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Interview Attire?

yennyfire

yennyfire

Ideal_Rock
Trade
Joined
Jun 6, 2010
Messages
6,875
I have my first job interview in 9 years on Friday and I'm not sure what to wear. I've typically worked in IT environments, which are fairly casual, so I've always worn black slacks/blouse for interviews and been fine (considering that the person interviewing me was wearing jeans or shorts, lol!). The company I'm interviewing with is an old, southern company with a very corporate attitude. Do you think I should wear a suit to the interview or my more typical interview attire? If I need a suit, I need to start shopping! :cheeky:
 
I'm in the south, and the most casual office I've been in meant no jackets. The guys had ties, without jacket, women wore suits.

I always felt it was better to show up overdressed (shows eagerness) than underdressed (shows lack of regard).

No sense in taking a chance. I don't think anyone will fault you for the basic black suit. I usually go with a suit with pants, myself, but I'm usually in a more senior position than other women in a meeting.

Get shopping. I found a good suit at a Macy's recently, edgy and younger (zipper jacket) but professional all the way.
 
Ugh, did I mention that I HATE shopping for clothing?? I may need to buy some jewelry as a reward to shopping for a suit, lol! Thanks iLander.
 
I don't interview them.
I just go on Consumer reports and see which is top-rated.
Why would anyone interview a tire?













.

Emily LItella.jpg
 
This time of year, I think a jacket would be necessary. I am on the Georgia/Florida border, and I keep my jacket or cardigan on all day for warmth at work. I also usually wear dark slacks and ankle dress boots with a bit of a heel. Most of the other women dress in a similar manner. Once you get the basic pieces, it is easy to get dressed, if you end up needing a wardrobe. In fact, I find it much harder to dress professionally in humid weather, which is the majority of the time here. (South Georgia makes Atlanta feel like the Poconos in the summer.)
 
I also agree that a suit is necessary. I wore suits to interviews in high school for after school jobs though....something that my parents felt very strongly about.
in my current role, I will interview people and always am more impressed when someone is well dressed.
 
Kenny -- HA!

As iLander said, I'd rather be overdressed instead of underdressed. Someone here was just interviewing for a position and I think she ended up choosing black slacks, and cute blouse and (I think) a jacket to bring if needed. Sorry, I can't remember who. You could always scroll through the threads. I know there was a picture of what she bought or at least was inspired by.

I don't think you'd go wrong if you looked at Banana Republic, Talbots, or Ann Taylor. I also have luck at Macys.

Good luck Yenny!
 
Another vote for the suit camp.

I've worked for executives here in TX that won't take you seriously if you're not in a skirt suit for the interview. Luckily, that's not an overly common sentiment across my industry, because I am a big fan of the pant suit.
 
Yup, go with the suit. The next question (as LTP mentioned) is skirt vs. pants. When I was applying for med school, on the other hand, there was an unwritten rule that women had to wear skirt suits, and this was in the early half of the 2000s! Four years later when I applied for residency, they were OK with pant suits. Since you're describing an old Southern company, I'd stick with the skirt.
 
Gag me! :knockout: OK, I'm convinced. :roll: When the kids go back to school, I'll go shopping. Thanks for all of the advice, I appreciate it.
 
Play it safe and get a suit. It sounds like you're going into a field in which you might need one anyway.

If the cost of a suit is a concern, you might spend a little time checking out thrift or consignment shops. The selection in thrift shops in particular might be pretty good as they get their end-of year donations on the racks.
 
It's not the cost per se. It's just that I'm pretty sure that the environment of this organization is biz casual (on a daily basis), so I'll be spending money on something I'll rarely, if ever, wear again. Combined with the fact that I'd rather clean my house than shop for clothes for myself, I'm having a hard time swallowing this. I think I knew the answser when I asked the question, I was just hoping you'd all prove me wrong! :naughty:
 
Yenny,

I am not sure if this would apply to your position, but my company is business casual (jeans on Friday) and yet I still have occasion to wear a suit. I tend to wear a suit if I am going to a professional conference or a meeting at another company that has business dress. So you may get more use out of a suit than just the interview.

Good luck shopping!
 
I think your first instinct was on the right track--suit is a must, even if it's business casual there. A black suit doesn't have to be totally boring--you can get one with a well-fitted slim skirt (not too short or tight, obviously) and a nicely-cut jacket, and after the interview, you can just separate the pieces and pretend you never bought a suit. A black blazer/jacket is pretty trendy now and can look cute with jeans. A black pencil skirt can be going-out-wear if you pair it with a pretty, silky top and stiletto heels.

Sending you lots of job dust!
 
I hate shopping for clothes too but look on the bright side at least for women a suit doesn't mean a buttoned up shirt and a tie half strangling the man wearing it. I wish men could wear a suit jacket and a nice shirt without a collar riding the neck and without a tie and call it a suit. :knockout:
 
Danny, I can imagine that a tie is a pain in the neck (literally!). However, you forgot that if I wear a skirt suit, I have to wear pantyhose...talk about uncomfortable, it's like being in a sausage casing...and let's not get started on wearing a bra on a daily basis.... :cheeky:
 
yennyfire|1294061969|2813086 said:
Danny, I can imagine that a tie is a pain in the neck (literally!). However, you forgot that if I wear a skirt suit, I have to wear pantyhose...talk about uncomfortable, it's like being in a sausage casing...and let's not get started on wearing a bra on a daily basis.... :cheeky:
Click to expand...

I'm not sure women wear pantyhose any more. I haven't seen it many years, but maybe that's just me. . .

Are you going to wear that ring in your avatar? I would probably turn that inward. If I were interviewing you, I would be afraid that you'd want too much money . . .

Not trying to be mean, just sayin' . . .
 
No stockings?? Sign me up! If that's acceptable for an interview, I'm thrilled! :appl:

iLander, I don't wear my ering on a daily basis. I wear my eternity band most of the time...it's fairly understated (.15 stones)...
 
I would be interested in everyone else's take on the stockings, but I haven't seen them, personally.

Eternity band sounds just perfect. That ring is a stunner, BTW! Drool worthy . . . :cheeky: :cheeky:
 
If you wear knee high boots with your skirt suit no one needs to know you are not wearing stockings!
Good luck!!
 
Awww, thanks iLander!

I'm so out of touch with fashion I wouldn't have even considered wearing my knee high boots with a skirt suit. Great idea, thanks!
 
I always wear stockings or pantyhose to work! I can't imagine *not* wearing them. If you don't wear stockings, what do you wear? Are your feet BARE? Aren't your shoes uncomfortable?

Ha! I'm reminded of this exchange from STEEL MAGNOLIAS:
Truvy: Well, these thighs haven't gone out of the house without Lycra on them since I was 14.
Clairee: You were brought up right.

I wear my e-ring, too. It isn't huge, but I never considered turning it around or leaving it at home.

Good luck, Yenny! I know suit shopping is a chore, but I hope it's worth it in the end when you get the job.
I work in a very causal environment (CC prof) but everyone wears suits to interviews. :knockout:

Edited for grammar. Twice.
 
Good point Haven. I guess you'd wear socks on your feet? I can't imagine that wearing boots without socks/tights would be comfortable??

I really need to attend some kind of fashion boot camp. :knockout: Since I started staying home with my kids, I wear mostly jeans and sweaters. I have a couple of nicer outfits for when we go out, but other than that, my lifestyle is totally casual. I don't even bother to read Glamour or any of the other fashion magazines because keeping up with trends just hasn't been a priority. I've never enjoyed shopping for clothing, but when I worked and had more of a social life, I wanted to keep up with what was in style.
 
Yenny--I rely on a few trusted salesmen to put my important outfits together for me. There's a young man at the local Banana Republic who is a GENIUS, and he helped me piece together all of my interview outfits when I was doing the rounds last year.
I even brought in pieces from other stores (or my closet) that I wanted to include, and he built outfits around them.

I know BR isn't super nice, but they have suits that fit my price range, and that genius salesman, so I went there.

I've found that once I go in and tell an associate that I need HELP putting together an important ensemble, they find the best person in the store and send them over. Seriously. Go in and tell them "I need an interview outfit, please!" Ann Taylor has done the same for me.

It can actually be kind of fun, once you get past the fact that you're buying a SUIT.
 
Great suggestion Haven, thanks! I usually shang-hai my sister to put something together for me, but she's out of town this week. There's both a BR and an AT about a mile away. I'll head there after I put the kids to bed tonight!
 
You've gotten good advice about wearing a suit, I just wanted to chime in about hose.

Flesh toned or suntan shaded pantyhose is not de rigueur anymore, in fact it is one of the less fashionable options. If you would prefer to go bare legged that is perfectly acceptable in most places. You can also wear colored hose (gray would go nicely with a black suit) which give a more current look than flesh colored ones. Opaque hose is also a good way to go (try black with a black skirt to elongate the legs), especially if you are worried about showing off bare legs or want to stay warm.

If you really would like a bit of a fashion boot camp this forum is full of wonderful ladies who give advice and post about fashion and outfits.
 
Thanks for the link Kiwi! I'm not sure that I can afford to develop a taste for fashion, lol! At least not until I've acquired all of the items on my jewelry wish list! ;)) :cheeky:
 
I just had a similar question a few weeks ago (interview was today - fingers crossed!) and photos of what I ended up wearing

The thread is here: [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/job-interview-attire-advice-tech-company.153725/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/job-interview-attire-advice-tech-company.153725/[/URL]

While I think a skirt is probably dressier, I would say in the majority of situations nowadays, a pants suit would be totally acceptable as well (I actually ended up going for a pants suit b/c I thought the skirt one was too banker-ish). You just have to make sure the fit is right and the style isn't outdated...some of the less expensive suits (think $100 for both pieces together) have weird styles that make them look dated. I shopped at Banana and Ann Taylor b/c its possible to get a jacket and pants/skirt in two different sizes, which makes it more likely to fit and less likely to need extensive tailoring.

As for panty-hose, I may be outdated on this, but I think it looks more puttogether with a skirt suit than totally bare legs, especially if you have ANY dry skin, veins showing, etc. (I'm still in my 20s but already some veins are poking through -- eek!) BUT I think tights are a lot more modern looking and serve the same effect, and are especially cute with boots.

Good luck on your interview!
 
rockzilla|1294195277|2814562 said:
I just had a similar question a few weeks ago (interview was today - fingers crossed!) and photos of what I ended up wearing

The thread is here: [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/job-interview-attire-advice-tech-company.153725/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/job-interview-attire-advice-tech-company.153725/[/URL]

While I think a skirt is probably dressier, I would say in the majority of situations nowadays, a pants suit would be totally acceptable as well (I actually ended up going for a pants suit b/c I thought the skirt one was too banker-ish). You just have to make sure the fit is right and the style isn't outdated...some of the less expensive suits (think $100 for both pieces together) have weird styles that make them look dated. I shopped at Banana and Ann Taylor b/c its possible to get a jacket and pants/skirt in two different sizes, which makes it more likely to fit and less likely to need extensive tailoring.

As for panty-hose, I may be outdated on this, but I think it looks more puttogether with a skirt suit than totally bare legs, especially if you have ANY dry skin, veins showing, etc. (I'm still in my 20s but already some veins are poking through -- eek!) BUT I think tights are a lot more modern looking and serve the same effect, and are especially cute with boots.

Good luck on your interview!
Click to expand...
I agree on both accounts. AND, tights are more fun because there is so much variety. I'm especially smitten with textured tights right now. I just bought some really adorable pairs at Target.
I guess I meant "tights" when I was typing "pantyhose" and "stockings" earlier. Sorry!

I hope your interview went well, Rockzilla!
 
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