Job interviews can be a daunting prospect for just about anyone. In such serious and tense environments, it’s likely that candidates will be looking to gain any kind of advantage that they can find to appeal to their prospective employers–and this means that choosing the right style may become an art form.
If you’re feeling a little nervous in the days building up to a job interview, you might find some comfort in knowing that you’re not alone. As much as 93% of all candidates get nervous ahead of an interview, with feelings of anxiety perfectly natural in the circumstances.
There are many psychological tools that can be used to ease nerves, such as making small talk with your interviewers before you get started, or taking a moment to place and reposition your chair before sitting down. However, there are few better ways to gain confidence before the big interview than to master your style in advance.
In an environment where every little measure can go a long way, having the ability to enter an interview environment knowing that you’ve mastered your look can work wonders in building confidence. But how can you master your interview style? And what measures should you take for video interviews? Let’s take a deeper look at the rich and varied world of interview style:
Research and Exceed the Dress Code
Not all job interviews require a black suit and a formal look. There are many roles that are far more liberal about dressing more comfortably or suitably for daily tasks. However, in the case of job interviews, it can be a great idea to seek to dress one step up from your expected dress code within a company.
This means that if your prospective workplace features both team leaders and employees wearing jeans and t-shirts, wearing semi-formal jeans and tucked-in shirts can be an appropriate way of showing that you mean business without appearing needlessly show-offy.
To do this, you’ll need to check out your company’s dress code, culture, and workplace expectations. There are a few ways that this can be researched, and the easiest way is to get in touch directly with your point of contact within the company.
If you’d prefer to be more subtle, you can check out your interviewing company’s social media profiles or website to check out what employees are wearing on typical days in the office.
However, if you’re ever in doubt, always seek to dress more professionally.
Suit Essentials
If your interviewers are set to be more formally dressed, it’s important that you get your suit essentials right.
In most cases, it’s appropriate for you to wear a suit to an interview in order to make the best impression. This means that you’ll need to get your attire on point to make the best impression, and may call for:
- Combining a matching suit jacket with slacks and a button-down shirt and tie
- Adding a sweater over a button-down shirt
- Wearing a statement dress
- Combining a blouse with dress pants
Here, it’s worth remembering that other candidates are likely to take the same approach to their interview style, so incorporating some form of personalization in terms of color without being too out-there can be a great way of ensuring that you stand out.
With this in mind, try to avoid neon colors, or dressing in all black, and instead seek to ensure that you look great and memorable without being too ostentatious with your formal attire.
Accessories That Mean Business
Interviews invariably involve plenty of intense focus on body language. Both interviewers and interviewees alike are heavily intent on searching for semantic cues in the expressions and responses of their counterparts, and this means that a candidate’s choice of accessories can carry far more weight in these scenarios than in any other.
Your choice of cufflinks, glasses, watch, earrings, bag, shoes, or any other jewelry can be a major part of making a big impression. Once again, it’s important to avoid being ostentatious when it comes to accessories. Bright colors can help you to stand out but can also risk making you appear eccentric or a non-conformist, which to some interviewers may be a cause for concern.
Instead, look for subtle, timeless styles that can combine plenty of character and tradition. Here, eyewear styles like that of Rag & Bone can form a smart choice for candidates. Other natural blends like a brown leather watch and shoe combination to accompany a blue suit can be a great style to adopt.
In utilizing the right accessories, you can provide a subconscious indication to interviewers that you’re dedicated to finer details and care for your appearance as a representative of the company, which can be two great qualities to convey.
Adapt Accordingly for a Virtual Interview
With more interviews taking place entirely online now, it’s important to emphasize that the rules for a Zoom interview should remain the same as an in-person interview.
While it can be tempting to dress formally for your torso while keeping pajama bottoms on and out of view, this approach could risk tricking your brain into becoming too relaxed and less responsive to the line of questioning you’ll be about to receive.
It’s also important to bear in mind that your whole background will be the subject of scrutiny, at least on an unconscious level. This means that any clutter or inappropriate decor should be moved out of view to help you to underline the image that you’re attempting to give off with your dress sense.
Get Your Scent Right
Finally, it’s worth noting that a surprisingly common part of many interviewees attempting to deal with pre-interview anxiety is to over-utilize cologne or perfume as a means of ensuring that their scent is pleasant to the interviewer.
Although this can come from a well-meaning place, it can overpower interviewers and have an opposite effect in their perception of your suitability. Furthermore, overly strong scents mean that hiring managers may become distracted from your responses, causing you to effectively undo much of your hard work and revision.
Overall, always remember that feeling nervous before an interview is extremely common among candidates, and you may be surprised to know that even employers can suffer from nerves when meeting new candidates in interview environments!
Although it’s impossible to completely control how a job interview goes, it’s essential that you manage your nerves by controlling the variables that you can directly influence, like your style and coordination. By giving yourself the best chance of settling your nerves, you can give yourself a great chance of mastering your interview.
