“Your clothes should be as important as your skin.” - Amit Kalantri.
Online interviews are a part of our lives these days. Be it college interview, job interview or internship interview, everything is online these days. Online interviews are chill? Not really! Interviews are interviews , pressure remains the same, only thing which is different is , we need not travel to the location, everything happens from the comfort of our homes. Yes, this is a part of the new normal. Interview to work everything is happening online. That’s okay, but it is not just about that interview , the way we dress also matters. Yeah, it is very important to answer every question but at the same time what we wear matters too. Professionalism matters , and we cannot wear just anything and everything when it comes to an interview. We need to dress up according to the organisation we are interviewing for. It can be Semi Formal, Full Formals , and sometimes casual too! Everything depends on the needs of the organisation and the position you are interviewing for.
STATISTICS
According to online surveys conducted by Harris poll -
- Almost 50 percent of candidates dress inappropriately.
- Almost 26 percent of candidates play with hairs coming around their face, in ideal situations a candidate should have proper hairstyles.
- Only 50 percent of the candidates dress appropriately for online interviews.
- Around 43 percent of candidates have inappropriate body language.
- 31 percent of candidates have bad posture.
It is not just about attire. It is also about correct makeup and hairstyles. To start with let us start with how not to dress up for an interview then we will move on to how to dress up and some makeup and hairstyle tips to ace the interview with style and perfect fashion.
How not to dress up for an online interview?
Attire Alert - It is very important to dress up totally from head to toe. Yes, wearing a blazer with regular shorts or night dress or track pants won’t work. You might think that it is just a regular interview, but you aren’t visible from head to toe. Sometimes, the interviewers might ask you to get something or you might just stand up just like that to fix up something , it would not be an ideal situation for an interview.Also, regular clothes are a big no no when it comes to an online interview. Yes, you are at home, but dear, you are appearing for an interview. Don’t take online interviews differently from face to face interviews. It is the same. Dress the way you would dress for an interview.
Keep the bling away - Avoid wearing a lot of bling, keep it for a party after you get selected. Avoid wearing too many bright and flashy colours. It does not look very professional.
Dress the way you are expected to - Do not wear fancy or too casual clothes to an interview. Don’t consider wearing the sequin top you have or your favourite t-shirt or that amazing dress you have.
Makeup Mishaps to avoid - Makeup is important but too much of it can actually deteriorate the case. We should not experiment with makeup looks in an interview meeting. Try to keep it to a minimum.
Selecting proper accessories - You might love to wear a lot of accessories, but for interviews, accessories should not be extra. It should not be more of funky jewellery with less chic ones. It should be classy yet not too flashy and should not be too many in number.
Avoid Wearing Jeans - We should always dress up according to the occasion and the purpose - just a gentle reminder. Avoid wearing jeans to an interview. Jeans are staple pieces from our wardrobe but it is suggested not to wear jeans to an interview.
Heat up that iron - Do not wear clothes which are not ironed properly. Wearing crushed clothes makes a bad impression of yours. Wearing good clothes is not enough. Maintenance matters too.
Dress the way they expect - Finally , dress according to the organisation. Be it Mncs or startups or any other place, each place or type of organisation has their own way of dressing up ,match it up to it for increasing the chances of getting hired.
HOW TO DRESS UP FOR AN INTERVIEW?
Now that we know about things to avoid while dressing up for an interview, let’s look into how to actually dress up for an interview. With some fun makeup and hairstyle tips to stand out in an interview when it comes to an appropriate look.
Try wearing formal suits with pants - The best option is to wear a black suit with pants or skirts. If you want to experiment a little bit , then go for charcoal grey or lighter shades of grey or even navy blue blazers. These three colours suit well.
Try different top options - Experiment with bottom down shirts but make sure it is not filled with too much of prints. It should be decent, chic and stylish. You can consider stripes too!
Black is the way to go - You can also go classic with a black dress and tights. It looks stylish and confident and is perfect for an interview look.
Choose the right fit - Meeting suits ought to be basic .Anything tight, short, or sheer should be ignored. Knee-length skirts are proposed. Extremely long skirts, might look humble and decent but are additionally viewed as excessively stylish for a meeting.
Don’t limit yourself to shirts - Wearing a blouse, which is stylish but at the same decent is suggested. Check out some formal full sleeves top online with collars and decent looks ideal for a meeting.
Accessories check - We need to keep the jewellery and accessories to a minimum. Anything too bright and funky is not advisable to wear. A statement watch and small studs on ears is advisable.
Tone down the makeup to a minimum - Makeup tones should be neutral and not too bright. Makeup should not be excessive. A nude shade of lip colour is fine. No makeup makeup looks would be great to go for.
Nails should not flash out - One should avoid keeping long nails with bright nail paint or dark ones. One should avoid any kind of nail art too. The nail paint should be neutral or a pain nail without colour is also fine.
Keep your hair in place - When it comes to hairstyles, one should not keep their hair open. Either tie it up in a bun or have a sleek ponytail. In both the cases, avoid baby hairs or locks hanging down from the temples. Hairs should not disturb you, plus sleek hairstyles are smart.
Wear proper shoes - When it comes to shoes, one must wear plain black pumps. Yes, it is recommended to wear proper shoes, even in online interviews. House slippers are not a good way to go. Just like wearing proper bottoms is necessary, the same way wearing proper shoes is important too. Avoid wearing shoes with too high heels. The shoes should not have an open toe or back, these kinds of shoes are meant to be worn at a party or a date night not for an interview.
TIPS ON WHAT TO WEAR FOR WHAT ORGANISATION.
Now that we know the types of attire and shoes to wear, kind of accessories to wear, type of makeup to put on, and how not to dress up for an interview, let’s look into some tips on what to wear for what organisation.
Do basic research - Look into the website and search for the basic dress code of the organisation and pick up an attire according to that. For easier access go to the “Meet our Team” section to get ideas on the dress code.
Read the email carefully - One can also read the interview mail to look for the dress code if any. If there is no such dress code or you cannot find anything on their website , it’s better to wear formals.
One without the corporate tag - For startups or any other organisations without a corporate tag, one can surely dress up in semi casuals.
According to John Wooden - “ It’s the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen.”
Therefore, dress professionally for an interview and not casually. It increases our capabilities in front of the interview panel. This entire post might feel like a lot of rules are being imposed on a candidate but nope, these are the set of professional guidelines for you to avoid every possible mistake.
Hope it was helpful. Good luck for your next interview!
REFERENCES
https://www.pittstate.edu/careers/students/interview-attire.html
https://legaljobs.io/blog/interview-statistics/