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!

Interview Nervousness is Normal!

Does this image make your palms start to sweat?

by Megan Elliott, Social Media Developer

It can be absolutely nerve-wracking to get called in for an interview with a company - and if you don't know what kind of preparations you're expected to make, the more nervous you get! So, we're going to provide you with five little tips to get you started.

1) Do research on the company.
Figure out how large the company is, what its culture is like, ask friends of friends what the company is like (if they work there), and so on. If the company is pretty large and has been around for a while, it will probably have a lot of reviews online from current and former employees, and even customers. Read those to get a good feel for the company. Don't just rely on their website to tell you what you need.

2) Along the same lines, do research on how well they treat their employees.
Usually, if you applied to a position online, you were introduced to some of the benefits that the company you're interested in offers employees. What sorts of benefits are you interested in - medical, dental, 401(k) matching? Some companies list an ability to provide flexible schedules or occasional working from home opportunities, which is a great opening for a question for YOU to ask in the interview, if that's important to you.

3) Practice interview questions. Practice, practice, practice!
There are practically thousands of different lists of practice interview questions online. Here's one, and another, and another. There are lots of ways to practice as well! My favorite way is to get a friend to pretend that she's my interviewer, and she'll ask me questions from those lists. We then hash out the best way to word a response, if she feels that I haven't done well on that question. Using my research on the company, I also practice asking her questions for the interviewer. This interview is a two-way conversation, and the responses you get from your questions will tell you whether or not you actually want to work for that company.

4) Believe in yourself!
I know this sounds so cliche, but so many people start to wonder if they're truly up to the task of interviewing for the job - or they've been out of the workforce for so long, they don't think they're going to be valuable team members if they do interview and get the job. You are valuable! You are important! And most of all, you bring experiences that no one else has had to the interview and to the job!

5) Relax.
While you're picking out what you're going to wear to the interview (which we'll tackle in another blog post), breathe deeply, and focus on how you're feeling inside. Take a deep breath, hold it, and let it out slowly. Repeat ten times. This will calm those butterflies in the pit of your stomach. Being nervous is normal, and chances are, the interviewer will be as nervous as you!

If you need help practicing your interview, we're here for you. We'll be the friend who pretends to be the interviewer, if you wish, and we'll give you pointers on how to answer those tough questions like a pro!