Dress Your Way Into That Job: For Men

posted by Esther Gbudje

‘If you dont look the part, you wont get the part’

Appropriate Interview Clothing
Getting a job sometimes start with an interview, If you will be interviewing, please remember that no matter what industry you are seeking a position in, your resume and experience will do most of the heavy lifting to get you into the door.

Your appearance – if not appropriately dressed, will destroy everything that your background and resume have accomplished. Remember, up to the minute you step foot into the interviewers office – it was your resume and background that got you there. Now is the time to risk nothing when it comes to proper clothing for your interview.
Remember that 80% of the first impression an interviewer gets of you is visual and formed in the first two minutes of meeting you.
How To Dress For a Job Interview
Wear a suit

Wearing a navy blue, black or dark grey suit is preferable.

If you can, buy at least two new suits that you will be able to wear for the first two interviews with the same organization. If it’s not in your budget to buy suits prior to interviews, take one out from your closet – preferably one right from the dry cleaners and take a close look at the suit looking for frays, loose buttons and that shiny look some suits get when they’ve been ironed too much.  Inspect the seat on the slacks, inner thighs and the top of the thighs looking for wear or shine.  Inspect your jacket and look at the lapels and shoulders for wear or shine.

Wear a white shirt

Why wear white? White is the perfect canvas for your suit and silk tie. It’s that simple. Don’t overly complicate the look. The shirts should be freshly pressed. Shirts can be straight collar, tab collar or button down.

Wear an appropriate silk necktie

Coordinating the necktie with the suit but don’t try matching the suit. You are not going for the Al Capone look. The tie should be preferably made of silk with a small pattern.

For business, a gentleman’s silk tie should be equally balanced to reflect first the organization and then the personality of person wearing it. Do not – and we cannot overemphasize this – do not wear cartoon ties or even symbol ties. Symbol ties have money signs, or stethoscope or just about any symbol synonymous with an industry or profession. Neckties worn for interviews should not be loud or too colorful – stick with a conservative look. Some of the more popular necktie colors for interview clothing are blue ties and burgundy ties.  Once you know what color suit you’ll be wearing, pick a tie and ask us if it goes – drop us a quick note. We would be more than happy to give you our opinion prior to your purchase.

Shoes

Yes – wear them, and stay away from loafers – too casual. Our recommended shoe is a lace up cap toe – in black. Please ensure that the shoes are clean, polished and do not have rounded heels or overly worn soles. These are all signs that you don’t care and – if you don’t care about yourself, you will probably care even less about the organization and it’s employees.

Socks

Always stay with the basics – black.

Career Clothing
We feel that executives and professionals should very much look the part that they play. Appropriate corporate attire is an important element in everyone’s careers.
With the suit comes new challenges such as how to match. Again, we cannot stress this enough, your career clothing should be a harmoniously blended reflection of the industry you are in, your organization and personal style.

If you need further guidance concerning men’s styles and assembling an appropriate career wardrobe, there are many books published on the subject that can assist you in defining your look – or, ask us!.

Selecting the right necktie
In selecting the right neckties – be careful not to overdress for the position. Yes, you can overdress, and the impression that is left is hard to overcome.
Let’s assume that you wear an expensive designer suit and tie – now let’s assume that this is your first job. What does that say about you and your attitude?
We believe the best guide in choosing the right necktie is starting with the price. Modesty counts – don’t overspend.
As we said, this is simply a guide, you should let your better judgment and your understanding of the corporate culture of the company you are interviewing be your final decision maker.
Basics in coordinating your neckties with your clothing.
Allow us to inspire you….here is a list of coordinating styles

Blue Suit:

For blue suits, try matching:

red silk ties, burgundy silk ties, yellow silk ties or gold silk ties

As an alternative try matching the following:

dark green silk ties, black silk ties, dark blue silk ties or a shade of purple or deep violet, with a faint neat pattern or stripes.

Black Suit:
For black suits, try matching:
red silk ties, burgundy silk ties, yellow silk ties or gold silk ties which generally work best with a black suit.
In Conclusion Dressing appropriately depends very much on how carefully you craft your image.
Consider the following in this order:
1. Type of organization
2. Your position within the organization
3. Your general likes and dislikes
Of course you know that these three rules have no bearing on casual and social dressing… when it comes to that the one rule that applies is “have fun”