Dodging job interview fashion pitfalls

By Daisy Carrington, amNewYork Deputy Features Editor | dcarrington@am-ny.com

April 16, 2007

I'm about to graduate college and want to have the right wardrobe for upcoming interviews? What type of clothes should I get? What's the most appropriate attire?

Your wardrobe choice will reflect how you are perceived by the hiring manager. Wear a stained shirt and scruffy shoes, and you'll likely come off as careless and inattentive to details.

"What you wear says a lot about who you are as a person. More importantly, it tells other people how you expect to be treated," says Clinton Kelly, co-host of TLC's "What Not to Wear." "If you dress like a slob, people will treat you like a slob. If you dress like a polished, professional person, well, that's how you're going to be treated as well."

While most people know to wear clean clothes to a job interview, there are a myriad of more subtle fashion faux pas that run the risk of decrying your professionalism. According to Kelly, the biggest mistake interviewees make is wearing ill-fitting clothes.

"Poor fit is a huge mistake," he says. "There's nothing worse than a guy gong into an interview wearing a suit or jacket that's two sizes too big, just because he heard he had to wear a suit or a jacket to an interview. If you wear clothes that don't fit, you come off as so sloppy, and it's one reason a potential employer will cross you right off the list."

This doesn't mean you can forgo the jacket all together, but rather invest in a smart, streamlined, black blazer.

"The jacket is a must, even if it's a casual office setting." If the seam rests naturally where the arm and shoulder meet, the jacket is a fit. Also, make sure your new blazer buttons comfortably.

"Women tend to buy jackets that don't button well, and say, 'It's close enough," he says.

"That's not good enough, it has to fit. It's not smart to buy a jacket that's halfway functional."

Kelly also advises conducting a little research on what people tend to wear at your prospective place of employment. If it's a suit type of place, definitely wear a suit. If everyone is wearing jeans and a T-shirt, you can also wear jeans, but spruce them up with a blazer and a nice pair of shoes.

"You want to look like you would on your best day at work," he says. "It's important to keep with the office culture. Find out how people are dressing, then up it a notch or two."

And speaking of footwear, it's imperative that you polish.

"If your shoes aren't polished, it says you're the kind of person that doesn't dot his i's or cross his t's."

Also, the interview is not the time to break out those peak-toe stilettos.

"Don't walk into an interview with a strappy sandal," he says. "It's just a little too sexy and casual."