{"id":284,"date":"2015-03-24T08:15:35","date_gmt":"2015-03-24T08:15:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/?p=284"},"modified":"2025-10-22T15:58:20","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T14:58:20","slug":"what-to-wear-at-an-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/2015\/03\/24\/what-to-wear-at-an-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"What to wear at an Interview"},"content":{"rendered":"

The email inviting you to interview has landed in your inbox, hurrah! You call your mum and tell her the good news and book a practice interview<\/a> with the Careers team at Bath. Then it hits you... OMG! WHAT AM I GOING TO WEAR?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fear not, here are some top tips to make you look slick on the big day!<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \u00a0Over dressed is better than under-dressed:<\/strong>\u00a0First impressions count. So if you wear a jacket and if one isn't needed it won\u2019t be a disaster; \u00a0you\u2019ll just look keen to impress and can always take it off!\u00a0However nothing worse than you rocking up in your shorts and t-shirt while the other candidates are dressed smart.<\/li>\n
  2. Do a bit of research:<\/strong>\u00a0look for clues from the employer as to what to wear. Sometimes they\u2019ll be very obvious and tell you but other times you'll have to make an educated guess. Think of the type of organisation you've applied to: are they formal or casual? Have a look at their website - what sorts of clues are there about the company culture? Check out\u00a0Bath Connection<\/a>, see if there is a Bath alumnus working at that particular company, get in touch with them for a bit of friendly advice.<\/li>\n
  3. Remember the basics:<\/strong> All interview outfits should be clean, free of cat\u00a0hairs, deodorant marks, fraying hems or straining zips and buttons. The interviewer is going to be sitting staring at you for an hour and they will notice every sartorial flaw.<\/li>\n
  4. Don't do anything drastic:<\/strong> it is tempting splash out on a new outfit, however remember to stick to what you are comfortable in. For example, if you've never worn heels don't invest in 6-inch stilettos for the big day. You'll be far more concerned with not falling over then impressing your interviewer. Same goes for new hairstyles, make-up and accessories.<\/li>\n
  5. Good grooming is important:<\/strong> Men need to be clean-shaven or have their beards closely trimmed rather than straggly. Clean fingernails, fresh breath, shiny shoes, deodorant are all essential rather than afterthoughts. Use aftershave or perfume sparingly as it can be quite intense in a small interview room.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    You may want to check out this\u00a0video<\/a> by Monster.<\/p>\n

    Style Ideas for Fellas<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Everyone assumes that it\u2019s easy for men to dress for an interview; a shirt, suit and tie and then you\u2019re ready to go. If only it were that simple... Firstly, \u00a0do invest in a suit, shirt and tie \u2013 just be aware of the different ways you can wear them in order to suit different situations. They don\u2019t have to be particularly expensive \u2013 supermarkets and budget clothing stores now have office wear, it just might take a bit more searching to find the right outfit for you. Making sure your suits fits well is an absolute must, so definitely try before you buy. One way you can be versatile is to\u00a0wear your suit and shirt, without a tie. This \u00a0nods to the smart casual look.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Style Ideas for Ladies<\/strong><\/p>\n

    The staggering amount of choice makes it really hard for women to work out what to wear. As a starting point, invest in a good blouse and smart trousers \/ pencil skirt. \u00a0Neutral colors such as beiges, nudes and pale greys are \u00a0a great option and not drab and boring as black. \u00a0Show your personality with a nice scarf or broach - but don't go mad on jewelry as it can be quite distracting. Be careful with the choice of footwear. If you are comfortable with heels that's great, aim for mid length heel.\u00a0Flat shoes are definitely a great option, especially if the thought of wearing heels fills you with dread. Finally, keep makeup simple and natural.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    Good luck and remember you can pop in and see us for helpful and objective advice on what to wear at interview. Simply book a quick query <\/a>with one of our careers advisers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The email inviting you to interview has landed in your inbox, hurrah! You call your mum and tell her the good news and book a practice interview with the Careers team at Bath. Then it hits you... OMG! WHAT AM...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":384,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[748],"tags":[4,44,109],"class_list":["post-284","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-archive","tag-advice","tag-interviews","tag-smart-casual"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/384"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=284"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=284"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=284"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=284"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}