What to wear to an interview?

First impressions matter, especially when you are looking to get hired. How you dress has a lot to do with making a great first impression and having a real shot at getting that job. If you are unsure of what to wear to an interview read on to find some helpful suggestions to get you dressed for success.

What to wear to an interview

Regardless of the role you are going for, ideally, you would want to wear a business shirt or blouse coupled with dress pants or a skirt. However, depending on the industry you may need to dress up or be able to be slightly more casual with your interview clothes.

If you are going for a job in sales, finance and insurance, or other corporate style roles if you really want to impress, make sure to wear a suit and tie.

If you are interviewing for marketing, IT, or more creative roles you can be a little more casual with dress jeans or a skirt and a neat shirt or top.

If you are going to interview for a role within the construction agriculture and horticulture industries, practical job interview clothes are ok as long as they are tidy, and a polo or similar top is preferable.

If you are ever unsure about what to wear to a job interview, ask someone! Check with your employment consultant or family and friends in similar roles. You could even ring the company you are interviewing for and check what their dress code is.

What not to wear in an interview

While some job interviews may allow for some more casual interview clothes, it is generally safer to wear something more professional. Remember you are trying to sell yourself here, you want to impress, so wearing that old band shirt is probably not advisable!

Make sure you have inspected and cleaned your clothes before the day of the interview. Turning up in clothes that are stained or in a state of disrepair won’t look good to the interviewers. This also goes for ill-fitting clothes. If you can, try to pick interview clothes that are fitted and more fitting current fashion trends.

While attitudes have changed around body art, it is still advisable to cover tattoos and remove piercings when you go to your interview. Most companies will have a section detailing what they find acceptable or not in their dress code.

This is the same for hair and make-up. Ensure your use of make-up is muted and fitting for the professional setting of the job you are interviewing for. For facial hair keeping it well trimmed and oiled and combed if it is longer.

There are many charitable organisations such as Dress for Success that can help you should you need some assistance with what to wear to an interview. Dress for success has branches in the following cities Adelaide|Brisbane|Hobart|Perth|South East Melbourne|Sydney.

If you are in another location your placement consultant will be able to help you with finding a local organisation.