sports jacket & Khaki's for technician-type interview?

[debip]

Hi Everyone,

I am new here and am a style moron and, sadly, my husband is even worse. He is going for an interview as a technician-type of job so it is not white collar. Would he still need to have a suit or would something else be okay? He has been laid off for a few months so money is an issue but we definitely don't want him to lose this chance because of dressing incorrectly. Thanks for anything you can provide!

Debi

 

[Hard2Fit]

Navy blazer and tie with khakis at a minimum for a first interview.
Pressed shirt and shined shoes (preferably black, to match the belt).

 

[fongstar]

Dress to impress. It's that simple. Make sure he wears something - as was mentioned above - that's clearn, pressed, and presentable. No jeans. No t-shirt.

 

[Dewey]

Dark brown shoes might look better with light tan khakis. Black with olive or gray. But, more important than the color of the shoes is the presentation of the shoes. They should be clean and polished, esp. if they have rubber soles and look at all like a sneaker, as so many mall dress shoes do.

The khakis should also be clean and ironed. Some of the non-iron variety, like the Dockers that come with the permanent crease down the front, might look dressier if ironing is a new idea to him.

The pants should also fit him. If they puddle around his ankles, he will look slovenly. They have to be worn in a dressy way to work for an interview I think.

It's hard to say if he will be dressed appropriate because we don't know much about the job or where you are -- some parts of the world are more formal than others -- but regardless it's true that you can make sportcoat + khakis look awful and you can make it look pretty good. Make everything as neat as possible and it should look pretty good.

 

[debip]

Thank you everyone for the advice. It is so helpful. By the way, we are in Indiana and the job would be servicing electrical components of scales independently at multiple companies that they contract with. Thanks again.

 

[Dewey]

For Indiana I think that would be fine. I don't mean that as a knock on the fine Hoosier state. Rather there are not many places where khakis and a sportcoat, done well, would not put a man above the average for dressing well.

Make sure the tie is not a distraction. Again, clean and fresh. But no more than two or three colors. Medium blue or dark navy with stripes or dots or little flower-like designs would be good. No swirling mix of colors. No stripes in seven colors. And no solids in "loud" colors like purple or fire-engine red. Not for an interview I think.

Also go for some contrast between the sportcoat and the pants, the shirt and the tie, and the shirt and the pants. Navy sportcoat, white shirt, medium blue tie, tan khakis. Gray sportcoat, white shirt, navy tie, tan khakis. Brown sportcoat, light blue shirt, navy tie, tan khakis. Those are good ideas. Brown sportcoat, brown shirt, brown pants, brown shoes, yellow tie = bad idea. Navy sportcoat, french blue shirt, navy tie, navy chinos = bad idea. White sportcoat, white shirt, white tie, white chinos = bad idea. Those are extreme examples but they illustrate the idea.

Good luck

 

[smoothie]

Always wear a suit to an interview. It shouldn't even be a question. He's a grown man, he's not interviewing for McDonald's.

 

[unpainted huffheinz]

Originally Posted by debip

Thank you everyone for the advice. It is so helpful. By the way, we are in Indiana and the job would be servicing electrical components of scales independently at multiple companies that they contract with. Thanks again.

An interview for this type of position does not require a suit. Just make sure the shirt and trousers are well pressed and the shoes are clean and polished. Since the weather is a bit cooler wearing a nice jacket is fine, and it can be a blazer or sport coat.

The clothes should fit well, so pay attention to the length of the sleeves and trousers, and avoid excess fullness in the body of the shirt and jacket. The attire should look like it was chosen carefully, but not be fussed over or ostentatious. As long as there is nothing distracting about the look the interviewer will probably ignore the clothes and focus on skills.

 

[Milhouse]

Honestly, for a technician position, I bet most people get away with nice pants and a dress shirt. If he has a suit, great. If he has khakis and a blazer, great. Like others have said, clean, pressed, polished.

My advice would be that as a technician that will be servicing items for clients, he needs to make sure that he looks very presentable and is very friendly and easy to talk to. Anyone that has to face clients needs to be very polite, proper, and professional in every way. That is what immediately comes to my mind when I think about interviewing someone for that role.

Good luck!