A friend suggested to wear formal suit, the better you dress, the more pay you can demand. I'm not used to dress in suit and wonder if it will be too formal? I'm used to dress very casual, But tointerview a big company, people may dress much formal than I used to. Any suggestions?
a suit is not necessary, but you should look professional and wear something that you are comfortable with. more importantly be confident and knowledgeable.
Great, thanks for all the suggestions! Any suggestions for the brand of the suit? Should I wear white or other other color shirt with the suite? Or nice quality sweater? Any suggestions are welcome, I need some fashion make over.
Also do you send a thank you card after interview? When should u send it? RIght afterwards, or waite a few days? Will that really mattes?
I've been told to dress one step above their dress. So if they wear a tie, then you wear a suit. If they wear a collared shirt, then wear a tie. Looks professional, yet not too dressed up.
It really doesn't hurt to overdress. It doesn't matter whether their daily dress code is several steps below your interview outfit - being overdressed for an interview is ok, and MUCH better than being underdressed.
My office is about the most casual around but we still have lots of people come to interview who are wearing suits. It generally isn't cause for remark - (the exception being the guy in the 3-piece suit from the 70s.) On the other hand, people who have showed up dressed extremely casually have raised concern - even though we wouldn't mind if they dressed that way on an ordinary work day it just doesn't sit right in an interview setting.
A shirt or blouse with your suit - any color that coordinates well, or a fairly neutral sweater are all fine.
Thank you very much for all the responses. I realized I made so much mistakes. Worked for almost 6 years now, I never wear a suit to an interview yet. It will be very helpful this time around.
black or grey three button suit.
white shirt.
clean and simple; you can wear a tie or open colar depending on formalities.
let the acessories define your style (socks, watch, tie, glasses.. although not all at once)
wore a suit to an interview with a 30+ person firm. partner was in torn jeans and yuppy sweater. he was smirking through most of the interview, cuz he was a DE-zainer and suits are for squares, daddy-o.
Have 2 or 3 suits but would never wear them to an interview. Unless i had a suit that was very clearly worth more than most cars, in which case i would probably sleep in it...
as someone said above, wear what you are comfortable in as long as its nice, and most of all be confident. if you have the right attitude and can demonstrate the requisite chops the rest is not even remotely important.
To address your story, jump, the thing with being overdressed is, acknowledge it (maybe this is true of being underdressed too). If you show up in a suit and the interviewer is in torn jeans, make a joke about it, AT YOUR OWN EXPENSE not the interviewers, and move on.
Pretending you don't notice the disparity in dress code is unconfortable for everyone. I still believe wearing a suit is at the very least a sign of respect: that you take the interview, and the interviewer, seriously, that you aren't just dropping in after mowing the lawn to chat with the guy in the office.
My personal belief is that uncomfortable situations should always be acknowledged, just to get them out of the way of what you're actually trying to discuss. Except for farting, as Miss Manners says: socially, a fart does not exist.
rationalist:
microbarbells and different studs won't help all piercings, and as I see it I'm going to be wearing my jewelry everyday at work so they might as well know about it now rather than later. and I'm willing to guess that for my interviews people would prefer that I don't take my 3/4" plugs out of my ears. personally the only piercing I'd "hide" would be my septum piercing, which I would just flip the retainer that I wear up into my nose. but the upside to obvious piercings is that its a nice balance to when I do actually dress up for an interview. plus I see them as a deterant against firms I wouldn't want to work for.
that's another way to go with it... I got a nice brown ball-less titanium bar for my industrial that blends nicely with my hair and some amber bcr's for just this sort of thing that I figured they say, "I'm going to make an effort to look nice, but I'm not removing them" to potential employers. Though I may try your way next time, because it would be really nice to work in a less conservative office, and the multiplying piercings are probably something that would incite a noticable reaction from conservatives.
So, having just finished the interview process for the same type of position, I have to agree with liberty bell...if you are totally overdressed, acknowledge it.
Also, I think it really depends on the region you live in...for example, interviewing in LA is WAY more casual than, lets say...Minneapolis. Where I used to work in Minneapolis, it was rather shocking if you showed up in a skirt and no hose...and it would really help if you had some pearls on.
Also, because I got caught off guard by this one, if you are interviewing on Friday, ask if they have a casual Fridays...or at least keep that option in mind.
Because I was going from a two man firm to the corporate world, I got
my sister, who is totally more conservative than I, to give me a complete job interview makeover. Most of the interviews I had were with guys in chinos and short sleeve, button down shirts. I also got heads up about dress codes from people who were already working in the offices.
Usually, I wore black pants and a "nice sweater" (silk and short-sleeve)
Other than that, I have a suit that I really like, the jacket has an a-typical cut (it comes down to mid calf) and I usually wear it with a non button down shirt and pants, that way if I feel uncomfortably overdressed, I can just take off the jacket. Then again, my figure doesn't allow for button down shirts.
So, having just finished the interview process for the same type of position, I have to agree with liberty bell...if you are totally overdressed, acknowledge it.
Also, I think it really depends on the region you live in...for example, interviewing in LA is WAY more casual than, lets say...Minneapolis. Where I used to work in Minneapolis, it was rather shocking if you showed up in a skirt and no hose...and it would really help if you had some pearls on.
Also, because I got caught off guard by this one, if you are interviewing on Friday, ask if they have a casual Fridays...or at least keep that option in mind.
Because I was going from a two man firm to the corporate world, I got
my sister, who is totally more conservative than I, to give me a complete job interview makeover. Most of the interviews I had were with guys in chinos and short sleeve, button down shirts. I also got heads up about dress codes from people who were already working in the offices.
Usually, I wore black pants and a "nice sweater" (silk and short-sleeve)
Other than that, I have a suit that I really like, the jacket has an a-typical cut (it comes down to mid calf) and I usually wear it with a non button down shirt and pants, that way if I feel uncomfortably overdressed, I can just take off the jacket. Then again, my figure doesn't allow for button down shirts.
in my case the suit wasn't more of an issue than a smirky look and since i had been wearing suits for years in japan i was totally comfy, no worries. what scutled the interview was the fact that the laidback dude was a prime toff, dressing down cuz he thought that was what creative people do, but still a toff. We both knew within 15 minutes that we were not going tobe working together and hte suit had nil to do with it...
don't get me wrong i like nice clothes and i wear them, but a suit is just sad (unless, as i said before it is an armani, or similar, in which case all bets are off). what sucks is that it took me a few years to realise that. but luckily a bit of time in london totally cured me of the urge to dress like i wanna be a banker...;-)
a good friend here goes to meetings with executives of multi-nationals wearing nothing but his khaki shorts and shirt hanging out and he still gets the big contracts, so i am more of the mind that it comes down to attitude (which he has). for me the offices that require suits just ain't my bag anymore, so the whole question is rather surreal. i mean, if the office is concerned about your dress do you really wanna work for them? the very thought of casual fridays makes me shudder. ugh. wrong culture boyo.
Hmmm, jump. I'm self-employed now so I wear jeans most days. But I've been at an AIA conference the last two days, wore a suit one day and dress shirt/trousers/heels today (Friday) for the first time in a while. And I really like dressing up - I feel more professional, I walk differently (heels, in part) I think I'm more of a "presence" when I'm dressed professionally.
I don't expect people to think I'm smarter or better because I'm dressed up, but I hope they don't get the opposite effect either - that I'm dressing up to cover for professional inadequacies.
No matter the situation, I still feel that dressing up shows some sort of respect for a situation, especially in an interview. More power to your buddy for being so confident in his abilities to wear shorts to a meeting, but that will never be me. But then, I still dress up (slightly) for flying on an airplane, even, so there's something romantic about it for me I guess.
(slightly off topic) liberty bell: whenever I fly to UK I always dress up- jacket and shirt and tie- because Heathrow for me is still a bit of an event- besides even if I feel pretty grotty at 4 am (my time) when I arrive after an overnight flight, I still want to look decent. I suspect this thing about dressing up (slightly) when one flies is pretty old-fashioned... It's not so much romantic for me (being a man) but, like Virgina Woolf, I am deeply insecure about my clothes, and hardly ever feel I look good in anything I wear. I don't know how to buy clothes for myself. My navy blue Ermenegildo Zegna suit hangs in the cupboard in its bag gathering dust. So too a chocolate-brown Harris tweed suit which I had tailored from cloth I bought in London in 1974.
yeah to be honest i wouldn't be able to wear khakis to a meeting with a multi-millionaire client either...though that is a bit different from wearing a uniform at the office.
dressin up for yourself is totally cool. the airplane thing is understandable, though lately i am flying with my 1 year old and whatever i wear ends up with spittle or worse all over it, so i tend to dress down.
actually I thought it impolite to mention that: I thought to myself no matter what you wear, Reason, you're not going to get that big job because YOU CAN'T SPELL!
For most firms, a suit is too dressy, but a suit jacket is always good. Most important, though, remember you are in the design profession, so look fashionable; maybe a suit jacket worn with coordinating but non matching pants or skirt, interesting jewelry, etc. You can look really professional and 'put together' in a designy way without wearing a suit and looking too stiff. I would go for the pants instead of a skirt. It has more authority, and easier to invision you out on a job site than when you are in a skirt. You don't want to be too 'girly' for sure- men will immediately think you don't knwo what you are doing.
Also when you type in the office and afraid anyone else may see it, I think it is understandable to make some mistake when typing. I really appreciate all the good advices.
Reason: in that case your typo is OK. I only wish I was clever enough to have a second language. I think typos on this site are fine and to be expected.
i like to dress up.... but more than that i like to have style.
i've completely abandoned the basic black suit for interviews and now i'm all about the navy blue with baby blue pinstripes ;) i think that any firm that i'd ever work for at this point would have to accept the fact that i show my respect by carefully dressing myself without following the banker's uniform.
thank god i'm surrounded by chino and polo shirt wearing engineers.... i'm already a step ahead.
hmmm, i am curious about this nice legs bit/
why on earth should you hide nice legs?
i mean, i wouldnt recommend a mini, but geez, what's wrong with some femininity?
especially when it's not a string of pearls?
though, as some of you may have noted in the men's fashion of the times this sunday, pearls are the new bling. i even spotted a quite stunning gold and pearl rosary clasped at the back of a very handsome man's neck this afternoon. not at an interview though.
Sep 20, 05 11:24 pm ·
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What to wear for project architect/project mamager position
A friend suggested to wear formal suit, the better you dress, the more pay you can demand. I'm not used to dress in suit and wonder if it will be too formal? I'm used to dress very casual, But tointerview a big company, people may dress much formal than I used to. Any suggestions?
Wear a tux and bring some plastic stemware and a cold cheap botttle of bubbly.
I have to clarify, that it's for a female architect. Still should wear suit, I guess, but no tux for sure.
i've heard many a firm that will look at you like an idiot if you wore a suit... it just isn't their culture. these were mostly small firms thought.
for most big firms, all i see are suits.
a suit is not necessary, but you should look professional and wear something that you are comfortable with. more importantly be confident and knowledgeable.
Dress a little bit nicer than you intend to dress for a typical work day. A little too formal is a better mistake than a little too casual.
But if it's a firm of more than 30 employees, go for a suit. It's a gesture of respect if nothing else.
Great, thanks for all the suggestions! Any suggestions for the brand of the suit? Should I wear white or other other color shirt with the suite? Or nice quality sweater? Any suggestions are welcome, I need some fashion make over.
Also do you send a thank you card after interview? When should u send it? RIght afterwards, or waite a few days? Will that really mattes?
a hard hat
or a space suit, how uber cool
I've been told to dress one step above their dress. So if they wear a tie, then you wear a suit. If they wear a collared shirt, then wear a tie. Looks professional, yet not too dressed up.
A SUIT......Damn Mr. reason, why would you think twice about wearing a very nice suit?
It really doesn't hurt to overdress. It doesn't matter whether their daily dress code is several steps below your interview outfit - being overdressed for an interview is ok, and MUCH better than being underdressed.
My office is about the most casual around but we still have lots of people come to interview who are wearing suits. It generally isn't cause for remark - (the exception being the guy in the 3-piece suit from the 70s.) On the other hand, people who have showed up dressed extremely casually have raised concern - even though we wouldn't mind if they dressed that way on an ordinary work day it just doesn't sit right in an interview setting.
A shirt or blouse with your suit - any color that coordinates well, or a fairly neutral sweater are all fine.
Thank you very much for all the responses. I realized I made so much mistakes. Worked for almost 6 years now, I never wear a suit to an interview yet. It will be very helpful this time around.
whatever you do just make sure the barn door is shut.
A dandy bithday suit would be quite bespoke.
black or grey three button suit.
white shirt.
clean and simple; you can wear a tie or open colar depending on formalities.
let the acessories define your style (socks, watch, tie, glasses.. although not all at once)
white tie
...and that's it. just a white tie.
or steel-toed boots
if you're heavily pierced, maybe invest in some quality microbarbells or titanium studs to be discreet about it.
wore a suit to an interview with a 30+ person firm. partner was in torn jeans and yuppy sweater. he was smirking through most of the interview, cuz he was a DE-zainer and suits are for squares, daddy-o.
Have 2 or 3 suits but would never wear them to an interview. Unless i had a suit that was very clearly worth more than most cars, in which case i would probably sleep in it...
as someone said above, wear what you are comfortable in as long as its nice, and most of all be confident. if you have the right attitude and can demonstrate the requisite chops the rest is not even remotely important.
black is Ok even if is something more casual than a suit
just black
To address your story, jump, the thing with being overdressed is, acknowledge it (maybe this is true of being underdressed too). If you show up in a suit and the interviewer is in torn jeans, make a joke about it, AT YOUR OWN EXPENSE not the interviewers, and move on.
Pretending you don't notice the disparity in dress code is unconfortable for everyone. I still believe wearing a suit is at the very least a sign of respect: that you take the interview, and the interviewer, seriously, that you aren't just dropping in after mowing the lawn to chat with the guy in the office.
My personal belief is that uncomfortable situations should always be acknowledged, just to get them out of the way of what you're actually trying to discuss. Except for farting, as Miss Manners says: socially, a fart does not exist.
rationalist:
microbarbells and different studs won't help all piercings, and as I see it I'm going to be wearing my jewelry everyday at work so they might as well know about it now rather than later. and I'm willing to guess that for my interviews people would prefer that I don't take my 3/4" plugs out of my ears. personally the only piercing I'd "hide" would be my septum piercing, which I would just flip the retainer that I wear up into my nose. but the upside to obvious piercings is that its a nice balance to when I do actually dress up for an interview. plus I see them as a deterant against firms I wouldn't want to work for.
that's another way to go with it... I got a nice brown ball-less titanium bar for my industrial that blends nicely with my hair and some amber bcr's for just this sort of thing that I figured they say, "I'm going to make an effort to look nice, but I'm not removing them" to potential employers. Though I may try your way next time, because it would be really nice to work in a less conservative office, and the multiplying piercings are probably something that would incite a noticable reaction from conservatives.
So, having just finished the interview process for the same type of position, I have to agree with liberty bell...if you are totally overdressed, acknowledge it.
Also, I think it really depends on the region you live in...for example, interviewing in LA is WAY more casual than, lets say...Minneapolis. Where I used to work in Minneapolis, it was rather shocking if you showed up in a skirt and no hose...and it would really help if you had some pearls on.
Also, because I got caught off guard by this one, if you are interviewing on Friday, ask if they have a casual Fridays...or at least keep that option in mind.
Because I was going from a two man firm to the corporate world, I got
my sister, who is totally more conservative than I, to give me a complete job interview makeover. Most of the interviews I had were with guys in chinos and short sleeve, button down shirts. I also got heads up about dress codes from people who were already working in the offices.
Usually, I wore black pants and a "nice sweater" (silk and short-sleeve)
Other than that, I have a suit that I really like, the jacket has an a-typical cut (it comes down to mid calf) and I usually wear it with a non button down shirt and pants, that way if I feel uncomfortably overdressed, I can just take off the jacket. Then again, my figure doesn't allow for button down shirts.
So, having just finished the interview process for the same type of position, I have to agree with liberty bell...if you are totally overdressed, acknowledge it.
Also, I think it really depends on the region you live in...for example, interviewing in LA is WAY more casual than, lets say...Minneapolis. Where I used to work in Minneapolis, it was rather shocking if you showed up in a skirt and no hose...and it would really help if you had some pearls on.
Also, because I got caught off guard by this one, if you are interviewing on Friday, ask if they have a casual Fridays...or at least keep that option in mind.
Because I was going from a two man firm to the corporate world, I got
my sister, who is totally more conservative than I, to give me a complete job interview makeover. Most of the interviews I had were with guys in chinos and short sleeve, button down shirts. I also got heads up about dress codes from people who were already working in the offices.
Usually, I wore black pants and a "nice sweater" (silk and short-sleeve)
Other than that, I have a suit that I really like, the jacket has an a-typical cut (it comes down to mid calf) and I usually wear it with a non button down shirt and pants, that way if I feel uncomfortably overdressed, I can just take off the jacket. Then again, my figure doesn't allow for button down shirts.
in my case the suit wasn't more of an issue than a smirky look and since i had been wearing suits for years in japan i was totally comfy, no worries. what scutled the interview was the fact that the laidback dude was a prime toff, dressing down cuz he thought that was what creative people do, but still a toff. We both knew within 15 minutes that we were not going tobe working together and hte suit had nil to do with it...
don't get me wrong i like nice clothes and i wear them, but a suit is just sad (unless, as i said before it is an armani, or similar, in which case all bets are off). what sucks is that it took me a few years to realise that. but luckily a bit of time in london totally cured me of the urge to dress like i wanna be a banker...;-)
a good friend here goes to meetings with executives of multi-nationals wearing nothing but his khaki shorts and shirt hanging out and he still gets the big contracts, so i am more of the mind that it comes down to attitude (which he has). for me the offices that require suits just ain't my bag anymore, so the whole question is rather surreal. i mean, if the office is concerned about your dress do you really wanna work for them? the very thought of casual fridays makes me shudder. ugh. wrong culture boyo.
Hmmm, jump. I'm self-employed now so I wear jeans most days. But I've been at an AIA conference the last two days, wore a suit one day and dress shirt/trousers/heels today (Friday) for the first time in a while. And I really like dressing up - I feel more professional, I walk differently (heels, in part) I think I'm more of a "presence" when I'm dressed professionally.
I don't expect people to think I'm smarter or better because I'm dressed up, but I hope they don't get the opposite effect either - that I'm dressing up to cover for professional inadequacies.
No matter the situation, I still feel that dressing up shows some sort of respect for a situation, especially in an interview. More power to your buddy for being so confident in his abilities to wear shorts to a meeting, but that will never be me. But then, I still dress up (slightly) for flying on an airplane, even, so there's something romantic about it for me I guess.
(slightly off topic) liberty bell: whenever I fly to UK I always dress up- jacket and shirt and tie- because Heathrow for me is still a bit of an event- besides even if I feel pretty grotty at 4 am (my time) when I arrive after an overnight flight, I still want to look decent. I suspect this thing about dressing up (slightly) when one flies is pretty old-fashioned... It's not so much romantic for me (being a man) but, like Virgina Woolf, I am deeply insecure about my clothes, and hardly ever feel I look good in anything I wear. I don't know how to buy clothes for myself. My navy blue Ermenegildo Zegna suit hangs in the cupboard in its bag gathering dust. So too a chocolate-brown Harris tweed suit which I had tailored from cloth I bought in London in 1974.
yeah to be honest i wouldn't be able to wear khakis to a meeting with a multi-millionaire client either...though that is a bit different from wearing a uniform at the office.
dressin up for yourself is totally cool. the airplane thing is understandable, though lately i am flying with my 1 year old and whatever i wear ends up with spittle or worse all over it, so i tend to dress down.
if I lived in a very hot, tropical climate I would wear pyjamas all the time: like a character out of Conrad...
lookin sharp and feelin dull...
is anyone else laughing becasue he wrote MAMAGER? heee heee
actually I thought it impolite to mention that: I thought to myself no matter what you wear, Reason, you're not going to get that big job because YOU CAN'T SPELL!
For most firms, a suit is too dressy, but a suit jacket is always good. Most important, though, remember you are in the design profession, so look fashionable; maybe a suit jacket worn with coordinating but non matching pants or skirt, interesting jewelry, etc. You can look really professional and 'put together' in a designy way without wearing a suit and looking too stiff. I would go for the pants instead of a skirt. It has more authority, and easier to invision you out on a job site than when you are in a skirt. You don't want to be too 'girly' for sure- men will immediately think you don't knwo what you are doing.
Sorry for the typo. Since it's my second language, so please do forgive me.
Also when you type in the office and afraid anyone else may see it, I think it is understandable to make some mistake when typing. I really appreciate all the good advices.
do not wear dress or skirt. especially if you have nice legs.
Reason: in that case your typo is OK. I only wish I was clever enough to have a second language. I think typos on this site are fine and to be expected.
Vintage Valentino
i like to dress up.... but more than that i like to have style.
i've completely abandoned the basic black suit for interviews and now i'm all about the navy blue with baby blue pinstripes ;) i think that any firm that i'd ever work for at this point would have to accept the fact that i show my respect by carefully dressing myself without following the banker's uniform.
thank god i'm surrounded by chino and polo shirt wearing engineers.... i'm already a step ahead.
has anyone gotten a bad response from a tattoo?
hmmm, i am curious about this nice legs bit/
why on earth should you hide nice legs?
i mean, i wouldnt recommend a mini, but geez, what's wrong with some femininity?
especially when it's not a string of pearls?
though, as some of you may have noted in the men's fashion of the times this sunday, pearls are the new bling. i even spotted a quite stunning gold and pearl rosary clasped at the back of a very handsome man's neck this afternoon. not at an interview though.
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