Dressing for an Interview on a Budget



Can you believe how many results this search returned?

by Megan Elliott, Social Media Developer

There are well over 35 million articles on the internet giving you advice on how to dress for a job interview. They are written by job coaches, by hiring managers, by professionals, by hired freelance bloggers, and by people who just have no clue. It’s a really popular topic!

Chances are, you’ve read at least a good dozen of them.  Most suggest a basic black or charcoal grey suit, with a neutral colored shirt, with low heels and the barest of jewelry. If you’re going for professionalism, to carry a portfolio with you with copies of your resume in hand. Some go so far as to advise that you get your suit professionally tailored to make sure that it fits properly.

Now, this blogger states that at the very least you should wear neat, clean, and pressed clothing for an interview. She’s as upset as I am at the inordinate number of articles suggesting that you should wear a tailored suit to an interview with a fast food chain manager, which I find a ridiculous suggestion. Of course, if you have a suit, wear it. If you have a friend or relative who will let you borrow one of theirs, wear it. But please, don’t go running out and spending money you don’t have on a suit!

One method is to do your research on the company (have I mentioned before how much you need to research the company?) and figure out what their dress code is for their employees, and then step it up a couple of notches. For instance, let’s say that you’ve been called in for an interview at the McDonald’s around the corner. Every employee is wearing chinos and the company uniform polo shirt and hat. What’s two steps up from chinos and a polo?

The other method is to actually call the person who called you in for the interview and ask. Saying something along the lines of “I want to make sure that I understand the dress code,” indicates before your interview that you’ve been doing your homework on the company. Just be sure to err on the side of caution, as the advisers in that article suggest.

If you have nice things in your closet that fit well and don’t show threadbare spots, by all means, make sure they’re well-pressed (if you can’t iron or don’t own the equipment, like me, take your outfit to a dry cleaner at least a couple of days in advance).  If you feel that a suit or even business separates are essential, I’ll let you in on one of my secrets. I have had great success in finding gently-used to tags-still-on clothes from consignment shops, and even in thrift shops like Goodwill and Salvation Army. You might also want to ask around and see if there are any consignment shops that provide outfits to lower income individuals, like Career Closet.

Ultimately, the decision on what to wear to your interview is up to you. This is your chance to show who that person is behind that smashing resume, and we want you to shine! Good luck, and happy interviewing!