We’ve put together an easy guide on what to wear to an interview including advice on clothing and shoe choices and how to be well-groomed. Feeling good about yourself is half the battle when it comes to job interviews. With our tips, you'll be able to walk into that interview room with your head held high and give the best impression possible.
Tips for Deciding What to Wear To An Interview
Before you even decide on your interview outfit, there are a few things you need to prepare for. We call it “doing your homework - which is basically doing a little bit of research about the environment you’re going into for the interview itself. Here are the questions you need to have answered before you pick your perfect outfit:
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What is the dress code of the company you’re going to?
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Is it smart casual, professional, or super casual?
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Who will you be interviewing with? An individual or a panel?
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Do they have any specific policies relating to the dress code?
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What time of the day will you be interviewing? Is it a formal daytime interview, or are you perhaps meeting a manager for lunch or dinner elsewhere?
What Clothes to Wear For An Interview
Now that you understand a bit more about the dress code and style of the interview you’re walking into, here are our top tips for choosing an outfit that is going to be both professional and comfortable.
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Play it safe with the clothing choices you make. There is no need to wear your most out-there outfit or Avant Garde piece for the first interview.
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Don’t wear anything too revealing or tight. Keep all your assets discreet and make sure you feel comfortable in your clothing choice – you want to be able to focus on your conversation and skills and not worry about whether anything is showing.
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When it comes to what colour to wear to an interview, it’s often advisable to keep your colours muted or neutral. You can bring in splashes of colour in your jewellery, accessories or perhaps your shoes.
What Shoes To Wear For An Interview
You might not think that your shoe choice is important for an interview, but shoes can actually say a lot about who you are and what you like. When it comes to what shoes to wear to an interview, our top tips are:
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Wear shoes that are appropriate to the dress code and suit the style of clothing.
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Choose shoes that are comfortable and easy to walk in. You never know if your interviewer will want to take you on a walking tour of the company at a minute’s notice.
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Don’t be overly flashy with your shoes, rather choose shoes that compliment your clothing and show off a little bit of who you are.
How To Look Well-Groomed For An Interview
For interview tips about grooming, the best advice we can give is to make sure you look and feel good. How you feel about yourself will shine through in your confidence. Here are our top tips for grooming for an interview:
Make sure you’re well groomed, smell good and have clean hair.
For the ladies, don’t go overboard with the make-up or wear a style of make-up that might be too flashy. An interviewer wants to read your body language and maintain eye contact and may get distracted by too much fanfare.
Keep your choice of hairstyle neutral, and keep the outlandish, crazy styles you might love for the weekend.
Don’t go overboard in your jewellery and accessory choices, again keep everything muted.