Job interview attire...going against the rules.
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I have been looking for a job for 6 months attending many interviews without success. As the 'job interview rules' say to dress conservatively I have always wore white/grey shirt, grey/blue suit and a neutral coloured tie. As I feel more confident in brighter colours I am thinking about sticking to a grey suit but trying a bright solid colour shirt. It may be frowned upon but at least it may make me stand out from other candidates. Has anybody else tried something like this?
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Are you sure that it makes a difference as how you come across as a candidate?
(note: I am female, which may make a difference)
If you’re brightening up your outfit just to “stand out” then it’s not going to work. The only real way to stand out as a job candidate is to be well qualified and have a track record of achievement. If I were hiring, someone wearing a coloured shirt may stand out but it certainly wouldn’t make me want to hire them more.
Having said that, there is an argument to be made that if by wearing brighter colours you feel more comfortable, this could put you at ease a bit more in the interview and help you to give a better interview. But again, that’s not about standing out, it’s about having a good interview, establishing rapport with the interviewer and showing you could be a good fit with their organisation. A coloured shirt on its own won’t do that, that comes down to you.
I am applying for admin jobs.
I was wondering why the advice is to be conservative when you want to stand out from the rest. I thought I could add some bright colour but still look smart.
'Conservative' in this context simple means "don't dress like a tit" rather than dictating shirt colour.
Well, any fool can 'stand out' by adopting an unusual appearance. It is much better to stand out by being confident, knowledgeable, professional and generally employable.
At least some colour is acceptable pretty much everywhere now. In fact, ties and cufflinks have long been used to add a bit of colour and flair even to conservative business wear.
If that's what you'd normally wear it'll give some indication of your personality, which is useful for the interviewer. You wouldn't be the first person to opt for a bright shirt so go for it. I'd tone it down if it's an old-fashioned employer, though.
If you have had "many" interviews then what does it cost to experiment?
I think the advice is fairly sensible since you don't know what preconceptions the interviewer might have about more unusual dress choices and by playing it safe you can avoid being pigeonholed on how you look rather than your actual suitability for the role.
That said I think that the outfit you are considering would be absolutely okay for an interview, as long as you look smart and like you have made an effort you should always try and dress in a way that makes you feel comfortable and self confident for interviews.
Best of luck.
They may stand out, but it wouldn't really factor in to a decision to hire. As someone hiring, you should only be interviewing 4-5 people for any one role, so it's not as if you'd have a sea of faces to try and remember. The way to stand out & improve your chances of being hired are to be well qualified, have a decent rapport with the interviewer, be confident in your abilities and display professionalism throughout the hiring process. They are the things hiring managers will take into account & count favourably towards each candidate, not the colour of your scarf.
Visible tattoos and piercings, or wildly coloured hair are all more likely to be a negative trait than a positive on balance (although there are many employers which wouldn't bother or would welcome such attributes), so I'd suggest covering those or toning them down if you're really needing the job.
I have been told a few times that '10-15 candidates are being interviewed.'
No I think the normal advice suggests conservative colours. It doesn't mean the experts are always right though does it.
Yeah I once had to interview a young chap who had been rejected by a colleague because he was too scruffy. The manager was adamant that he thought he was worth a second look so I interviewed him and he was really good. Turned out he'd only had one job before where the dress code was very relaxed. We offered him the job and he was great. He even smartened up a bit after his colleagues gave him some 'friendly' shit about it :-D
I can see why some interviewers may rule somebody out if they are scruffy as it looks like they have made no effort. Will they make an effort if they are given the job? Dressing smartly but adding some colour is a different matter though as the effort has still been made.
I can see why as well in some circumstances. However in this case if the first interviewer had bothered to address the point in the interview he would have found the reason for it and wouldn't have suffered the embarrassment of the line manager (who was also in the interview) appealing to HR to interview a second time and overrule his judgement. It probably worth noting that this was a construction back office role so no customer interaction to worry about.
I wish this was possible but I can't really waste petrol money doing that unless it is a company very close to where I live. Thanks for the encouragement though.
Dress conservative.
Key thing: be honest and build rapport from the outset.
I think this is going too far. Surely a company can't expect a person to know what the company dress code is at the interview stage.
That is a good point because interviewers can make a decision very early about somebody. Probably the wrong thing to do as they may be nervous early on and get going later in the interview.
Agree - it's good to get your personality over in the interview. The interviewer can then decide whether you will fit in to the company.
Good luck with your search!