• Hi, I am the owner and main administrator of Styleforum. If you find the forum useful and fun, please help support it by buying through the posted links on the forum. Our main, very popular sales thread, where the latest and best sales are listed, are posted HERE

    Purchases made through some of our links earns a commission for the forum and allows us to do the work of maintaining and improving it. Finally, thanks for being a part of this community. We realize that there are many choices today on the internet, and we have all of you to thank for making Styleforum the foremost destination for discussions of menswear.
  • This site contains affiliate links for which Styleforum may be compensated.
  • We would like to welcome House of Huntington as an official Affiliate Vendor. Shop past season Drake's, Nigel Cabourn, Private White V.C. and other menswear luxury brands at exceptional prices below retail. Please visit the Houise of Huntington thread and welcome them to the forum.

  • STYLE. COMMUNITY. GREAT CLOTHING.

    Bored of counting likes on social networks? At Styleforum, you’ll find rousing discussions that go beyond strings of emojis.

    Click Here to join Styleforum's thousands of style enthusiasts today!

    Styleforum is supported in part by commission earning affiliate links sitewide. Please support us by using them. You may learn more here.

HELP! Job interview.. what do I buy to wear (I have zero dress attire)?

greatfire

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 7, 2006
Messages
126
Reaction score
0
Hey,

I have a job interview coming up in one week from monday. I'm excited, but I have one problem: what do I wear?

edit: I'm a Computer Engineering major, and this is an on campus interview for an internship position next Summer.

I know I probably don't have to wear a suit, so pants, a shirt, and (maybe) a tie will be enough.

Anyone have any recommendations as to which pair of pants, shirt, and tie I should get?

Height: 6'1"
Weight: 160lbs
Age: 20

Neck: 16-16.5"
Chest: measures exactly 40", so I upgrade to a 42-44XL when getting a non-t-shirt
Sleeve length: 36".. yes, I know, I have long arms.
Waist: measures 33'ish inches, so I wear a 34. A size 33" fits uncomfortably close.
Inseam: I usually get 32 when buying jeans, but the exact measurement, from crotch to floor: 38"
Waist-To-Floor: Measuring where the tuxedo line would be, I get a 44" length from my waist to the floor.
Mid-thigh: 19.5" around.
Calf: 14.75" around.

My back is a little bit hunched forward (years of carrying a school bag), my legs are scrawny, and I don't think I have an ass (though I may be average in this dept).
What else do you need?

What kind of shirt should I get? What color?
What kind of pants? Pleated? Flat Front?
What kind of shoes do I need? What color?
Should I wear a tie? What kind? What color?

Any other tips?

I've been a church-goer my whole life, but since college started, I haven't been. So now all of my "church" clothes don't fit anymore.

I'm pretty skinny, and tall, if you have deduced that already.

Basically, I'm looking for someone to suggest actual outfits.

Thanks!

I don't know how dress clothes are priced, so I don't know what to set my budget at, but I don't need anything expensive, or super name brand (ie, overly expensive). The look and fit are most important, then brand, I guess.
 

Jared

Distinguished Member
Joined
Sep 19, 2006
Messages
1,608
Reaction score
4
I'm gonna call troll for anyone who posts their mid-thigh measurements but gives no details about the job. (Either that, or IT!)
biggrin.gif
 

GBR

Distinguished Member
Joined
Mar 15, 2006
Messages
8,551
Reaction score
732
If you have allegedly been a "Church goer" all your life you do not need to ask such naive questions, give us this detailed list of your measurements yet not tell us if your interview is for a lawyer's job or a garbage collector or your budget.

Can I suggest that you know what you should wear and just get on with it?
 

greatfire

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 7, 2006
Messages
126
Reaction score
0
Are you joking?

This is an interview (on the 10th of Oct) for an internship position next summer. I'm a Computer Engineering major, and I'm in college.
 

broady

Senior Member
Joined
Jul 11, 2006
Messages
105
Reaction score
0
Ah, of course. We should have inferred that..
 

DocHolliday

Stylish Dinosaur
Dubiously Honored
Joined
Apr 21, 2005
Messages
16,090
Reaction score
1,158
You won't like my response, but ...

Wear a suit. If you're competing with others for this position, you need a suit. If it's not particularly competitive, you might -- and I stress might -- get away with a shirt, tie and dress trousers. Stay far away from polos for this purpose. Even if everyone in the office is wearing khakis and polos, job applicants are still expected to wear a suit, or at least a tie.

You're in college, so there's some slack here. But when you start interviewing for jobs, you'll need a suit. So, if you can possibly manage it, it would be good to get one. Doesn't need to be anything fancy. Pleats or no pleats, your choice. Just make sure it fits well. If you go with solid charcoal or navy, you'll be able to wear it almost anywhere you need to dress up -- job interviews, funerals, weddings, etc.

Good luck, keep us posted on how it goes, and don't hesitate to ask more questions.
 

Man In Space

Senior Member
Joined
Jul 8, 2006
Messages
199
Reaction score
0
OK, so maybe he didn't ask the question in the most effective manner but was the pile-on really called for?

I will second Doc's advice although I will say that in this day and age for many positions you could "get away" with a sportcoat w/tie and dress slacks.
Show the company that you respect them by dressing up.

Plain white or light blue dress shirt (no crazy Banana Republic stripes), conservative tie (maybe red with white or blue stripes) and medium grey trousers. Navy blazer or grey sportcoat (darker than the pants). Black shoes are safe.
 

Jared

Distinguished Member
Joined
Sep 19, 2006
Messages
1,608
Reaction score
4
Company culture, the size of the company, and the part of the world they're in can make a big difference.

I have recently done interviews for entry-level positions in IT in a mid-sized city on the West Coast. The company is around 500 staff, 10 years old, and kind of public-sector. Daily wear is jeans and T-shirts for most IT personnel, polos and khakis for their managers, etc.

The last round of interviewing we did, the two candidates we hired were both wearing suits. The only candidates whose dress was poor enough that it left an impression were a guy who was dressed in tasteful sports clothes (like a dark track jacket and cargo pants or something) and a late-middle-aged career switcher who wore a loud tweed blazer.
wink.gif


For the interviews I was wearing khakis, a casual blazer, and one of those BR shirts.
biggrin.gif
I'd like to think I judged on merit anyone who was dressed at least as well as me: with either a tie or a blazer. (Although in IT we're always looking for people with a bit of business sense, so the suits probably have a big subconscious impression that they might not in engineering.)
 

oldseed

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 27, 2006
Messages
206
Reaction score
0
navy suit from ur local dept store. like a nautica. get cuffs and no pleats on the pants.
plain white dress shirt, no button-down collar. just a simple point collar.
dark red tie with white stripes, or a rep tie such as tommy hilfinger red and blue stripes.
black socks
black leather dress shoes with laces

done and done
 

odoreater

Distinguished Member
Joined
Mar 2, 2005
Messages
8,587
Reaction score
45
Originally Posted by greatfire
I know I probably don't have to wear a suit, so pants, a shirt, and (maybe) a tie will be enough.


I definitely recommend wearing pants and a shirt - regardless of what kind of job you are interviewing for. Even beyond job interviews, just going out in public in general - pants and a shirt are a good place to start. If I were to leave my house in the morning without pants and a shirt, I would feel, well, naked.
 

sho'nuff

grrrrrrrr!!
Joined
Apr 15, 2006
Messages
22,000
Reaction score
40
ok,
monday,
go to your local saks fifth outlet, nordstrom rack. get a decent navy suit. 3 button single breasted. solid navy. jack victor, should run you 200-300 dollars. check out banana republic and they have a couple of decent navy suits for starters at low prices. saks outlet has a wide selection of discounted luxury brand name ties. find a conservative (stripe? ) tie in shades of red. will run you probably between 10-39 dollars. maybe buy 2.

make sure you get your suit tailored as quick as possible as most places have a week turnaround.

tuesday,
go to ross, tjmaxx, and/or marshalls and pick out a white cotton dress shirt. ck, perry ellis, geoffrey beene, polo, etc. a decent one will cost you around 17 dollars. you can buy two, one in a light blue, yellow, or grey dress shirt. make sure they are barrel cuff, not french cuff as you will have no time to fuss with cufflinks and so on. go buy a 3 pack of dark navy (or black) dress socks. nordstrom rack has a few styles from a no name italian brand that are decent at 1.99 a pair.

wednesday,
go to nordstrom rack, pick out a split toe, captoe, or wingtip laceup dress shoe in black. preferably a good quality one: Allen Edmonds, santoni, ferragamo. something that will last you a few wearings after the interview.
will cost you anywhere from 69.90 dollars to 189.90 dollars for one pair.
try to find a matching dress belt in black with a silver or gold buckle that is not big. dress size. a decent belt from the rack will cost you around 19 dollars to 24.99 at nordstrom rack.

thursday,
clean your shoes, iron the shirts, learn how to tie your tie if you dont know already.
try on the different ensembles with different shirt and tie combinations in case you have to interview again.

friday,
practice your interview skills and review your resume. pray.

good luck.
 

drizzt3117

Stylish Dinosaur
Joined
Aug 26, 2004
Messages
13,040
Reaction score
14
I would wear a suit as well. I recently interviewed a few candidates for entry-level IT positions, and didn't even interview two candidates that weren't wearing suits. My feeling is that if you don't care enough to wear a suit then you don't deserve the job at least IMO.
 

tiecollector

Distinguished Member
Joined
Sep 8, 2006
Messages
6,790
Reaction score
25
I remember those days, I just graduated with a degree in Computer Engineering two years ago. I came to college the tail end of the dot com boom. I got to experience some of that and was an intern for Motorola for the summer. Then the bubble crashed and I worked at Baskin Robbins, etc.

But basically, I literally interviewed at about 30 large corporations, I'm not sure what has changed since 5 or 6 years ago but Intel in particular told me that if you showed up to the interview in a suit they would "immediately turn you away" because they wanted to "get to know YOU" and not be distracted by your clothes.

If I were you I'd go middle of the road, I'd go dress chinos, lace up shoes, polo with a blazer. If you get an actual engineer to interview you, they will surely be dressed in a polo with pleated khakis and maybe Kenneth Cole shoes or Nikes. For an on campus interview I think they will be even more lax, the 35 year olds interviewing you will probably tone it down as well to make themselves appear younger to the graduating seniors.

Only thing you gotta worry about maybe are econ majors interviewing you first round just to make sure you know how to turn on a computer. And its 50/50, they are either really nice and interested in the field and wish they could do it too, or they are really pompous.

People are moving away from dressing up. I have NEVER been interviewed by anyone in a suit. Always a polo shirt and some khakis. Of course, I always go in there like I own the place. Just be sure to be confident if anything. If you are interviewing for google though, watch out, I just interviewed with them, didn't even get past the phone interview, the guy was super arrogant, I bet he was in a sweat suit.
 

mano

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 21, 2004
Messages
443
Reaction score
2
Originally Posted by greatfire
Hey,

I have a job interview coming up in one week from monday. I'm excited, but I have one problem: what do I wear?

edit: I'm a Computer Engineering major, and this is an on campus interview for an internship position next Summer.

Here's the recipe:

1. If you know people in that department, ask them what the interview dress code is.

2. If you don't know anyone, walk over or call the department where the interview will be held. Ask the receptionist/secretary/administrative assistant or even the interviewer him/herself if they're the person setting up the interviews, what the dress code is.

3. Dress accordingly using the advise given above.

4. Shake and serve.

Good luck!
 

tiecollector

Distinguished Member
Joined
Sep 8, 2006
Messages
6,790
Reaction score
25
Yes, calling the secretary would be good to ask as well. They should be able to tell you what to wear. Actually I will take back what I said about a suit, the last company I worked for, interviewed me in suits. They were not a tech company, they had a need for a technical department though.

I was supposed to wear a suit actually, but I called the receptionist and she said a shirt and tie would be fine, so that is what I wore, and I got the job.
 

Featured Sponsor

How important is full vs half canvas to you for heavier sport jackets?

  • Definitely full canvas only

    Votes: 55 35.5%
  • Half canvas is fine

    Votes: 60 38.7%
  • Really don't care

    Votes: 17 11.0%
  • Depends on fabric

    Votes: 27 17.4%
  • Depends on price

    Votes: 28 18.1%

Staff online

Forum statistics

Threads
505,159
Messages
10,578,940
Members
223,882
Latest member
anykadaimeni
Top