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Printer-Friendly ModeHow to dress for success
Having a star resume is only part of the job interview process, interviewees need to know how to dress
April 21, 2008 —
Properly tying a necktie is a difficult craft to perfect. Practice tying the necktie while standing in front of a mirror. It might seem silly, but it will be worth it.
Searching for the perfect fit
If wearing a jacket, make sure the sleeves do not stop too far above or below the wrist. The sleeve should not obscure your hands. Otherwise, you'll look like you borrowed someone else's suit, and most employers aren't too dazzled by that hand-me-down look.
Step your game up
Owning a pair of dress shoes isn't good enough if it looks like you use them to play soccer in the rain. Keep shoes polished and scuff-free. Prevent shoe creases by keeping cedar shoe trees in the shoes between uses.
Stick to more traditional colors and styles when selecting your shirt. For better or worse, you don't want your potential employer only remembering what you were (or weren't) wearing.
Mix but always match
Hosiery are the obvious companion for a skirt. But socks will do the trick if wearing pants. Just make sure the color of the socks and pants go together. That means passing over your piles of white socks if your pants are black.
A potential employee's qualifications aren't of much use if the employer only recalls the scuffed shoes and loud tie the candidate wore during the interview.
Looking the part is nearly as important as the ability to play the part when it comes to the job interview.
Because most college students and recent graduates are novices when it comes to business clothing, they are prone to violate the unwritten rules of dressing professionally.
University Assistant Director of Career Planning and Placement Mike Major says the more conservative the clothing, the better off the candidate is.
"You don't want to leave the interview and be remembered as the bright yellow shirt person," Major said. "I've got some of the sweetest Star Wars ties, but I wouldn't wear them to an interview."
Socks that do not match the pants and an overload of accessories are two of the more common errors, according to Major.
"We've seen many students dressed in a nice black suit and then you see they're wearing white tube socks," he said.
Major said women should limit the amount of accessories they bring to a job interview.
Bringing a purse and a bag, for instance, might create the visual of a juggling act.
Candidates should also minimize the use of fragrances or avoid them all together.
Major recalls an incident from his days as a high school teacher that reinforces the argument against wearing perfumes or colognes during a job interview.
"We were interviewing someone for a teaching job and she was wearing a strong perfume," he said. "One of the teachers on the panel actually broke out into hives."
Men should avoid colorful shirts and neckties. A lime green shirt might pass at a wedding, but shouldn't be what a guy reaches for when dressing for a job interview.
The bottom of the necktie should hit the top of the belt buckle.
The tie is too short if any of the shirt's buttons are visible. The tie is too long if most or all of the belt buckle is covered.
The length of skirts and pants is also worth consideration, according to Major.
Conservative is again the way to go when it comes to skirt length. Major advises that a skirt worn to a job interview not rise any higher than the knee.
Major says pants should not fall too far onto the shoe, but should also "not look like you're prepared for the flood."
Speaking of shoes, candidates should make sure to wear polished dress shoes free of scuffs to the interview.
Once the shoes are polished, the socks match the pants, and the Battlestar Galactica neckties are stashed away, all that's left is not messing up the actual job interview.