What to Wear to a Job Interview

In another life, I reigned countess professional
Business suits stapled my high school senior year,
favoring a briefcase over a backpack.
Graduated in Marketing,
added the MBA acronym.
Interned with GE,
job offer from Accenture.
Vice president before the age of twenty-five.

Doubt not what may appear to be an unassuming fashion flirt at present.  Trust me when I say, I can help you dress for a job interview

Step one:  Determine the dress code
Somewhere in the eclipse of the last decade, dotcom scruffies partnered with premium denim manufactures and admitted flip flops, screen printed t-shirts, and short pants into the corporate closet. Fortuitously, inevitable economics and time-honored taste burst that bedheaded bubble, yet in the rubble we are left with only hazy shimmering hints at what used to be clear dress code boundaries.

Thus savvy employment pursants assume the role of industrial anthropologist and ask insiders about day to day dress.  Established vocational vestiges are direct indications of corporate culture.  If the office standard includes jeans, t-shirts, and high tops, don't dryclean your suit.  Adopt the office orthodox but elevate it ever so slightly with a blazer.

Arriving in the cultural equivalent of either a prom gown or pajama knickers shows a lack of regard for the trade's traditions.

Step two: Add yourself
Don't forget to bring yourself to the interview.  Secure every uniform snap, but add a touch of your own charisma: a brooch on your blazer, a scarf on your satchel.  Mix three parts conformity with one part creativity to stand out and above the competition.

And should the costume you assume for the audition makes you feel self conscious, perhaps you should reconsider your character choice.

Step three: Orient your details
Now is the time to indulge your OCD tendencies.  A run in your stockings translates into sloppy phone etiquette.  A missed button on your shirt sleeve indicates a tendency to miss deadlines.  Shoe scuffs construe a propensity to send e-mails san-spellcheck.

Step four: Go underboard
Avoid undue distractions: dark sticky lipstick on your teeth, maniacal hair tossing, strong, musky odors.  Makeup should be simple and pretty.  Hair should be neat and secure.  Scents should be clean and fresh.

Limit yourself to three accessories and select a bag and overcoat based on the fact that they will be the first and last thing your interviewer sees.

In short your interview outfit should introduce you from across the room, act as a reference in favor of your skills and abilities, then get out of the way.

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