Le sigh—dressing for job interviews.
Gone are the days of trite suits paired with ill-fitting J.Crew button-downs that cutoff circulation to just about everything below your neckline. Pair that with the jitters from your Starbucks Iced Skinny Caramel Macchiato, and you have a recipe for disaster.
Well, darlings, we’re here to help. Check out these tips for ***Flawless fashion during your interview process.
1. Dress for the industry.
Forget the suit, unless you’re working in that rare industry where they’re still the norm. Hint: there aren’t many left. Business casual is in, business professional is out. But what does that even mean? According to Forbes, if you’re interviewing with a company that embraces the casual dress code phenomenon, dress as if you are going out to a nice dinner with friends on a Saturday night.
Still not sure how much to dress up? Don’t hesitate to call the company’s HR department for advice.
2. Make sure your clothes fit appropriately.
The most important thing you bring to an interview is your confidence. What you wear and how you wear it conveys that go-get-it attitude hiring managers are looking for. But please, for the love of all that is good in the world, make sure your clothes fit and actually look like they fit. Too tight? You look like an inter-office affair waiting to happen. Put detail-oriented on your résumé? Your wrinkles say otherwise.
3. Invest in comfortable, work-appropriate shoes.
The worst thing you can do is cap off the perfect-fitting outfit with terrible shoes. I’m not talking the bad and the ugly, I’m talking about those shoes that weathered through the torrential downpour on your study abroad trip to Rome and look more like a muddy taupe than the beige they came in. Nothing says job ready like a pair of shoes that don’t look like they’ve been through hell and back.
4. No Fragrance. None.
Ever been stuck on an elevator with someone who seemingly bathed in a tub full of your grandma’s Chanel No. 5? Gag. Seriously, don’t be that person. Some people actually have allergies or aversions to certain scents. Don’t let your perfume be the reason the interviewer pulls a Gretchen Wieners and says you can’t sit with us (or, you know, make it to the next round of the interview process).
5. Wear appropriate lingerie. Yes, really.
Ladies, nothing is more distracting to a hiring manager than panty lines or a bra (or, lack of) that says you’re ready for Baywatch instead of that account executive position. Also, playing with your bra strap during an interview, believe it or not, is not cute. As mentioned above, make sure it fits. Save the leopard Victoria’s Secret Bombshell bra for the bar and late-night Snapchats.
6. Avoid too much makeup.
My lip gloss is cool, my lip gloss is poppin’, my lip gloss is probably on my teeth. Girl, as long as it’s a neutral color, no one is going to notice. Neutral makeup not only gives you a more polished and sophisticated look for an interview, it’s also on trend—Marc Jacobs even sent his models down the runway during Fashion Week sans makeup.
Note: If you actually have to ask a friend, you probably do have too much makeup on.
If there’s a fashion someone who would know some for sure comfortable, fabulous heels and boots and would love to tell me/write an article, I would be forever grateful. I’m on my feet at least half the day and I like cute shoes. But I also like being able to walk at the end of the day…