Do the way i dress to the interview affect me getting the job?

Hi Luke,

In short: Yes—the way you "dress" for the interview will affect your interview outcome; however, the full answer is a bit more nuanced.

tl;dr Dress for the role, company culture, comfort, and confidence. Not a suit and tie person? Totally fine—look around to see what others are wearing who work there. Dressing for the culture, with your own personal flair, is way more important than wearing a suit and tie.

Detailed answer: "Dressing" for an interview is more than about wearing a suit and tie—it is about dressing yourself to be who you are, in the way that makes you most comfortable and confident, and in a way that matches or elevates the culture you are interviewing in. Let me share a few personal examples here—both as an interviewee and interviewer.

Interviewee:

1. Deloitte (one of the big 4), is famous for being a suit and tie company and culture; however, I am not a suit and tie person—never have been. I walked into my manager-level interview in business casual attire with my own personal touch as an edit: colorful slacks, a button-down shirt, and a sweater. I was arguable the only candidate interviewing that day and, while I do not know the outcome of the other candidates who were interviewing, I received—and accepted—an offer. Did it matter that I was not in a suit and tie? Absolutely not! That said, I dressed in a way that made me feel confident, in a way that I was most comfortable in, and in a way that was not too far away (up or down) from the cultural norm of where I interviewed. This means that the way I "dressed"—inside and out—absolutely impacted my interview outcome because it allowed me to be who I am in a way that matched with the company.

Interviewer:

1. While at a major pharmaceutical company, I interviewed people all the time as a manager or above and saw people dress from casual, to business casual, to business, and even beyond. Not once did someone's actual clothing make a difference in my interview outcome; however, the way the person "dressed" for the interview—meaning how they presented themselves—did impact the interview outcome. Those who dressed in a suit and tie, whom were comfortable in a suit and tie, did just as well as those in jeans, a button down, and a jacket or sweater. Not once did someone's "suit and tie" make me think more or, or less, of them as a candidate. What mattered more is whether they were comfortable enough in their attire to interview well and show a match and attempt to adopt the cultural norms of the company.

In summary,

1. You do not need to wear a suit and tie—you do need to wear something culturally appropriate for the company location/office.
2. You do need to be you and who you are. Never present yourself, or "dress", as someone you are not. Being you, the confident you, matters more than anything

Good luck!

Hi Luke,

It's always important to dress for the occasion. Wearing a suit & tie for a interview shows commitment and professionalism. Interviews are always about first impressions and what you wear is kind of the start of how your employer is going to view you. Obviously wearing a suit will not mean you will get the job but it definitely helps more than not wearing a suit.

Hope this helps.

Best,

James

Hi Luke,

It absolutely does. As I touched on in my previous answer to you, I am in the Recruitment industry and can attest directly that the way you are dressed says a lot about you and directly affects the interview. Unless it is explicitly asked of you to dress a certain way, you should always wear a suit and tie to an interview. This is regardless of what type of position you are interviewing for. I can say firsthand that hiring managers will judge a book by its cover and dressing nicely shows that the role is important to you. This sort of dedication will be an early indicator of a good employee to the person hiring for the role.

Thanks!

Mike

Luke, easy answer: 100% yes what you wear to an interview will affect you landing that job. How you dress really says so much about you, so if you show up wearing ripped jeans a T-shirt you will be perceived as lazy and indifferent. The saying "dress for success" exists for a reason as dressing well is a tried and true method of increasing your chance of having a good interview.

Also dressing well doesn't take that much more effort and you will be a pro at tying a tie in no time!!