Office Job Interviews: Avoid These Clothes and Shoes

Clothes not to wear on a job interview

You need to dress up very appropriately when appearing on a job interview. While being overly dressed will not go in your favour, being under-dressed or too casual will certainly mar your chances of succeeding in the interview. Listed below are clothes that you should avoid wearing to an interview:

• Tight fitting and revealing clothes should certainly be avoided. Your aim should not be to distract the interviewer but to highlight your skills and professional abilities. Make sure you are not wearing skin tight clothes or exposing cleavage, thigh, shoulder, or tummy when appearing for an interview.
  
  
• Clothes that are too casual should be avoided. Experts believe women should certainly not wear shorts, t-shirts, tank tops, hoodies, etc, for an interview.
  
  
• Garish clothes that have too many prints, sparkles, or loud colours should not be worn for an interview.
  
  
• Shabby and wrinkled clothes should never be worn on a job interview. It will be a huge turn-off.
  

Shoes not to wear on a job interview

Shoes reveal an awful lot about a person and they should be chosen with extreme care when appearing for an interview. Given below are some tips on shoes that you should never dare to wear on a job interview.

• Very high heels should never be worn in an interview. You wouldn’t like to trip over the interviewer or attract too much attention to your shoes.
  
  
• Sneakers or sports shoes should be avoided. These are too casual for an important job interview.
  
  
• Open-toe sandals should not be worn on a job interview. Many companies have a policy against wearing open-toe shoes. So these are best avoided.
  
  
• Shabby and worn out shoes would certainly be frowned on by the interviewer. Never wear dusty or tattered shoes for an interview.
  

Disadvantages of wearing the wrong clothes and shoes on a job interview

Research has shown that most interviewers form an opinion about the candidate during the first few minutes of an interview. In this time, they minutely observe your clothes and shoes. If you appear too casually for an interview it will show that you are not serious about the job you are appearing for, while if your clothes and shoes are too loud or funky it will show that you have never worked in a corporate environment and that you are not sincere about your profession. Therefore a wrong choice of clothes and shoes will make the interviewer think negatively about you and your chances of being selected will be greatly undermined.

Clothes and shoes to wear on a job interview

Today’s business world is defined as business-casual. When appearing for a government job you dress-up more formally, otherwise most offices are not so formal. Though non-formal does not mean being too casual either. Dressing appropriately is very important when you are serious about receiving an appointment letter.

Tips on clothes you should wear on a job interview:

• Make sure your dress is modest and elegant.
  
• Your outfit should be clean, well-pressed and in a well-maintained condition.
  
• The colour of your outfit should be pleasing to the eyes and should be appropriate to the business environment where you are appearing for an interview.
  

Tips on shoes you should wear on a job interview:

• Wear clean and well-maintained shoes.
  
• Shoes with a heel height of 2-3 inches are considered ideal when appearing for a job interview.
  
• Leather court shoes, classic mules, sling back shoes, Mary Jane style shoes are considered most ideal when attending a job interview.
  
• Black shoes without any embellishments are considered ideal for an interview situation. However, you may also go for browns or any other colour as long as it looks sober.
  

The advantages of wearing appropriate clothes and shoes for a job interview

The employment world is very competitive these days. You really need to work hard to get a great job. Besides, sometimes your qualifications and abilities are the same as other applicants who may have applied for the same position. In such a situation making a strong and positive first impression will give you a lot of edge. And the best way to do make a lasting first impression is to wear appropriate clothes and shoes on a job interview. So, next time when you appear for interviews remember this winning mantra - dress smartly and keep faith in yourself.