It would be fair to say that everyone treats interviews very differently. On one hand, even the most confident guy can be a complete bag of nerves, but on the other the so-called apprehensive guy can be as laid back as you can imagine when put in such an environment.
Regardless of your mood at the time, something which you need to pay attention on is what you are wearing. Or, as the title of today’s post might have already suggested, what not to wear.
Following on from the above, and after you have ticked all of the boxes in relation to standard interview preparation, let’s take a look at some of the big mistakes that you simply have to avoid when it comes to dressing for your next interview.
Mistake #1 – You don’t place any attention on your feet
The amount of times we see a guy spend his entire pay check on a flashy suit, only to go out and put any old shoes on, is staggering. As the old saying goes, a man is regularly judged on his shoes and this means you should be placing as much attention on this area of your body as possible.
Of course, sneakers aren’t an option, and you should instead be turning to some brogues by Dune or something of similar elegance.
Mistake #2 – Your suit doesn’t fit
Again, you may have spent a small fortune on your suit some years ago, but since then you might have been to the gym, or perhaps gone the other way and put a few more pounds on. Regardless, the end result is an ill-fitting suit.
Nothing could look more unflattering, and the interviewer’s eye is immediately drawn to this. It can give the impression that you leave things until the last minute or worse still, are something of a slouch.
Even if you can’t afford a high-end suit, at least make sure the one you do wear fits perfectly.
Mistake #3 – Your suit is an outlandish color
What’s (almost) worse than an ill-fitting suit? One that is a completely ridiculous color. Sure, the days of wearing a black or grey suit and nothing else are over, but don’t try and push boundaries too much here. Even if you are applying for a modern-start up, rocking up with an orange suit is just going to give out the wrong message and suggest that you’re not really there for the right reasons.
Sure, feel free to push a few boundaries, but don’t go too far when it comes to the color of your suit.
Mistake #4 – You overdose on jewelry
Finally, let’s end proceedings with a note about jewelry. Let’s put it out there that there’s absolutely nothing wrong with donning a nice watch, or even cuff links. Things do start to go wrong when you go overboard though; and this means wearing necklaces, rings, piercings or anything out that just screams “too much”.
The problem with the above is that they just draw attention to themselves. It means that the interviewer is left thinking about your accessories, rather than the words coming out of your mouth.
