Welcome back to the Gentleman's Gazette.
In today's video, we'll share 10 things that you should never wear to a job interview.
A similar of course that your goal is to get hired.
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When it comes to the hiring process the job interview is one of the best ways to set yourself
apart from your competition.
You can illustrate to the interviewer that you belong at the company and share information
about yourself to show that you are a good fit.
Oftentimes, the first impression you make at the interview will be determined by how
you're dressed.
That's why it is so important that your interview attire accurately reflects your strength as
a person and shows that you're aware of the norms and conventions associated with the
style of dressing for the job of which you're applying.
Dressing appropriately is also the best way to encourage yourself to feel confident through
the interview process while creating a lasting positive impression for the interviewer that
they will remember when it is time for their final decision.
When it comes to what to wear to an interview, Raphael has you covered with this video.
So today, we're taking the opposite approach by covering 10 things that you should never
wear to an interview.
When selecting what to wear to an interview, you should always keep in mind how you are
presenting yourself and what you're trying to convey about yourself and your opinion
about the prospective job based on your attire.
These 10 items made our list because we feel that they are inherently inappropriate for
a job interview environment and will not help you present yourself in the best possible
way.
Obviously, as a classic menswear channel, we are approaching this question with a particular
tutorial focus that assumes a more conventional formal approach to job interviews.
But no matter what kind of job you're applying to or what your personal style is, we think
this list should at least inform your decision making.
Know the company.
Before moving on to our actual list, we will open with a general piece of advice.
A basic understanding of the expected formality of dress and company culture at your prospective
job site should always inform what you do and do not wear to a job interview.
Now obviously, you won't know what is normal daily wear before an interview but you can
take basic steps to research your company through its advertising, social media presence,
as well as what type of company it is.
Generally, legal and financial firms will have a more traditional and formal dress code
than technology or creative industries.
A common rule of thumb is that for an interview, you should just one step up the formality
scale from what is regularly worn from employees from your prospective job.
Unless of course, business formal daywear was
already the norm in which case we should wear
that to the interview.
Don't worry, they won't expect you to go up one more step and arrive in a morning code.
For instance, if at a tech firm, most employees usually wear polos and khakis, typical of
smart casual.
We believe that you should not wear garments at that level for the interview.
You should instead dress at least in business casual attire.
Nine times out of ten, we think that very few interviewers will be put off by your desire
to dress more formally.
Even if you're applying to work at a lawn care service, most managers and interviewers
will know that you're wearing a button-down shirt not because you're expected to be wearing
one while you're mowing the lawn or trimming hedges but as a sign of respect for the hiring
process and for the people conducting your interview.
We understand that as mentors become increasingly casual, it is a challenging time to determine
what to wear when applying to a job.
The older times that you should always wear a suit and tie does not apply to all businesses
nowadays.
Some advice floating around online even suggests that you should explicitly not wear a suit
and wool suits aren't a good fit for all job type interviews.
We still feel that most interviewers will appreciate the fact that you took the time
to dress up and look nice for the interview.
So while it can be difficult to determine what exactly to wear to an interview, here
are some items we have no problem advising you not to wear.
Number one.
A brand new unworn suit or any totally new garments.
In preparation for your big interview, you might treat yourself to a shopping spree and
acquire a new suit.
This is a fun way to hype yourself up but just make sure you've worn everything you
buy at least once before the big day.
This will allow you to ensure that the clothes fit well and because they might need to be
hemmed or altered.
Give yourself plenty of time between buying the clothes and the interview to get that
work done.
Two to three weeks should be a good buffer for most alterations.
Wearing the suit before the interview will also allow you time to become accustomed to
it so it feels comfortable and lived in.
Terence Young who directed several early James Bond films, had allegedly encouraged Sean
Connery to sleep in his suits so they felt as natural to him as his own skin.
Maybe that's what Preston is up to here foreign [Jazz Music] Remember to remove any pens,
tags or tack stitching that might be on your suit and be mindful of things like pressed
and creases on brand-new clothes.
These are especially obvious and the square creases indicative of a fresh out-of-the-box
dress shirt will also add that if you don't usually wear a suit, don't let your interview
be the first time.
If you're not accustomed to how a suit feels, it might appear uncomfortable and feel less
confident so either train yourself by wearing the suit a few times socially before the interview
or opt for a more casual but still dressy ensemble.
Number two, a wrinkled shirt or any uncamped clothing.
Having decided on what kind of shirt to wear, you want to make sure that it looks its best.
And the hustle and bustle of getting ready, it can be easy to forget to iron your shirt
but wrinkled shirts are glaringly obvious as many commenters on our social media are
rightfully quick to point out and they can make your entire outfit appear more disheveled.
Fortunately, ironing a shirt is a simple, easy task as Raphael demonstrates here.
And a crisply iron shirt will not only massively improve of your look but also your confidence.
You should also take care to ensure that every other garment in your ensemble is neat and
tidy by shining your shoes, ironing your trousers and removing any creases from your jacket.
Look at the pocket flaps or along the lapel.
As one of our writers who posed for this picture should have remembered.
Fortunately, he recently re-watched our video on how to iron a suit jacket.
So all is now well.
Number three, underwear or anything meant to be worn under.
Obviously, we're not suggesting that you go commando to your interview.
What we mean here is that the garment is designed to be worn under your clothes should stay
there.
We suspect that you know not to show up to an interview in an a-line or other types of
undershirts, unless of course you're trying to join Tony Sopranos crew.
Because undershirts are made from thinner lighter materials than other shirts and are
often too sheer and informal for daily wear in a professional setting.
But we also want to emphasize not showing your undershirt through your outer shirt either
by the undershirt peeking out by the sleeves or the chest or being visible as a clear outline
under your dress shirt.
One way to reduce undershirt visibility is to wear a gray undershirt rather than a black
or a white one.
Raphael has more advice to give on this subject in our video should you wear an undershirt.
Number four, t-shirts and similar casual shirts.
Moving on from undershirts, we also feel that t-shirts and similar casual shirts like Henley's,
jerseys and sweatshirts should not be worn at job interviews.
The world is getting progressively more casual but you can't really say that you've dressed
up for an interview on a t-shirt.
When t-shirts are about as low on the formality scale as you can go.
For even the most casual work environments, you're better off with a shirt with some kind
of collar at least.
If you need help building a refined and versatile dress shirt collection, here is our list of
the first 10 dress shirts a man should own.
Number five, casual jeans or any trousers lower on the formality scale.
Similar to t-shirts, it's hard to get dressed up in pants that are on the lowest range of
the formality scale.
This obviously applies to athletic trousers like gym shorts or sweatpants, or utilitarian
trousers like cargo pants or painters pants, or leisure trousers like shorts but can also
apply to denim jeans.
While jeans are increasingly perceived as normal and even more formal, the majority
of jeans are still fundamentally casual garments and so can't be considered dressing up.
In most cases, we feel it is safer to opt for more obviously professional dress slacks
or chinos.
If you really want to wear jeans, we suggest dressing them up a bit and I'll show you exactly
how to do so in this video.
Number six, sneakers with gym socks or other casual shoes and socks.
Having covered shirts and pants, it only makes sense to now cover overly casual footwear.
Shoes are too often the weak point in an outfit because they're selected more for perceived
comfort and convenience rather than styling potential.
As a result, overly casual shoes will often drag down an outfit especially when paired
with a more formal ensemble.
You don't necessarily have to wear dress shoes do a job interview but you should avoid athletic
shoes, open-toed shoes like sandals or flip-flops and distracting trendy shoes like those on
our trendy shoe list.
And if you do decide to wear leather shoes, don't spoil their appearance by pairing them
with boring run-of-the-mill black socks or even worse, white gym socks.
Instead, get yourself a pair of quality dress socks and refined classic colors.
At our Fort Belvedere shop, you can easily stock up on essential dress socks because
we offer considerable discounts for bulk purchases.
Number seven, an oversized logo shirt or similar distracting articles.
Speaking of distractions, well at a job interview, you should be selling yourself and not the
brand of the clothes that you're wearing or your ability to build an outlandish outfit.
Unless you're applying to work at an avant-garde fashion house.
Clothing with obvious branding like oversized logos intrusive crests or names won't contribute
to deliberations about whether or not you're a good fit for the company and could give
the weird impression that you're trying to flex on the interviewer.
Instead, go for clothing with tasteful or hidden logos.
And in general, we think it's a good idea to just avoid clothing with any prominent
phrases, slogans or text.
The interviewer should be reading your resume not your shirt front.
This advice also applies to any other part of your outfit that could be distracting like
over-the-top accessories like excessive jewelry, overly bold colors, prints or patterns or
any flashy detailing.
The interviewer should be focused on you, not exclusively on your clothes.
Number eight, a beeping smartwatch and similar noisy tech wearables.
Wearable tech can make our lives more convenient but it also has the propensity to go off at
the worst times.
You might remember to silence your mobile phone but what about the timer on your fitbit
that reminds you to get up and get an additional 200 steps every 45 minutes?
Or a smartwatch that chirps or vibrates every single time someone tries to slide into your
DMs?
So make sure that you silence all the tech that you are wearing before you go into the
interview or don't wear it at all.
Be aware also of how wearable tech might appear to the interviewer.
If you leave a bluetooth device, headphones or earbuds in your ear even if you're not
listening to anything, the interviewer might think that you're not paying attention so
be sure to remove them.
I said be sure to remove them.
“Oh no!
He can't hear this great advice because he has his earbuds”.
Number nine, excessive fragrance or any overly smelly products.
We've done several videos on what not to wear on different occasions and too much cologne
is almost always on one of them.
Excessive fragrance is extremely distracting and off-putting because it implies that you
are relying on the perfume to give you a boost of false confidence.
Or that you are attempting to hide a worse smell with pleasing scents.
In the worst case scenario, your interviewer or someone in the office might have an aversion
or an allergy to strong smells.
It'll be difficult for the interviewer to give you a fair appraisal if the cologne is
giving them a headache.
Other products like shampoo, hand creams, lotions and soaps can also produce excessive
smells.
So don't wear any scented product to an interview unless you know how it interacts with your
body chemistry and how strong of an odor it produces.
Make sure that you're wearing fragrance in a sparing unobtrusive way.
I will teach you how as part of our 10 cologne hacks.
Number 10, what you'd wear on the weekend or any clothing that would imply that you're
not taking the interview seriously.
Let's close with a broad piece of advice that we hope will serve as a catch-all and bring
us back to what we began start of this video.
A job interview is an important occasion that could determine the trajectory of your job
or career.
You want to make it clear to the interviewer that you understand this and a simple way
to do this is by dressing up.
This does not mean that you have to wear a three-piece suit to every job interview.
But for every job interview, you should make some kind of effort to elevate your appearance
to make it clear you understand how important the interview actually is and that you respect
the interviewer's time.
Therefore avoid wearing clothing that you usually wear doing casual social interactions,
like when you're relaxing on the weekend or clothes that don't reflect a professional
atmosphere.
Like what you'd wear when going out on the town especially if you are interested in cultivating
a look typical of classic style.
Your clothing should always fit the occasion and a job interview is a relatively formal
professional event where it pays to look your very best and present your attire in the best
possible light.
With dressed up clothing that accurately reflects your personal style and shows that you appreciate
the seriousness of the occasion.
And if you need any help determining how an elevated refined approach to classic style
can be integrated into your wardrobe, well I might just know a YouTube channel you should
check out.
Thank you for joining us today at the Gentleman's Gazette.
Ultimately, you always want to present your best possible self during your job interview
and we helped them by highlighting what we think you ought never to wear that we have
hope you do this.
Let us know in the comments what you've worn as an interview outfit as well as items that
you always avoid.
Would you hire me based on what I'm wearing today?
Let's run through it and find out.
So today, I'm wearing a two-piece raised suit with a blue and white striped shirt along
with a fantastic Fort Belvedere pocket square, a great watch from Nomos, red and blue shadow
stripe Fort Belvedere socks with brown dress shoes.
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