What to Wear to an Informal Job Interview

Those of us that are Baby Boomers are familiar with the suit and tie job interview attire for men, and suits and high heels for women. As with everything else, times have changed! Nowadays it is usual for the job interview to be labeled “informal”. A few years ago that description of an interview would have left me with my head spinning! Now, after years of working for a retail corporate office and observing dress codes for specific days of the week I have found that ‘informal’ and ‘business casual’ are synonymous.

My mission with this paper is to describe as best I can the basic dos and don’ts for an informal job interview!

Men, — pull out your khakis, button down shirts, color coordinated shoes and belts. Please, discard that huge rodeo issue belt buckle! With a tan shade of pants chose a brown or cordovan colored shoe in a leather than can be polished, or a brushed finish, but be sure they are clean! (Oh, no! Not tennis shoes!) Weather permitting a sport coat could be worn. If you opt for darker colors do the same for your belt and shoes, chose dark browns or black leather (not wing-tips though) perhaps loafers or laced shoes are best.

Women, — choose nice pant suits with solid tops; khaki pants with button down shirts, or casual blouse. Wear a moderate heeled shoe (with pant suit), or casual leather with khakis. One should ever, never wear a stiletto heel to an informal job interview. Please try to match belt and shoe color for a coordinated, confident look. Women should stay away from bright colored print clothes for an interview, and also should not wear bright nail polish or too much make up. Save those bright reds for evenings out! Jewelry should be limited to one ring per hand and leave the jingly/jangly bracelets at home – the noise is distracting! A skirt outfit can be worn with appropriate length considered, — usually if the skirt length is somewhere between the top of the knee and the bottom of the knee it is correct for the informal interview.

Both men and women should be very conscious of grooming. Hair should be neatly styled, not shaggy. Clothing should be well pressed and clean, and not have odors such as cigarette smoke. One important detail – make sure your fingernails are clean and neatly clipped. Hopefully you are not a nail biter and you will have your nails clipped to an appropriate length, both men and women, to allow easy access to computer keyboards and touch tone phones. Nails and hands attract a lot of attention and should be taken care of and kept groomed. It may even be worth paying for a manicure occasionally to keep hands in good condition. Another very important issue when picking out your clothing is to be sure you are comfortable. Nothing makes the day more miserable, or makes the person more self-conscious, than wearing clothing that is too tight or too short.

Hopefully the above tips will help set a guideline for those that are job seeking and take some of the nervousness out of the whole process! I have not covered every detail but feel that the above will give men and women alike a basis to start with.