Why is Your Appearance Important for a Job Interview? For many job interviews, it is easy to think that you should get hired based solely on your resume, not on how you're dressed. But, making a solid first impression is very important to the hiring process. Wearing a crisp outfit, that’s clean, ironed and stylish, can make or break your first impressions. If you're dressed in a way that's distracting or inappropriate, your interviewer may not be able to pay proper attention to your answers or may find it hard to relate your qualifications to how you’ve dressed. With any interview, it’s important to come across as confident and self-assured in your ability. The outfit you choose can help you project that image, especially if you're comfortable with what you've chosen to wear. What Types of Interviews are There & Does the Dress Code Differ? Depending on the job you're applying for and the type of interview you're given, the dress code can vary a lot. Two of the most common types of interviews are in-person interviews and interviews over video. For a video interview, making sure to wear a nice shirt and a blazer, so you can appear professional on camera is important, but allows you to opt for more comfortable pants. For an in-person interview, making sure to wear clothing that hits the dress code of the company is essential for appearing well prepared. The clothing you choose to wear will also differ depending upon the size of the interview, like one-on-one interviews, group interviews or panel interviews. If you're unsure what sort of interview you're having, reach out to your contacts at the company. This isn't just important for planning your outfit, but also for preparing for the interview itself. Common Dress Codes for Interviews Understanding the different dress codes is important for making a good, lasting first impression. Some common dress codes for interviews include business formal, business casual, smart casual and casual Business Formal If you're wondering whether you should wear a suit to a job interview, the answer is yes, if you're interviewing at a business formal company. Opting for more formal than not, will help to make you seem professional, competent and well put together. When deciding what colour to wear, it's important to keep it simple when you're interviewing at business formal companies. Black, grey, navy, brown, and white are the top choices. Ideally, the suit you choose should be a dark colour, and you should pair it with dark, polished leather shoes. When you're picking your tie, don't go for anything too garish or colourful, and pair it with a crisp, white button-down shirt. Business Casual Business casual dress codes allow a little more flexibility with what you wear to a job interview. You can wear suits of any colour in a business casual environment. However, with more modern business casual offices, you can forgo the suit altogether and switch to a nice blazer or sports jacket, a white button-down shirt and a tailored pair of pants. You can even leave off the tie in a business casual environment, or at least switch to ones in more creative colours and patterns. For accessories, keep it simple with a nice watch and a pair of leather boots to complete your look. Smart Casual When you're thinking about what you should wear to interview in a smart casual environment, think about crisp and clean lines. You can't go wrong with a pair of well-fitted chino pants. Pair it with an Easy Care Shirt , brushed shirt or Polo. If the weather is on the cool side, layer your shirt with a crew-neck or V-neck knit layered on top. In a smart-casual environment, you also have a lot more choices when it comes to colours to wear. So, experiment with brighter colours and patterns, taking care not to mix or match patterns as this can make your outfit look disjointed and messy. Casual Casual environments allow even more flexibility when it comes to dressing. This is the sort of work environment where it’s appropriate to wear a pair of jeans as well as linen or cotton shirts. Even when you're interviewing in a casual environment, you still need to know what not to wear to an interview. Some clothing items are never appropriate, including slogan shirts, clothing with holes or anything that looks dirty. If you’re unsure about how to dress for a casual interview, it’s always a good idea to stay relatively formal in your attire, as you want to communicate a professional image to your potential employer, so going above and beyond in your interview outfit may help you land the job. Interviewing Tips Now that you have some idea of what to wear to your interview, you should prepare yourself in other ways. Some ways to prepare include: Do lots of research on the company beforehand Familiarise yourself with the details of the position and the company culture Have a list of potential questions ready to ask If you know who your interviewers will be, look into their backgrounds, which will help you relate to them better during the interview Stay relaxed but confident when going into your job interview Discover our Modern Office workwear guide from GAZMAN, and find your next stylish men’s interview outfit now.