Office Dress

It makes no difference how the rest of the office dress. If you are attending an interview for an office or business position, you should always wear a suit. The key words here are “office or business”. You obviously wouldn’t wear an interview suit for the job of a bricklayer!

The interviewer will certainly form some opinion of you based initially upon your appearance. So be smart, but don’t overdo it. Wear a moderately traditional suit. Choose “understated” over flashy. Remember also the rest of the look. There’s no advantage to be had from wearing a nice, appropriate smart suit, only for the interviewer to be more concerned with your white socks and baseball cap!

Be aware also, that the person conducting the interview has a responsibility to the company. His job is to hire the right person, so you have to convince him that he will be making the right choice. Proper office dress will go a long way in convincing this person you are right for the job.

You don’t always know exactly what your potential employer is looking for. You may be applying for the position of office clerk without realizing that the company promotes fully from within and have long term aspirations for their staff.

Your suit will indicate you want the job and you are taking the chance seriously. It will also assist you in impressing your potential new bosses that you at least appear to be future promotion material.

Once you have all the right accessories in place (understated shirt, tie and shoes) make sure everything fits. Again, your smart suit will let you down if the legs are short, buttons are missing or the shirt neck is 3 sizes too big and creased.

Make sure as well that your shirt is nicely ironed. Very often, companies require all candidates to take written tests. You may find yourself sitting in a warm room with your interviewer and other candidates answering multiple choice questions. You may have to remove your jacket.

Additionally, its important to feel comfortable. Not simply (as above) regarding the room temperature (although I would rather be a little cold at an interview than sweating profusely). I mean comfortable in yourself. You will achieve this by “looking smart and feeling the part”. Knowing you look smart will give you more confidence and your interviewer will observe this. You are halfway there simply by wearing a smart interview suit.