What To Wear To A Job Interview (Plus Fail-Safe Outfit Ideas)
The world of work has changed immeasurably from when your dad was a lad. Back then, there was only one option for a job interview: a dark suit, white shirt and sensible tie. Shoes gleaming, hair combed, handshake practised. If he got the gig then he might introduce a few new shades of shirt, maybe a tie with a pattern. But officewear was, by and large, immutable. You wore what your boss wore. Your boss wore what his boss had worn. Repeat to fade.
Then the workplace exploded. Start-ups. Flexitime. Hot desking. All extremely mutable. The world’s wealthiest men took to wearing chinos, or jeans and hoodies. If you wanted to be like them, were you supposed to dress like them? If you wanted to present yourself as a go-getting, entrepreneurial sort, was this the new job interview aesthetic?
Well, no. The Mark Zuckerberg look is best accessorised with a billion-odd dollars. But also, yes. Roll into your tech interview in a charcoal three-piece and they’ll assume you’re there to discuss their corporate insurance. “You’re dressing to give a good impression to the interviewer and show that you would fit in well with the company,” says Sarah Gilfillan, founder of personal styling service Sartoria Lab. Which means your clothes need to fit their company culture.
To help you make sense of the new world of work, we spoke to some of the country’s finest image consultants, to get their read on what works where. So whether you’re interviewing at Goldman Sachs or Gold’s Gym, you’ll be dressed the part.
The Corporate Job Interview
Even the City has relaxed its dress codes somewhat over the last decade. But if you’re interviewing for a job with responsibility, you won’t get points for wardrobe creativity. “This is not the time to try a new look or mess around with convention,” says style consultant Penny Bennett. Keep it safe and nail the details. You’re going for ‘safe pair of hands’, not ‘fly-by-night maverick’.
