Dress to Impress: What to Wear When Interviewing
The more effort you put into dressing the part, the higher your chances of getting the job. This is one of the most fundamental and basic rules of impressing during an interview. This may be an old rule but even in this modern age, dressing to impress continues to play a major role in helping interviewers select the right candidate.
When you put a lot of effort into your clothing for the interview, it tells the interviewer that the job is important to you or that you are serious about getting the job. While you might impress your interviewer with your attitude and guts by turning up in shorts, sneakers and t-shirt, you probably will not get the job. At the first point of introduction, you would have been mentally sized up and then struck off the list of potential candidates!
Sadly, even in this modern era, it is better to err on the side of being conventional and conservative rather than trying to dress according to the work that you are required to do. Stick to conventional rules and you cannot go very far off the mark.
Right now, you are probably thinking to yourself - "How do I dress to impress my potential employer during an interview and STILL keep to conventional rules?" It's hard to impress with your dressing when you look just like everyone else.
That is not entirely true though. You see, for women, keep to solid colors (preferably a suit), well coordinated blouse, corporate-looking shoes (sandals are out of the question), tone down on the jewelry, and groom your hair neatly - you will not go far wrong. As long as you do not go overboard with the makeup, wear too much perfume, or have unruly hair, you will be quite safe.
Dressing for an interview does not mean that you have to shock your interviewers, try to keep things relatively simple, and combine your proper dressing with proper etiquette, attitude and qualification; there is little doubt that your potential employer will be impressed!
This does not mean that men do not have to dress to impress the interviewer. In fact, it has been shown that interviewers can be stricter and more stringent on men's dress code during an interview. One small mistake and the first impression may be ruined, and we all know that the first impression is very hard to reverse - if not impossible.
Men should also keep to solid colors and also preferably a suit. A colorful and fancy tie design will not impress your interviewer. And, although teaming a high quality professional suit with a sports shoe might leave a lasting impression on the interviewer, it may not be the kind of lasting impression you want them to have.
As you can see, what you decide to wear to your job interview continues to be one of the biggest influencing factors that determine if you are ultimately successful or otherwise. If you do not want to be struck off the list the moment you walk into the interview room, keep to the norm and impress them with the effort you've put in to look right for the part.