Dressing for Success

Our friend Jason found out that he will have a second interview this week.  He e-mailed me the following question:

Question: What can/should I wear to my interview tomorrow?  I wore a navy suit last week. The hiring manager had a golf polo, khaki pants, and brown loafers. The  President stopped by for 10-15 minutes. He wore dress pants and a dress shirt with no tie.  Do I need to wear a suit again? Would it be acceptable to wear a shirt and tie without a jacket? Or do I need to skip the tie and dress like the President was dressed?

First, I love it that Jason is not afraid to ask any question, no matter how small, in order to prep for this interview.  I don't care whether he takes my advice or not - ultimately he has to decide what will work for him.  But I love that he's willing to check and see what other perspectives have to offer.  I also like that he is not taking for granted that he first heard of the opportunity through a family friend.

I was back-to-back with client stuff today so I fired off a quick reply:  

Slacks, sport coat, and open necked shirt (polo or collarless would be fine).  I'd keep the jacket because you don't know if they had one hanging in their office.  Ditch the tie so you don't look like a) you are trying to one-up them, and b) you can't read an environment. (Note - I also included info about Nordstrom half-yearly men's sale this week and their fabulous Smartcare shirts for men!)

What do you think?  What would you have told him?

Comments

[deb]

hmm. president wore a dress shirt and dress pants with no tie? like, he took off the tie during the day?

i'd say....the best piece of advice i ever got was that you can never be over-dressed. sure, you might come off as trying too hard or whatever. but it's better to turn up in a suit in a casual environment than to look like a surfer at a bank.

but here's the thing....if you're dressed well and qualified? they'll over-look being over-dressed. they aren't stupid, they know you're interviewing. pay less attention to what everyone is wearing, dress the way people should dress for an interview, and be your fabulous self!

go with dress pants, dress shirt, and wear a tie.

it'll show respect and you won't risk being under-dressed.

all the best!
deb

[Account Deleted]

I think I'd go with the jacket but no tie too. Obviously make sure it's a dress shirt you would normally wear with a tie, but the jacket dresses it up enough on its own. At least that's my humble opinion.

And like Deb said, it's better to err on the side of overdressed.

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Deb - thanks for reading and for sharing your perspective. Love your recent posting on the abundance of technology upgrades we are confronted with!

Kelly - thanks for stopping by to comment. I looked at your typepad profile and it looks like you are connected with some interesting blogs but I couldn't find anything you've written - can you send me a link or two?

[MMG]

I hope Jason's interview went well. I personally would err on the side of being over-dressed. Deb's comment "if you're dressed well and qualified?" made me think she was going to mention the flip side--if you're qualified but not well dressed, they might think twice.

My real comment is a side-note about your reference to Nordstrom's Smartcare shirts for men. Why hasn't women's clothing caught up with the wrinkle-free technology? Do the maker's of clothes think I ought to be elated that I don't have to iron hubby's shirt, but I still enjoy wasting time ironing my own?

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