#CareerCounsel: Dress for success

Welcome back to #CareerCounsel! We are going full steam ahead for 2016, offering you more advice and career tips for a bump free ride to success.

We thought we’d kick off the #CareerCounsel year with a look at the job interview. In particular, we are going to focus on your interview attire and how it really does make a difference. Everyone will tell you that what you convey in your answers is the most important thing. While we strongly agree, imagine being remembered in an interview for a fashion faux pas…not cool!

Plan ahead

When you get the call for a face to face meeting, you might already have a go to interview outfit in mind. Before you do anything, make sure your outfit is ready to rock. Don’t leave it for the morning of the interview to realise there’s an annoying crease or a stealthy stain you have no time to fix. Trust us… that kind of stress will throw you off completely.

Instead, have it all sorted early on so you can focus on getting other aspects of the interview prepared. It could be that your lucky interview suit isn’t actually right for the company you are meeting with. That brings us to…

Knowing the audience

Knowing a few basics about the company culture at this point will really help you deduce how you should dress for the interview. Suited and booted or smart-casual? If a suit feels like the right fit due to the level of the role or the company as a whole, you might want to stick with that.

Sometimes there might be a smart-casual (or business-casual) kind of vibe about the company. You might see pictures of the staff on social media looking relaxed in jeans for example. Does this mean you can do the same for the interview? Not necessarily. You still want to convey enthusiasm to impress and enthusiasm for the role. If they can see you are really making an effort, it can only give you some kudos. So choose a smart outfit, without seeming too ‘Wolf of Wall Street.’

If you are working with a recruiter, or in touch with HR, it wouldn’t be a bad thing to ask them some advice. They are there to help and would be happy to give you some tips on how to impress!

Quick tips

• Wear what makes you feel confident and ready. Be subtle, but still evoke a strong sense of pride in your appearance by choosing the perfect outfit for you.
• Speaking of subtle, go easy on a few things; you do not want to distract the interviewers for the wrong reasons. Don’t use so much hair product that they can see their reflection in your hair. A small dash of perfume or aftershave will do the trick, without overpowering the interview room.
• The shoes…just don’t forget the shoes! A nice polish will make them good as new. For women, there is nothing wrong with heels, though make sure you can walk comfortably. Speaking of comfort…
• Be comfortable. Women have the choice of trousers or skirt, for example, so choose what makes you feel comfortable. Even if something looks incredible and professional, if it’s slightly big or fits oddly it will really start to play on your mind. This discomfort might come across as terrible nerves rather than an annoying shirt that just won’t tuck in! 

We hope you can benefit from our interview grooming tips...stay tuned for more! You can follow our #CareerCounsel on Twitter right here.