What should I wear to my interview?

Throughout my recruitment career and now while doing interview prep a question I get asked a lot is ‘What should I wear to the interview?’

The simplest advice is to mirror the hiring company and dress 10% better. You don’t want to be the under-dressed person in the room, but you also don’t want to wear a suit when the panel is wearing T-Shirts.

𝗙𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄:

When interviewing in an environment where they wear suits everyday:

Plain suit - ideally navy

White shirt

Plain tie - ideally navy.

Tie all the way up, lots of candidates have the top button undone for some reason when wearing a tie.

Plain dark suit shoes

Plain socks

Men what not to wear:

3 piece suit - never wear this, no waist coats.

No checkered suits / wedding suitsNo loud ties

No colorful ties - eg Red

No black suits - it’s not a wedding or a funeral

No loud shirts.

No funny socks

No funny cufflinks

No fashion short pants with a no socks combo

Clean and polished shoes

You want it to be subtle and you don’t want them remembering your crazy tie, they will be judging you on everything, do you look like a person they can recommend to their CEO, are you dressed to meet a client?

Remember it's an interview in a professional setting, not a fashion show.

I'm aware the above costs money, but if you can borrow a suit, rent one, go to the charity shops etc. See this as an investment.

Interviewing in a causal dress work environment:

Stick to the same guidelines as above, but do not wear a suit, go business casual.

Ideal for men:

Oxford shirt, no tie

Plain formal shirt, no tie

Chinos / Smart dark jeans - bit more risky

Smart jacket / blazer

Smart shoes, no trainers / runners

Plain socks

Avoid a pinstripe suit jacket with the above.

Avoid short sleeve shirts

𝗩𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗼 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄:

Formal office:White shirt, tie and no suit jacket

Casual work office:Oxford shirt / suit shirt and no suit jacket

Shorts are optional...