#JobSearch #Friday HOW SHOULD I DRESS FOR A JOB INTERVIEW? PROFESSIONALLY?

By RecruiterGuy | December 17, 2021

Don’t you love when I answer a question with, “Depends?” And I am not talking THOSE Depends. Professional positions run the gamut from suit and tie to casual dress.

Are Software Engineers professionals? Of course. Do they dress in a suit and tie? Not the ones I have been around for the past 30 years. Generally, they are dressed in casual dress – not even business casual, unless they are consulting.

Do Attorneys were suits and ties? The ones who need to impress their clients and the courts certainly are. Obviously, women have suits, and some do wear ties.

Now we have the professional field bracketed. Everyone else is on the edges or somewhere between.

How Do I Determine Proper Dress For The Company’s Interview?

Would you like the simple way or the more time consuming way? Let us go with SIMPLE.

When you are called for the interview simply ask, “What are your dress expectations?” They will give you the best advice they can. If they say, “business casual”, my advice is to raise your dress one level. Wear a sport coat with an open collar dress shirt. This applies to women too.

Two Stories –

I had a client in a rural East Coast state. I was surprised to see that EVERYONE wore professional clothes – like the Attorneys. When I coached my candidates for their interview, I ALWAYS coached them on their professional dress code.

One candidate was an accountant. When he arrived, the receptionist called me and whispered that he was dressed casually. The whisper prepared me for my initial meeting. I went into the lobby. Yes. He was dressed casually.

I brought him to my office in Human Resources – and saw the expressions on the HR Staff faces. When I asked him why he did not dress professionally, he said, “I don’t have to. I am so good, they will not care.”

Being the nice guy that I am, I fed him to the wolves…I mean, I took him to the Controller’s office and introduced him. As I returned to HR, I heard a shoe scuff on the floor. It was the accountant who did not understand the importance of Dress. He was dismissed quickly.

The same company – I introduced a woman enterprise sales professional. She was dressed professionally in my eyes. I admit that I am not a clothes expert. When I brought her into HR, I had a smile, knowing that she was a top-notch sales professional in their industry.

Well, not so fast Humbert! After I introduced her to the VP of Sales and returned to HR, One of the HR Managers asked me if I did not notice that she had open-toed shoes. “Yes, but…”

My advice, pay attention to the details. In any business, it is important to know your audience!

Dress Matters In Interviews

Of course, I have other stories that demonstrate that dress matters. Remember – you are trying to impress the interviewer.

Now, if you applied for a construction laborer or hourly retail position, wear clean clothes that you may wear out in the field/store in the next hour. If you wear a dress shirt, bring a change of clothes.

You can do this!

Networking is the best practice to find a new career! I wrote my books to duplicate my efforts to assist you in your search. My expert experience as both a Recruiter and Career Coach gives me a perspective few professionals have. My Salary Negotiation script solves that pain point for most career seekers. To accelerate your #Jobsearch, please immediately click on this link to my recent book, Employee 5.0: Secrets Of A Successful Job Search In The New World Order – http://amzn.to/2D9w39f My book contains the 12 Steps to find a new career in a nice, orderly fashion that follows your sales process. According to a newspaper review, “It is refreshing to find an author who speaks With you and not At you!” It also has the stories of people who did well – and some who did not. You may learn from both sides.

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See you on Fridays!

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