It’s completely daunting, and something that nobody wants to do – but it must be done. Today we’re talking about interviews and specifically, what you should be donning ahead of the big day. Unfortunately, there are no hard and fast rules here. What is suitable for one role, certainly isn’t going to be the same for another. To some extent, you have to read the situation.
Nevertheless, there are some general pointers. To help you along your way, here is your fashion guide for how to wow at your next interview:
Make sure you research accordingly
The first thing you need to do isn’t to go to the suit shop, but instead research the company which you are applying to. If they are the definition of corporate, you will absolutely need to purchase a suit – and make it a good one.
However, if the role is more manual, or in something of a relaxed environment, you then have a decision to make. For first interviews, we would almost always recommend a suit – even if it is a manual job that will never involve such attire. In this situation, a suit can make a striking impression to your potential employer, and show them that you mean business. For second and beyond, you are probably able to gauge the situation a little more easily and make your decision based on what you have seen.
Don’t forget the small details
You might have well and truly gone to town with your suit, but it’s all for nothing if you’ve forgotten the small details. On your feet, while you should even take into account so-called smaller items such as your bag. Everything will be scrutinized and if you can tick every box, your first impression will be sussed. Remember, first impressions are made within the first seven seconds, so once you have gotten over this hurdle you are good to go.
Make yourself sharp
You’ve bought the suit, bought the brogues and everything seems to be coming into place. At this point the last thing you want is to be letting yourself down by not perfecting the appearance. By this, we mean by not ironing your clothes or even cleaning them in good time. To avoid any late dashes for the iron in the morning of the interview, make sure all of this is done the evening before.
The elusive last check: your buttons
Again, you might have perfected all of the above, but everything comes crashing down with yet another minor detail. This time, it’s your buttons, and if you’ve left your top button undone or even worse still, your fly is open, you are asking for trouble. It again comes back to that first impression statement we made a couple of paragraphs ago and if you do make this schoolboy mistake, unfortunately we all know what the main thing is that the interview is going to remember about you.
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