and a watch will never send any flags.
• Ankle jewelry, tattoos, piercings, and exotic dyed hair can potentially send up flags.

Interview dress code for men and women

• Turn your cell phone off or enter vibrate mode BEFORE arriving.  Not after you have met me.  It’s awkward. You knew you would need to turn it off.  I don’t know how many times a week candidates get texts or phone calls during interviews.
• Don’t wear your sunglasses on your head.  I am not hiring cool. I am hiring someone with a skill set and a personality.
• This isn’t a date. Please don’t dress like it is one.  I would have posted the position on Tinder or eHarmony if I wanted a date.
• If you have had the same haircut or prescription glasses for 5 years, have a professional give you a second opinion.  Go to a salon vs. a barber.  Glasses don’t have to be expensive, but they should reflect the times.
• Please don’t show up with a cup of coffee or a newspaper.  I didn’t invite you for coffee; I asked you here for business.  If you want to read, then read our company literature.
• Make sure your shoes are clean and polished.  Regardless of their cost, avoid athletic shoes.

Job interviews put interviewers into “judgemental” mindsets

Are your clothes, glasses, and haircut indicating your skill set?  No. We all make snap judgments within the first 20 seconds (let’s be realistic, the first 3 seconds) of meeting someone. We don’t want to be digging ourselves out of a hole.  If I see someone who is presenting himself or herself in the current year and can represent the culture of the company, then I don’t think about it.  There is “an absence” of a negative impression.  My radar has not gone off, so it is a “non-issue.”  

As a recruiter, I have to sell you to the hiring manager.  I am not just thinking about MY yellow flags, but ANY potential yellow flags that all interviewers may have.  As the person responsible for putting a candidate through an interview loop, the candidate shortfalls will fall directly on me.  For some hiring managers, candidate shortfalls become my shortfalls.  (“Didn’t you see what that candidate dressed like???!!!”)   When it comes to candidates, everyone is a backseat quarterback.

For this reason, I will do EVERYTHING I can to limit my liability.  Yes, I can set expectations with the hiring manager (“This candidate would be perfect, except his hairstyle and glasses are from 1980”.) Fortune favors the candidate for whom I don’t have to make an accommodation.

I don’t want to see someone who pays too much attention to his or her appearance. I also don’t want to see someone who DOESN’T.  You may not care how you look when meeting the CEO or a large stockholder, but trust me, they do!

• The Suit salesman who recorded the highest sales at Nordstrom said he didn’t wear expensive suits.  He wore modest, conservative suits so that EVERYONE could relate to him.  He didn’t want to stand out.   He did make sure they fit him perfectly.
• Really expensive clothes that are ill-fitting can look cheap.  Modest, well-fitting clothes will never go out of style.

See you at the after party,
HRNasty

nasty: an unreal maneuver of incredible technique, something that is ridiculously good, tricky, and manipulative but with a result that can’t help but be admired, a phrase used to describe someone good at something. “He has a nasty forkball”.

Subscribe here to ditch the corporate ladder and take the elevator. I promise no spam,