What Not to Wear to an Interview

[jasmined]

1. Carrying a backpack or fannypack instead of a briefcase or portfolio: Some image consultants suggest women ditch their purse, too!

2. Sunglasses on top of your head or headphones around your neck: Be sure to remove all your "transit gear" and tuck it in your briefcase before entering the lobby.

3. Too-short skirts: Forget what some of those gals on 'The Apprentice' are wearing. Your skirt should cover your thighs when you are seated.

4. The wrong tie: Ties should be made of silk, no less than three and a quarter inches wide with a conservative pattern. Image consultants say the best colors are red or burgundy.

5. Overly bright or large-patterned clothing: With the possible exception of creative fields like advertising or computer programming, it's best to stick with navy, black or gray.

6. Heavy makeup on women (or any makeup on a man)

7. Earrings on men: In fact, men should avoid wearing any jewelry unless it is a wedding ring, class ring or metal watch.

8. More than one set of earrings on women

9. Facial piercings, tongue jewelry or visible tattoos

10. Ill-fitting clothes. Few people can wear things straight off the rack. Spending a little extra to have your garments tailored is a worthwhile investment.

[hrnasty]

Jasmined,
as a recruiter, i agree with all of the above. I refer to it as the "subconscious interview score". I will notice what you wear and how you present yourself because my job is to compare you to other candidates and throw out all but the best. I think another way to think about what you are saying is that the interview is not a fashion statement. Conservative will never go out of style in an interview. You want to make a statement with what you say and how you carry yourself. You do not want to distract the interviewer with your top ten list, because now the interviewer is focused on the above ten items instead of how well you can do the job. A lot of folks are reading the above list and thinking, 'are you crazy?, I would never do that! I will remember to (take off my earrings, cover my tattoo, etc), but you would be surprised HOW MANY FOLKS DO NOT. Or they think "if they don't want me this way, then I don't want to work there". I hear it all the time. The goal is to get the offer and decline them if you feel like the company dress code is not to your liking. We don't want the company declining us because we wore the wrong thing. We can control this part of the interview.

Good Luck!

I blogged a little bit more about the subconscious interview score and how to dress here.
http://www.hrnasty.com/subconscious-interview-score/
http://www.hrnasty.com/what-to-wear-to-an-interview/