| It's Monday. Sharpen your style for the week. |
Gunning for a big new position? Here’s some foolproof advice from hiring experts in law, tech, finance, and marketing. —Yang-Yi Goh, style editor |
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What to Wear to a Job Interview, According to Hiring Experts |
Looking for a job can be a grueling marathon of resumes, cover letters, and HR acronyms—and that’s before you ever get into the room with your would-be future employer. Once you’ve managed to secure an interview, the finish line may feel tantalizingly close, but the race is far from over. Before you get the chance to wow them with your articulate and highly considered insights into your personal strengths, weaknesses, career goals, and salary expectations, however, you’ve got to make a good first impression, and that starts with what you wear. So what, exactly, should one wear to a job interview in 2024? Aside from “probably not pajama pants,” the right answer depends on the job. Despite the loosening of office dress codes across the board in recent years and the rise of remote work in the post-pandemic era, every industry has its own answer to that question, from the traditional suit and tie to “whatever makes you feel the most creative.” For advice on getting the right look for the job, we consulted a bunch of folks who ought to know.
“The interview and the job are very different things,” explains Atlanta-based personal stylist Joshua Davis. “A tech founder might wear a T-shirt to a meeting with a VC, but even if all your research says the office is pretty casual, you should still go more conservative for the interview.” Davis suggests researching the company on LinkedIn to see how employees present themselves and even perusing their individual social media accounts for further insights into their style and presentation. “People expect that a lawyer will arrive in an E-Class and wear a black suit. A trial attorney might, but an attorney who specializes in tech IP will usually dress more like their client,” he adds. “The same is true for most bankers, consultants, and accountants who are client-facing – they have learned to research their client and make sure their image is usually only slightly more conservative than the person they are trying to sell to.”
Whether you’re applying at a disruptive startup or a firm with centuries of history, your clothes are an important means of determining how well you’ll fit into the corporate culture and represent the company to the world. “We get a fair number of calls from HR departments that have found a great candidate but they don’t feel like they can fully recommend that person because of their wardrobe,” Davis says. “The most common reason is that a candidate is dressing too casually or they don’t dress for their body. To translate, that means too sloppy or too sexy.” —Jeremy Freed
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