What Not To Wear To A Job Interview

A job interview is almost like a battle that needs to be fought and like in every battle you need a full-fledged strategy to tackle a job interview. First impressions matter a lot in any fresher interview which is why your appearance becomes an important factor.

Your recruiters are going to look at your clothing and assess you on professional parameters. While you know that ‘formal clothing’ is the right way to go about dressing up for a job interview, you should also know what NOT to wear so that you don’t make any mistakes.

• Super casual clothing – There is a big difference between office casual and every day casual, and if you are unsure of it then simply stick to formal clothing. Don’t attend a job interview wearing jeans, shorts, summer dresses or over the top party clothes.

• Attention-seeking and flashy colours – Unless you work in a fashion company, you will come across people wearing muted and soft colours. It’s not a great idea to show up in flashy bright colours and shiny textures like silk for your job interview. It distracts the interview and takes away from observing your body language.

• Sneakers and casual footwear – It is a popular saying that a man is judged by his shoes, and it is true! You should invest in a pair of good formal shoes and women should invest in a nice pair of sandals or closed heels. Make sure you polish and clean them well before attending the job interview.

• Ill-fitting clothing – Very tight clothing or very loose clothing can be a visual disaster. You should follow interview ethics and not wear anything to distract the interviewer like low-cut tops or tight pants. If you aren’t sure check with your parents or someone older about how the clothing fits.

• Over the top makeup – This one is especially for the women, don’t go overboard and use a lot of makeup. Learn how to use minimal makeup and if not necessary don’t use any at all. Bright lipstick colors, colorful eye shadow and other such makeup can be very distracting.

• Too many accessories – Women should take care not to indulge in too many accessories. Don’t carry a flashy handbag, wear large jewellery or hair accessories to a job interview. For men, don’t wear too many hand rings, bracelets, or other jewellery. Also, if you have odd piercings like lip or eyebrow, remove it for the fresher interview. Many offices are still not comfortable having a display of personal accessories like body piercings.

• Strong scents – Yes, a lot of job interview tips suggest that you should smell nice but you should take care that it isn’t so strong that you can smell it from a distance away! Maintain good hygiene and use a light scent, it may be possible that your recruiter might be allergic to certain smells or asthmatic. Don’t mess up just because you splashed too much perfume on yourself!

• Blazer or suit – A blazer is a great piece of formal clothing but you need not wear it all the time. Just research on the company culture and what kind of role you are applying for. It shouldn’t happen that you arrive in a blazer and your recruiter is in a shirt! Also, don’t wear a blazer to hide un-ironed clothes, you may have to take it off due to heat or other reasons and you don’t want to be caught wearing crumpled clothing.

A great way to prepare for a job interview is to do mock interviews. You can use a tool like Mock AI that will record your mock interview and then offer feedback, right from your body language to your communication skills.

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