8 Dress Tips for Interviews

1. Do not wear heavy perfumes or colognes during an interview. It can be distracting and construed as unprofessional.
2. Accessories can play an important role in creating a finished look during an interview or an important meeting. Leather is a popular classic from suspenders, handbags and belts, to a quality briefcase, leather can provide the extra attention to detail and reflect a polished style.
3. With corporate dress becoming much more casual at many companies there is an increasing divergence between how people who work in the position you are applying for may dress and how a job candidate is expected to dress. For the first interview for a professional position, a man should at least wear a tie and a jacket and a woman, equally conservative attire. If the entire office is dressed much more casually you may wish to ask the recruiter if the attire you wore at the first interview would be appropriate for the second interview.
4. If you are inappropriately dressed for an interview, you are unlikely to be hired. Inconsistencies in an otherwise, professional appearance, such as unpolished shoes or wrinkled pants, will send the interviewer an inconsistent message decreasing your likelihood of being hired.
5. The key for both sexes is to dress for the position you want, not the one you have. This means that the upwardly mobile professional might need to invest in the clothes that project the desired image.
6. Accessories can play an important role in creating a finished look during an interview or an important meeting. Leather is a popular classic–from suspenders, handbags and belts, to a quality briefcase, leather can provide the extra attention to detail and reflect a polished style.
7. Why is expressing your individuality so important? Because it communicates creativity and leadership potential. It shows that you know who you are and are confident in yourself and your abilities. Women who dress like men, in gray pinstripe suits, little bow ties, and hemlines way below the knee, are seen as junior executives with no sense of style.
8. The safest look for both men and women at interviews is traditional and conservative. The correct appearance alone probably won’t get you a job offer, but it will go a long way toward winning attention and respect. When you know you look right, you can stop worrying about the impression your clothes are making and concentrate on communicating your message.

8 Dress Tips for Interviews by Harrison Barnes