How should you dress for a job interview?

When going to a job interview you always need to be presentable. How you dress is an important factor of the first impression on your potential employer. While many people say, "You can't judge a book by its cover," we all know that happens everyday. It is never truer than when you are being interviewed for a job.

Proper Business Attire: This is the choice when being interviewed for a professional job. Whether you are applying for a job as a secretary or an executive, if you will be working in an office you need to dress up. For men this means a full suit (matching pants and jacket), a button down shirt, a tie, and dress shoes (not sneakers!). There are more options for women, though this can make the choice more difficult. A women's pants suit, a skirt suit, dress slacks with a blouse, or a nice skirt with a sweater are all excellent choices. Timeless style is the key. This could be a black suit with a colorful blouse, a simple linen dress, or slacks with a solid color sweater accented with a delicate crystal brooch. You get the idea. Keep it simple but not necessarily all black.

Business Casual: The surefire choice of business casual creates a flexible while still professional look. This is advised for ALL other interviews. While proper business attire is recommended, it is perfectly fine to show up to an interview in business casual. For example an interview as a grocery clerk or little league coach wouldn't require a formal suit. However, you still want to give a professional appearance to show your potential employer you are serious about the job. For men, business casual means dark dress slacks or khakis with a button down shirt (doesn't have to be white) and no tie. For women, business casual means skip the suit and wear dress slacks or a flowing skirt with a knit top, button down shit, or sweater.

What to Avoid for Men:

• Wearing sneakers or any other sports shoes
• Jeans
• T-Shirt
• Mismatching your suit jacket with your pants
• White socks with dark pants and shoes
• Jewelry
• Wrinkles
• Hoodies
• Mixing a printed tie with a printed or striped shirt

What to Wear:

• Dress shoes such as oxfords or loafers
• Wear nice dress slacks
• Button down dress shirt
• Matching suit jacket and pants
• Dark socks with dark pants and shoes (dress socks are even better)
• If applicable, your wedding ring but no other jewelry
• Iron out any wrinkles or buy wrinkle free clothing
• Tie & Shirt options: A printed or striped shirt with a solid color tie, solid color tie with a printed tie, or both the shirt and tie in solids

What to Avoid for Women:

• Sneakers or sports shoes
• Too many accessories
• Revealing clothes (no cleavage, thigh, shoulder, or tummy should show)
• Skin tight clothes
• Capris or shorts
• T-Shirt or tank top
• Hoodies
• Too many prints
• Mixing two bold colors
• Too many sparkles

What to Wear:

• Dress shoes (doesn't have to be heels, just not too casual)
• Minimal accessories (a necklace, scarf, or earrings are acceptable just not all three)
• Modest clothes that keep you covered
• Figure skimming clothes that flatter while being appropriate
• Dress slacks or a skirt that comes to the knee or longer
• A button up shirt, a classy sweater, or a stylish blouse
• If needed, you can take a cardigan sweater with you
• Prints: Keep them pretty and keep it to only one article of clothing per outfit
• Color: Wear color but keep it to one main color and the rest neutrals (black, gray, tan)
• Accents: A little personality is fashionable but keep your sparkles, embroidery, and beading to a minimum

Whatever you do, don't show up to an interview in casual clothes! This is only acceptable if you are being interviewed as a farm hand or other manual labor job that requires getting dirty. If you are applying for a job that is office based or people oriented, be sure to dress up and make the right first impression.