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I have 2 job interviews in the next couple of weeks but have no idea what the dress etiquette is these days, so am looking for advice.
For the last >20 years I've working in various IT roles but was made redundant last year so took the opportunity to take some time out & retrain. I now have 2 interviews for roles so far away from my old IT life I have no idea what I should wear to the interviews. Both are more 'active' customer facing roles involving some maintenance type work, mostly outside; one for the Post Office & one for Forest Holidays. Both interviews are face-to-face on site.
In my old life I would have turned up suited & booted, either with or without tie depending on that the role was and who for. I assume that would be a little OTT for both these jobs but how far should I dumb it down? Shirt & decent trousers? Polo shirt & my best pair of Craghopper troos? As you can see I have absolutely no idea.
Would does STW think would be suitable/acceptable?
Cheers all!
Shirt & decent trousers?
That would be my choice, not too smart, not too relaxed.
Cheers. I was edging that way but good to know someone else thought the same.
Shirt & decent trousers?
This, but not some polyester slacks and a stiff collared shirt that make you look like a 14 year old at a wedding.
I'd be going with a pair of nice new dark blue straight-legged chinos (I know, i know, but chinos aren't what they were), a cutaway collared checked shirt from somewhere like Charles Tyrwhitt and a pair of brown rugged but smart ankle boots.
Got plenty of 'office smart' trousers to choose from cheers and will be wearing my finest polished Docs. Might go & buy myself a new shirt though.
Cheers
So my normal dog walking gear then? 😉
Having just had this dilemma myself, I went with a suit.
I was going to go with an open collar but my internet sleuthing showed me that the senior staff still wore ties, and I just so happened to have one in the colour of the company logo.
Suited and booted for my last interview with a building/maintenance firm. I was the only one at the interview who was and got the job.
Make a lasting impression.
you wear what the role demands . if i turned up on site in a suit to work as a joiner , i would be laughed off site , unless i was the site agent .......power dressing don’t cut it in manual trades .....however if your role is more inspection / report making , go smart casual , definitely not suit n tie , that’s just wrong for the role imo, good luck , it’s not a junk job is it ? 😉
Cheers rudebwoy.
it’s not a junk job is it ?
No, nothing to do with Chinese boats. 😉
how did it go?
I start on Monday, wohoooooooo.
I was so nervous as I need to get out of my current job as it’s destroying me, but apparently I aced it.
Best of luck with your two.
Suited and booted for my last interview with a building/maintenance firm. I was the only one at the interview who was and got the job.
was it a concierge role ? 🤪
Suit, shirt and tie and polished shoes. Every time.
If you feel out of place because you are the only one who has turned up like that, that is a good thing.
Making an effort gets noticed, regardless of how "casual" the company seems.
pik'n'mix - well done,; hope you enjoy the job.
Pinkster - brads has it; if, when you get there, you think you're a bit too formal remove tie and unfasten top button on shirt.
Alternatively, call them to ask about dress standard.
Same response as always, we don’t discriminate those who turn up for interviews in my teams who don’t wear a suit. We employ the best person, not the one who can put a suit on.
Our culture (big German corporate) is not one of suits anyway, if the candidate did their homework, they would see that & dress accordingly.
Me, if it was a requirement for a role to turn up to an interview in a suit, I would be politely declining & looking elsewhere. All it says to me is if a business is that stuck in the past when it comes to trivial matters like that, it’s going to be a hellish place to work.
We employ the best person, not the one who can put a suit on.
Last person we recruited (via Zoom) never switched their camera on, so no one knew what he even looked like! He was the best candidate, so got the job.
I did wonder if he had some sort of disfigurement etc, but turns out perfectly normal.
I start on Monday, wohoooooooo
Brilliant news, congratulations. Hope it all goes well for you
Know what you mean about the job destroying you, mine was very much the same and I was grateful for the chance of redundancy.
As above its a bit of an unknown nowadays....
Ive rocked upto client sites and everyone including the senior execs are in t-shirts, and everyone is in suit and tie.
In this scenario, I think i would generally try to dress one level smarter than I think I would generally be working in....
So, if I thought I would be working in jeans and a t, then I would go in chinos and a shirt for example.
For you without knowing more, I would go smart brown shoes, sharp chinos, sharp shirt with a tie in a pocket just in case I felt under dressed
If external I'd always go with a suit, you've got nothing to lose, no-one will ever think you were too smart for an interview, but a square on the panel may think you couldn't even be bothered to smarten up for it.
ThePinkster
Full Member
So my normal dogging gear then? 😉
FTFY
what’s a sharp shirt , one with blades under the collar ?
If external I’d always go with a suit, you’ve got nothing to lose, no-one will ever think you were too smart for an interview, but a square on the panel may think you couldn’t even be bothered to smarten up for it.
I was once turned down for an outdoor learning job with a Scottish council as I was too smartly dressed.
I had arrived previous evening on my way back from a day of work for the informal show around - shirt sleeves and chino's. I turned up to the interview next morning suited and booted.
They had no other negative feedback for me.
I'd go with the smartest that I still felt comfortable in. If wearing a suit and tie makes you feel weird then that's the wrong clothes. You need to be relaxed but on the ball.
Smarter rather than less smart every time IMO (assuming it's not for trades or manual jobs maybe). Not necessarily full suit and tie though.
I'm with Pieface - I reckon you're covering the bases that way.
Don't really agree with the 'I wouldn't want to work there anyway if they expected me to dress up for an interview' view - don't think things are always that black and white.
FWIW I personally wouldn't be bothered about how smartly a candidate was dressed. But plenty of other people might, even though that wouldn't necessarily reflect your everyday working environment.
It’s all about body language and being yourself , so whatever you wear , you need to be comfortable, other than that , don’t fart ( unless silent) and make sure you ask them a relevant question , this shows you’ve done you’re homework , and you’ve paid attention during interview. Good luck , ps as an interviewer ive never been impressed with over dressed people , it’s like a deflection shield ....
Red trousers and a cravat or maybe that is only the wine industry
I was once turned down for an outdoor learning job with a Scottish council as I was too smartly dressed.
I had arrived previous evening on my way back from a day of work for the informal show around – shirt sleeves and chino’s. I turned up to the interview next morning suited and booted.
They had no other negative feedback for me.
Without meaning to sound offensive, but I find it hard to believe anyone gave bad feedback for being too smartly dressed.
Equally that someone never got a job solely for that same reason.
It would take a real **** on the interview panel to come out with that one.
If you are there to impress someone, then effort never goes wrong.
Red trousers and a cravat or maybe that is only the wine industr
😂😂
rudebwoy - you've been an interviewer?
F me, the world's gone mad.
That must have been an experience for the interviewees.
I love Tories union jack thong.
Yes to every question.
As ever, there's some very strange advice on here.
I've been on both sides of the table in pretty much the most corporate global sector there is - and nobody has ever told me what to wear when either attending or conducting an interview. If we are interviewing on a specific "dress down" Friday we will inform the attendee of that, but I've never seen anyone actually tell an applicant what to wear for an interview. View it as an unspoken test of your judgement.
Even if an applicant was informed it was dress down friday (or a "casual" office), if an applicant turned up dressed casually (jeans, T-shirt), it would probably be perceived negatively by the majority of interviewers, either consciously or subconsciously.
My view is to default to a suit for an office job, unless you've got a specific reason not to (as mentioned above). For the role you describe, I would say that chinos/shirt/shoes and possibly some sort of jacket is a good call. The upper end of smart casual.
As ever, there’s some very strange advice on here.
…So you’ll just add to it with your own specific opinion?
As most have said, It depends entirely on the organisation and industry. I’ve turned up in a suit before and felt like a massive **** for being grossly overdressed. The whole smart-casual thing would appear to be a sensible middle ground.
I turned up to my last interview a couple of weeks ago, in my club kit (Here Come the Belgians), seems to have worked as I got the job! This approach hasn't worked in the past however. It's like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Good luck with the new job OP! 🙂
I wouldn't expect folks to come in a tee and beach shorts, but how they dress should reflect what the job is and the expectations of the Industry. Ties in healthcare are probably rarer than most industries so I wouldn't be bothered, and if a kid was coming for his first job out of college I wouldn't mark them down if they didn't have a suit on, I'd worry if I was interviewing a GP candidate and they rocked up in jeans and trainers, but I don't think the partners would be overly worried about it frankly.
More interested in what they have to say, and how they come across.
Congrats piknmix!
I'm currently 1h away from a corperate interview sitting in a suit. Did the googling and couldnt spot a corporate photo with a tje in it so, no tie.
Nervous now, ill just run through my presentation one more time before its time to head on in, you never feel you've done enough do you...
rudebwoy – you’ve been an interviewer?
F me, the world’s gone mad.
That must have been an experience for the interviewees.
Posted 20 hours ago</
yep , possibly was , had to do a number over the last few years , they were for community workers , based on the estate , doing the shortlisting was harder , but interviews aren’t so bad , same questions for everyone, you know who you doesn’t fit fairly quickly , but often can be tricky agreeing on the choice , it’s a panel of 3 or 4 , you have to score them in case they ask for feedback , all pretty mundane really .the zoom interviews have been surprisingly easier , and of course if you get an outstanding candidate, makes it simple !
Thanks all. Just been out for a lovely meal with my team to celebrate getting out of that hell hole, already I feel a huge weight lifted.
you never feel you’ve done enough do you…
No, you really don’t. My presentation went amazingly, it’s when I sat down and tried to answer the first question I completely dried. I had to ask for a second to compose myself, eyed up the door for a quick retreat but got through it.
How did you get on @Kryton57
you have to score them in case they ask for feedback
For the technical roles I always use a set of technical questions starting with really really easy ones and ramping up slowly. That way I have an objective score for every candidate. They're general enough that if the person can't answer the first few, they're out no matter what. If they get the last one right (open question) then they'll probably get the job, unless they're wearing a 3 piece suit, in which case they're out as they wouldn't fit in 😉
How did you get on @Kryton57
Even though pre-covid its industry standard I got a smirk with the suit with a comment "a smart pair of trousers & a polo top would have done". Job offer pending though, so a positive outcome depending on whats come through email. However, I aimed high and am a little nervous I've bitten off more than I can chew!
That’s great, congratulations.
I aimed high and am a little nervous I’ve bitten off more than I can chew!
Aren’t all new positions like that? You will be fine after a few months, or fail probation 😉.
Just resurrecting this thread from a couple of months ago to say thanks for the advice - I start my new job on Monday 😀😀😀😀
Completely different to the ones I alluded to here and I'll be heading back to an education environment, somewhere that I used to love working in many years ago.
It's an admin role rather than the teaching I used to do and I'm really excited to be starting 😀😀
Cheers folks 👍
I just had a Zoom interview.
On top I had a check casual shirt.
Below I had a pair of trakkie bottoms and Keen sandals (with orange socks!).
🙂
gah! you can't tell this thread you've got a new job without describing what you wore for the interview!
Congratulations, BTW
gah! you can’t tell this thread you’ve got a new job without describing what you wore for the interview!
LOL, good point.
It was an interview over Teams, I wore a fine pale checked shirt with a plain tie.
Oh yeah, Craghopper Kiwi trousers and slippers too.
Pyjamas? Maybe with a T-shirt or jumper on top? Though I usually wear jeans, T-shirt, and socks and slippers for work.
Don’t tell me this is an in-person thing? If so, are you sure you want to do it?
If you want to then I’d go for: regular shoes or black boots, black trousers or black jeans, black crew neck jumper, black suit-style jacket. That’s what I wore for my last in-person interview in 2018.
I’d suggest interview->typical daily work clothes but see ‘pyjamas’ and ‘T-shirt’ above.
I aimed high and am a little nervous I’ve bitten off more than I can chew!
Congratulations!
That’s like work most days? It’d be no fun if there wasn’t something new and difficult most days.
Just resurrecting this thread from a couple of months ago to say thanks for the advice – I start my new job on Monday 😀😀😀😀
Congratulations 🙂 best of luck for Monday.
Im now 2 months in to my new career, and I’m like a new person. I finally have a work/life balance.
The OP has already got the job so this comment is arguably irrelevant.
But, as I think was mentioned previously, the default for interview attire is 1 level smarter than the person you’re interviewing with, erring on the smarter side.
Default to that and you’ll not go far wrong.
Cheers all,
From my recent experience I think @lunge has got it right.
I'm going to be in a student facing admin role at one of the faculties of University of Chester so need to be reasonably well presented but not too formal so it looks like I'm going to need a few more shirts buying.
Not worn shirts regularly at work for years 😯