Today, we at Miss Fancy Says… help you navigate the vagaries of dressing for job interviews. So if you want to add ‘Best Dressed’ to your resume, let us offer you a few tips on what to wear to impress a prospective employer.
Even I, Miss Fancy, find it difficult to decide what to wear to job interviews. Have always loathed it, despite the fact that (during a particularly heinous stint working in a particularly heinous office with particularly heinous people) I had two purpose-made ‘interview’ dresses – one Summer, one Winter – so I could be ready to head off to offer myself to more deserving employers whenever the opportunity arose. Even with the two dresses (both just as fabulous, seven years later, even if I do say it myself) I still found myself panicking about whether my outfit was either not businesslike enough, or over-formal, or somehow just not quite right.
In general, the best gambit when choosing interview clothes, Or indeed, clothes for almost any occasion) is to slightly overdress, rather than under dress. Obviously, you should take into account the type of environment that you’ll potentially be working in, but don’t go overboard. For example, you may be applying for a creative role in a hip young advertising agency, and so want to show off your daringly avant garde style, but the time for this is after you’ve scored the job, gauged what is and isn’t appropriate and settled in. Think of the interview as the time when you scope each other out – they can decide if they want to hire you, you can decide if you’re interested, and, if so, whether or not your customary Mary Quant revival ensemble will get the respect it deserves.
Similarly, if you’re about to interview for the position of office junior in a suburban real estate office, a simple but businesslike outfit is far better than dressing like you intend to run the company, as this can be strangely off putting. Even if you’re about to attend an interview for a job in an alternative clothing design studio or boutique, think about what you would be wearing to work, and wear a fairly conservative version of it. It certainly pays in those situations to show a little of your personality, but it’s also a good idea to hold something back.
Often, the first thing an interviewer will say is “So, tell me a little bit about yourself…”. This is a trick question, because as far as they’re concerned, you’ve probably told them a whole lot about yourself before you’ve even sat down! For worse or better, first impressions count.
About a billion and ten years ago I held a job in an insurance company, where traditional office wear was definitely de rigueur. However, there was one lone figure who stood out in a sea of shirts and ties. (Now, remember here, that this was before ‘Melrose Place’ made men think that it was acceptable to wear a shirt and tie with jean to work. Frankly, – it wasn’t then, and it isn’t now.) His name was Bede and he wore black jeans, a black sleeveless shirt, and pointy toed black suede Cuban heels to work, every day. He kept his hair in a quiff and held his jeans up with a huge silver belt buckle. Frankly, this uber cool dude from Corporate Annuities was sex on wheels; the Fonz of Mutual Fund Superannuation. Needless to say, while the older chaps gave him a pretty wide berth, the younger men always seemed to be trying to impress him, and his female colleaguesall flocked around him like geishas.
The thing about Bede was, he had turned up for his interview wearing a perfectly ordinary suit, and once he got the job, the other elements of his personality slowly crept in, until he had fully metamorphosised into the Love God of Life Insurance.. The other thing was, and he would happily tell you this himself, that the trade off for being allowed to look like the Rockabilly Rebel of Retirement Funds, was that he had to work twice as hard, and be twice as good at his job, to get half as much respect from management. Such is the sad reality of most working environments – wearing your individuality (literally) on your sleeve can make your working life that much harder. And this goes doubly so for job interviews – it really does pay to attempt to look like you know what the rules are before you start thinking about bending them!
When thinking of adding touch of your personal style, do take advantage of the many, many makers’ markets, ‘handmade’ websites and funky little shops that seem to have sprung up everywhere recently, and find yourself a gorgeous brooch or necklace that compliments your outfit.
In terms of colour, black is almost always a safe bet, but not in Sicilian widow quantities, so do try to add in a bit of extra colour somehow. A shirt, top or scarf can break up the storm cloud, and having a bit of the right colour close to your face tends to lessen the severity of an all-black ensemble.
And remember the all-important ‘balance’ rule. This means finding a fashion compromise that will leave you looking comfortable and like yourself, while still making an appropriate impression.
If in doubt, try to find out! Don’t be afraid to stake out the building around knock-off time if you can. See what your prospective colleagues are wearing. And, Miss Fancy’s most important tip of all – if they are wearing dejected, beaten expressions, send an email politely declining the interview.
Miss Fancy Says 