Interview Dress Advice

[Thelegazy]

Hi all,

First time posting and need some advice for an upcoming interview. I have an interview coming up with a Big 4 Accounting Firm. I will be a wearing a black suit with pinstripes. I have a really nice pair of To Boot New York double monk strap shoes. They are very dark brown, you can't even till that they are brown from far away; I guess you could call them baroque. Will it be alright for me to wear them to the campus interview? Some say that I shouldn't wear monk shoes to an interview, but I just feel like they look really good. I've heard that some people didn't get hired just because the interviewer didn't like their choice of shoes.

I just wanted to get everyone's opinion and if i should be fine wearing them. I have a pair of all black shoes, but they are fairly old. They're still wearable, but I feel like the monks are dark enough to wear with a black suit and they could set me apart from the other students who will be wearing average shoes.

 

[comrade]

Double Monks wouldn't be a good reason not to get an offer.
I always thought that Accounting Firms projected a safely boring
but high quality style image.

 

[Sabutai]

I disagree. For an interview with an accounting firm you want to present yourself as conservatively as possible. Black oxford captoes, dark charcoal suit, white shirt, and your tie all give you the positive portrayal you desire as a first impression. Think on your tie selection too. Make sure it's not to bold. You will be making a fashion statement with the attire you are pondering, but is that your goal?

 

[Balfour]

Plain black captoe oxfords.

 

[Count de Monet]

... I feel like the monks are dark enough to wear with a black suit and they could set me apart from the other students who will be wearing average shoes.

I don't think you want shoes to be what sets you apart from the other student candidates.

To borrow a phrase from another profession, "first, do no harm." Don't wear anything flashy or odd. Beyond the world of SF, grown men wearing shoes with buckles is a bit unusual.

Give the ol' solid black ones a good shine and know that the focus should be what you have to say and the overall impression you leave. And good luck.

 

[GBR]

'Search' for what you need, there is plenty of advice to be found, this subject has been done to death.

 

[AlexE]

With a consulting firm (MBB) you might get away with this, but big 4 accounting firms = veeeeeeeeery conservative and excessively boring. Generally, those are not the type of people who like "to stand out".

So only safe choice:
- charcoal grey suit or navy suit
- white shirt
- navy or burgundy tie (solid is best)
- black oxfords

 

[mhdena]

Campus interview of a college student?

grades will matter more than how perfectly conservative your clothes are, imo.


You can buy clothes , well maybe you can buy grades too

 

[lwmarti]

As a veteran of two of the Big 4, I'd say that what you're proposing to wear would be just fine.

Many people here really hate to hear it, but what you wear to an interview really doesn't matter that much. Employers want you, not the clothes that you're wearing. And as long as you look like you'll be acceptable to clients, you'll be just fine. As a matter of fact, when I was with E&Y when we were interviewing madly to ramp up one of our practices a while ago, I don't recall seeing *any* candidates dressing in the ultra-conservative way that people here recommend.

I'm actually trying to fill two open positions right now, and I'm much more interested in how well people will do the job instead of what they're wearing. So I'd recommend that you spend preparing for the interview in other ways than worrying about what to wear. If you're able to talk in depth about some current event that's relevant to the job that you're applying for, for example, that will impress the heck out of people.

 

[Nathan Parker]

Hi all,

I've heard that some people didn't get hired just because the interviewer didn't like their choice of shoes.

I won't say that sort of thing never happens, but I think it's *unlikely* an interviewer with sense would make a hiring decision based solely on such superficial issues. However, I do think a person can be unconsciously and unfavorably prejudiced due to such cues, and that means the interviewer might be less easily impressed by your other virtues, without really knowing why. Personally, I hate strap shoes and I would frown if I saw them, just like I would frown at the black suit. Of course, I hire in the IT world and I'm lucky if someone shows up in a suit at all. Or wears a tie, or irons their clothes. I've learned to look past such things. I think.

 

[ats200]

I won't say that sort of thing never happens, but I think it's *unlikely* an interviewer with sense would make a hiring decision based solely on such superficial issues. However, I do think a person can be unconsciously and unfavorably prejudiced due to such cues, and that means the interviewer might be less easily impressed by your other virtues, without really knowing why. Personally, I hate strap shoes and I would frown if I saw them, just like I would frown at the black suit. Of course, I hire in the IT world and I'm lucky if someone shows up in a suit at all. Or wears a tie, or irons their clothes. I've learned to look past such things. I think.

Could depend on extremes - if someone showed up for an interview wearing a pair of Converse All-Stars with their suit or a very wrinkled shirt, I'm not sure I'd even give them a chance. There has to at least be respect for the process.

 

[Nathan Parker]

There has to at least be respect for the process.

True, but I think in the IT field it's probably due to cluelessness, rather than disrespect.

 

[comrade]



True, but I think in the IT field it's probably due to cluelessness, rather than disrespect.

"cluelessness"? Is that a location on the Aspergers Spectrum?

 

[Nathan Parker]

"cluelessness"? Is that a location on the Aspergers Spectrum?