You might be the smartest fellow in your domain with years of experience under your belt or a recent graduate, who just made an exit from university, looking for a fresh job.
Gentlemen! Making through a job interview is not easy unless you know how to dress appropriately and smartly, besides everything else. If you can master the art of dressing well you are half way through any interview, and if dressed poorly, you are done for.
Although there are several dress codes with some variations here and there, still we need to set a particular wardrobe list so that you can choose your best Interview outfit at the right time without any hassle.
You need not appear the best looking guy but surely the most presentable one . To work out interview dress you need to know two things.
By knowing in prior about the company’s profile you could get approximate idea of its dress culture and possibly avoid any wardrobe mistakes.
You may ask an acquaintance or call to the hiring official to get the exact details about their dress code. You should also check out their website to have a closer idea.
The Basic Clothing Criteria For Interview
You need to consider following factors while choosing an interview outfit.
Colour of Clothing Articles
You can’t afford to look like a party boy in orange or green colour clothes. Any showy and vivid colour scheme will put you out of place at the interview. Learn which colours are safe for such interactions. White and pale-blue shirts, Navy or dark grey trousers, dark colour ties, and shoes in black or brown are some acceptable wardrobe colours you can always wear without any trouble.
Patterns & Prints
Floral and busy pattern shirts are not for the interviews. These are fashion items made for leisurely times. Any article of clothing bearing graphics is inappropriate for any interview. Pick some solid colour white shirt and navy slacks that coordinate well for serious occasion. If you are still choosing a pattern go for a pencil stripe or tattersall shirt with blue or light grey stripes on white base. Keep your trousers free of any pattern.
Texture
Texture means- surface of the fabric. Plain fabrics are highly recommended for formal scenarios, business and interview. Some examples of textured material are corduroy or denim.
Textured shirts will classify your attire as casual; instead cotton shirts are best for all interview outfits.
Based on the above criteria we can break down three major dress codes, business, and relaxed business and casual.
Interview Attire For Business Casual
Business casual clothing stands somewhere between business professional and casual. It’s a smart way of balancing laidback and business attire. By far it is the most common clothing criteria in most organizations across different work-cultures.
Blazers, chinos, Non-matching dress trousers, polo shirt, muted pattern shirts, cardigans and sweaters are some key wardrobe pieces to select from as interview outfits.
Dress Shirts For Interview
Most men would get mixed up at the thought of choosing a shirt. Don’t fuss; wear a white collared shirt if you have no idea about the interview attire. White will breeze through any interview from clerk to CEO. If don’t have, buy one, it will pay off.
Some men would like to dress softly for a business casual look. They can choose a shirt with lighter shade blue or grey. These neutral colours flatter most complexions and blend with most trousers and blazers.
For business interviews, wear spread collar that has enough gap to wear a thick tie knot. Since you will be wearing a necktie, you will need more space between collar points.
Also pay attention to the collar points. Pointed collars are more formal than rounder or square collar points. Pointed collar will give a sharp professional impression.
Interview Trousers
A pair of tailored trousers (ironed too) are must for an interview setting. To complete a set of interview clothes trousers come as second vital piece after shirts.
Everything You Want To Know About Trousers Parts
Pleated vs Non-pleated
Pleated pants display the archetypical formal items to wear with dress shirts and an essential item for corporate attire. Normally one or two pleats are common in dress trousers.
Flat front pants are less common in business attire. Khaki pant is quintessential clothing staple without pleats and makes a great option for business casual.
When In Doubt Wear A Suit
Sometimes you can’t decide what to wear as an interview outfit. Wear a suit to exclude any possibility of getting wrong.
The point is, when you reach the venue and find out that no one is wearing a suit, you have the option to dress down to a pair of shirt and pants. You can remove the suit jacket and tie, as and when required.
But think the other way around. If you reached the interview underdressed, there is no way you can dress up to meet the requirement and that’s the farthest thing in your mind.
Shoe Styles For All Interviews
Black or dark brown leather dress shoes are proper footwear for any interview.
Black oxfords are classic and elegant pairing with any formal attire. Next, black derby shoes are best choice to wear with shirt and tie, suit separates. They have upper lacing with slimmer design best suiting an interview setting.
You can wear derby shoes with suits, chinos or even denim outfits but you only need to care about polishing them in advance.
Wholecut oxford shoes are excellent pair for business profile. Their one piece silhouette takes the business interview to a next level. Pair these shoes with black or navy suit for cleaner interview outfit.
Elemental Accessory
Steer clear from the jewellery except fundamental pieces like necktie, watch, belt and socks.
An elegant watch that is hundred percent functional and matches closely with your outfit.
Wear a black or dark brown belt that enhances your interview outfit and complements shoes. A medium width belt is sufficient for this purpose. Make sure it is not too long and leaves only 4-5 inches of tail after fastening. Longer belts look sloppy and spoil appearance.
Socks should match your pants and improve the shoe performance. Black, navy, brown and grey are four core colours in socks for men. They can handle almost all outfits in your closet.
