What to wear to an interview

What should you wear to an interview?

Despite many blogs having already been written on this subject, the issue of what to wear to an interview comes up time and time again, especially in the industries we tend to work in – Construction and Engineering.

As a result we had the idea to create a handy “What to Wear” guide to send out in our interview preparation pack for candidates. Whilst researching the topic we came across the much quoted yet nonetheless compelling fact that interviewers make a decision in the first 10 seconds to two minutes of meeting you.

This makes your outfit and appearance all the more important.

What should you wear?

Easy, a suit. A smart decent suit. It doesn’t matter if you are going for an interview on the shop floor or as the company director, wear a suit!  If you absolutely don’t have/can’t find a suit then a shirt, tie and smart trousers will have to do.

So a suit, what kind of suit?

Just a smart business suit, the smarter the better. An interview is supposed to show the best version of you there is. This also means a tie, ties mean business. Sensible ties mean business, as hilarious as your singing and lighting up Rudolf tie is, this isn’t the time.

Tattoos and other taboos

If you do have tattoos that are on show then our advice is to try and cover them up.  We realise this is a contentious issue at the moment but unfortunately tattoos still come with a stigma and can create a negative first impression with certain people. It’s just not worth ruining your chances at the job for the sake of covering up.

The same goes for ostentatious jewellery. Discreet earrings, necklaces etc are all fine but huge tunnels, conspicuous piercings and anything else that might draw unwanted attention is not a good idea.

As a basic rule anything that comes with a vibe of irresponsibility such as bright bubble gum hair, festival bands from the last 6 years and that weird thing girls (and some guys) seem to do to their eyebrows with permanent marker are all no-no’s.

Pay Attention to detail, they will!

It’s the little things that people will notice, such as unpolished shoes, an untucked shirt, a poorly tied tie. Try and get a family member or friend to check you over before you go into the interview and remember that first impressions are a huge part of getting the job, make sure you get it right!