Poor Clothing Can Lead To Interview Disasters

When you're preparing for an interview, you probably do some research. At the very least, you may read the job specification and try to find out a bit about the company that you're hoping to be working for. But do you spend much time thinking about what you'll be wearing?

Some people spend a great amount of time thinking about exactly what they intend to wear. They get their clothes ready a day or two in advance, ensuring that everything is cleaned and ironed. Why do they take this approach?

The reason why some people are concerned about making sure that they have the right clothes is because they know that what you wear will create a massive impression. You'll be sending out signals to potential employers. What you'll be aiming to do is to show that you're professional, reliable and that you want the job.

So how do you go about showing this? You need to dress in a manner that suggests that you are the type of person that should be employed. If you're male then that certainly means wearing a suit, shirt and tie. Some people would suggest that it's acceptable to take a more casual approach but most employers, when asked, appear to disagree.

In fact, a recent survey in the UK suggested that 60% of employers would refuse to employ someone if they felt that the candidate was not appropriately dressed at the interview. This should come as a real warning to many of us.

It's clear that the failure to dress in the expected way is going to reduce our chances of interview success. As a result, there's no doubt that we need to put a lot of thought into what we will wear when we attend an interview. If you're not used to thinking in this way then it may well be time to change your approach.

Your appearance will have a big impact on your career. That may not sound fair, but it describes the current situation in the job market.


Find out about interview clothes and formal clothing, as discussed by Keith Barrett. This article may be used by any website publisher, though this resource box must always be included in full.