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While a lot of interview tips cover how to prepare for hard questions and how to present
yourself to an interviewer when you talk, you also need to know how to appear in terms
of dress and grooming. No matter how great your answers are to the interview questions,
you won’t get a job if you’re dressed wrong.
It’s important to avoid under or over dressing for whatever position you’re applying for.
It’s a mistake to think you should get a suit and be as formal as possible, unless
the job you are applying for specifically states it is a business attire job. Many jobs
require only business casual dress or uniforms, and for these jobs it is appropriate to dress
just slightly better than you would at an average day at the office, and not to overdo
it. The reason is that an employer wants to be able to guess at how you’ll present yourself
at an average day on the job and to envision you in the role. That’s not possible if
you’re overdressed and don’t appear how you would at the office or the storefront.
If you’re applying for a job which states it has a business casual dress code, you should
dress business casual to your interview, but just a notch above what you’d usually wear
to the job. If you aren’t sure how formal the job is, try to visit a workplace which
has a similar position or ask someone else who has a similar job to find out what to
expect. If the job requires a uniform, don’t wear a suit to your interview; business casual
attire is just fine, and it doesn’t need to be anything too dressy, just something
which says that you are capable of being well groomed and you care about your appearance.
It doesn’t matter how great your clothes are if you aren’t well groomed and clean.
Take a shower the night before and wash your hair with shampoo and conditioner. Make sure
your hair is clean and dried and comb it nicely so that it isn’t messy. If you have long
hair, clip it back so that it isn’t in your face. Don’t do anything too fancy with your
hair—always aim for conservative. Same thing with makeup if you’re a woman.
Aim for conservative with colors too. Neutral colors are usually good for a job interview
since they don’t stand out too much and they fit into the workplace easily. Colors
can make you appear a little more lively, but don’t go with anything too bold or too
bright. Blue is a safe color since it is usually accepted as a corporate color and it comes
across as calm and centered. Other subdued colors are good too. Now you should be ready
to prepare for your next job interview.