Interview Attire for Men and Women

Interview Attire

General Tips for Everyone
Be well groomed and neat.
Iron your clothes the evening before.
Err on the side of being too conservative.
Avoid wearing too much cologne or perfume.
Avoid wearing too much jewelry; men lose the earrings.
Shoes should be polished.
Wear clothes that are comfortable to spend time in.
Always put your outfit on the evening before the interview.
Present well-groomed fingernails.

Tips for Men
Wear dark traditional suits with a white, long-sleeved shirt (even in the summer).
Ties and socks should coordinate well with the suit. Wear funky and colorful ties and socks at other activities.

Tips for Women
Traditional business attire consists of a suit or a professional dress (other than lacy type of dress). Pay special attention to the length of your skirt. Wear your short skirt at another function. If you can't sit down comfortably, your skirt is too short. Depending on the culture of the company, wearing bold, bright colors is acceptable.
Avoid wearing makeup and nail polish that is showy and distracting.
Wear shoes that are comfortable to walk long distances in.
Select conservative hosiery without decoration or a lot of color.

What about Business Casual Interview Attire?
Business casual dress has found its way into the workplace but has been slower to be accepted by employers and recruiters during the interview process. Granted, there are definitely employers who are comfortable with business causal interview attire, but there are also those who prefer the more traditional dress codes, so unless you know for sure the preference of your interviewer, be totally safe and err on the conservative side.
Along these same lines, there seems to be a real war raging about whether it is appropriate for women to wear professional pant suits to an interview(other types of pants and blouses are totally unacceptable). During a recent survey of employers conducting campus interviews at Furman, 75% said they were comfortable with pant , but 25% still preferred suits or dresses. So, it really comes down to your own personal decision. Do you wear a pantsuit and risk making an unfavorable first impression or do you wear the more traditional suit or dress and cover all of your bases?