When preparing for our dream job interview, we often go overboard deciding the perfect interview attire while ignoring all the professional boundaries. Therefore, what not to wear to an interview is equally important as what to wear to an interview.
Your outlook has a huge contribution in creating an enduring first impression and landing the job. What you wear to an interview is your second resume, which speaks for your professionalism and helps your recruiter assess your skills. On the contrary, appearing to your interview in untidy or inappropriate clothes may make you look impractical and disrespectful, causing you to lose your goodwill and eventually the job opportunity.
We cannot stress enough the importance of sophisticated interview attire. However, understanding the styling limitation of the professional dress code is also crucial. So, to help you dress up for your interview to impress your recruiter. Here are a few things to avoid wearing to your interview and create a lasting impression.
So, let us take a look at them!
What To Expect In This Article?
A Bold Color Palette
Choosing the right colors for your interview clothes can move you places. Be careful while picking colors for your outfit. Regardless of your personal preference, go for neutral shades and pair them with intense colors, e.g., olive green, and dark blue.
Dressing up in flashy and bright shades for your interview is against the professing dress code and may counter-act your professional image.
On the other hand, If you emphasize creating a style statement with flashy dresses and bold color outfits, tone it down with some different colors to speak elegance and professionalism for you. For Instance, you can wear a vibrant pink shirt and counterbalance the bold vibe with a grey blazer and pants for an utterly sober look.
Revealing Clothes
Showing some skin may be a good idea to stand out from the crowd at a social event but is considered unethical in corporate attire. While planning the perfect outfit to wear for the interview, choose clothes with full-body coverage.
For women, short and fancy tight dresses with plunging necklines, mini skirts, crop tops, and off-shoulder outfits are the worst clothes to wear in front of their recruiter. Instead, style your outfit with a workwear blazer and jackets for extra coverage. On the other hand, men should avoid showing up in shorts or crop pants with t-shirts at the interview venue.
Headgear
Although wearing headgear like a p-cap, hat or headphones may sound incredible, it is not an appropriate attire to wear at your workplace or an interview. Almost all the headwear comes under the casual dress code and does not comply with formal workplace clothing standards. However, women can wear a headscarf with their professional attire staying within the company’s dress code, but it is not obligatory for everyone.
Cloaking Under A Blazer
A blazer is among the most prominent clothing articles in the professional dress code. Wearing a blazer to an interview may add elegance and class to your whole look, but that does not mean one can conceal the wrinkled and untidy clothes under a blazer. The open lapels can’t hide all that. Therefore, wear sober and properly ironed tidy shirts underneath your blazer with a decent tie to save yourself from any uncalled embarrassment.
Layers of Makeup
Every woman around the globe desires to look presentable and beautiful. But, attending an important job interview with tons of makeup is not the right way to show your skills. Wearing bold lipstick and dark eyeshadow with layers of foundation may make you look overdressed and tacky.
The aim here is to look confident and fresh. No need to rush in and out of your makeup palette to find the perfect shades. A nude lip color with some light base and mascara will work here.
Absurdly Casual Style
Summer calls for comfortable casual clothes. After all, who wants to drench in sweat wearing those thick blazers and suits. But appearing in your interview in a t-shirt, shorts, baggy jeans, or flip-flops is inappropriate professional attire and will portray you as a non-serious and incompetent candidate.
Always try to aim for a semi-casual professional look for a summer interview. It does not matter; if the company has a relaxed and casual dress code for their employees, you have to depict your skills and professionalism through your outlook.
Overpowering Colognes And Perfumes
Even though smelling good is an essential civil ethic and depicts your good hygiene. But going beyond the limit with perfumes and colognes may have a negative impact.
While smelling nice is a plus point in your interview attire, using strong perfumes can be an unpleasant distraction. In addition, you may not know who is possibly allergic to your scent. So, try to wear a moderately light scent, as no one wants their perfume to be the only thing the interviewer remembers.
Overdoing Accessories
The interview should be about you, not your outfit and accessories. The recruiter wants to know about your skills, experience, and what contribution you can make to their business. So, highlighting your outfit by wearing excessive accessories may not work for you.
Women should avoid styling big dazzling earrings and necklaces for the interview; instead, choose to wear small elegant studs with delicate bracelets. On the other hand, accessories are not a big concern for men, but choosing the right cufflinks, belt, and tie pin is crucial.
Wrong Fitting
Your outfit represents your personality. Imagine wearing ill-fitting clothes to your interview and focusing all your attention on adjusting your clothes instead of focus what is being asked or said. That doesn’t sound pleasing, right? Therefore, wear the right fitting clothes to the interview to exhibit your personality and skill-set with confidence without constantly worrying about your outfit and look.
Once you start wearing slim-fit clothing stitched to your size, you will be surprised by the positive change in your attitude and appearance.
Ripped Clothing
Wearing jeans to an interview is a good idea for casual workplace cultures, but professional clothing has some styling limitations. Never attend an interview dressing up like an unprofessional person in ripped jeans shorts or distressed clothes.
The distressed clothing style is suitable for chilling around, but you will be considered unprofessional for dressing it in a professional environment. So, try to dress up in a simple and sober outfit for your interview.
Loud Prints and Patterns
Go for some basic patterns and prints to style for the interview day. When choosing the right dress, women should prefer to wear smaller prints in neutral colors for an enduring first impression.
On the other hand, men do not have much in this particular section, but they should be vigilant while selecting a decent print for their shirts. Save those big floral prints for your next beach hangout, and wear plaids or stripes instead.
Inappropriate Footwear
As per psychology, the first thing anyone notices about you is your footwear. Similarly, choosing appropriate footwear to complement your interview outfit can move you places. Wear comfy footwear that feels right on your feet without disrupting the professional dress code. Wearing flip-flops or tennis shoes to your interview can disrupt your professional image in the recruiter’s eye.
FAQ’s
Having nothing appropriate to wear to an interview is a genuine problem. Fortunately, most companies now have a business casual dress code. So, Women and men can both show up in a basic dress shirt with simple skinny jeans and formal footwear to the interview without giving it much of a thought. Moreover, wear a pair of formal shoes to add that oomph to this interview attire.
A pair of classic eye frames can make you look more witty and professional. So, adding them to your interview attire would be a plus point unless they are not some fashionable goggles. Wearing sunglasses to a formal meeting may make you look unprofessional and steal your chances of landing the job.
Wearing sandals to an interview is against the professional dress code in many professional places. However, with the innovative styles and designs introduced in the malls, there are a few options you can still opt for. For example, women can wear open toe high heels or dress sandals to an interview to create a lasting first impression.
Black jeans may not be an ideal professional outfit, but you can still style your skinny black jeans with a business casual shirt for an appropriate interview outfit. Wear your favorite button-down dress shirt with black jeans and style it with a leather blazer and pointed-toe pumps to create an impactful first impression.
An interview is usually a formal setting, so you should decide on your outfit accordingly. If the company has a formal business dress code, wearing a suit to an interview is acceptable. However, it would be inappropriate to wear a suit if the company encourages casual attire.
Conclusion
Wearing sophisticated-looking outfits to an interview is crucial to making an influential first impression. Therefore, knowing what not to wear for an interview is equally important to set the right vibe for your look and presentation. Therefore, we have concluded all the impractical styling mistakes in this article to help you dress up flawless for your next interview. So, follow our advice and land your dream job with an enduring first impression.
