Interview attire??

Pandora2

I apologise if this seems trivial but I have my 1st interview in 9 years on Monday.......:eek: I have always been of the mind that if you dress smartly you perform better and it just occurred to me that whilst my last position was in a similar environment and although I always dressed smartly, I do not own a 'suit', I do however own a number of smart dresses. Would such attire, teemed with subtle make up, smart medium heeled court shoe be considered acceptable by an interview panel??

If not I have some shopping to do!! And I could really do without the expense:eek: The position is in a private school.........any advice would be appreciated.

Pandora2

coco_lola

Hey Pandora, I had an interview last week and wore pinstripe pants from Penneys with a pair of black Mary Jane heels and black pop socks, and just a short sleeved polo neck. You could also get a white blouse from penneys. I got the job, so I guess the attire was ok

Discodog

Having worked in the recruitment business the key is not to wear anything that could be interpreted as "inappropriate". A private school could be all forward thinking & trendy or it could be very old fashioned.

Just as with men you cannot really go wrong with a conservative cut, boring suit. The secret is to wear it to the interview & then hang it up, in a suit protector, as soon as you get home. Only wear it to interviews so that it always looks perfect. Personally I would advise a skirt rather than pants. But the advantage with pants is that you don't have to worry about the length or styles of a skirt.

You are very unlikely to fail an interview because your clothes are too boring. You won't specifically fail if your clothes are "not right" but it will put doubts into their minds - most recruitment still relies on a gut feeling.

The most important thing is research. Find out lots of information & memorise some key facts about the school & then refer to them in a complimentary way during the interview. This is especially true regarding their ethos.

amdublin

Good luck pandora!

I think a suit is advised. A good crisp shirt - zara have nice ones. And a trouser suit from zara or next.

Or a nice skirt suit with a blouse and jacket. Good tights and shoes.

To my mind trousers and a short sleeve polo neck top is not ideal for an interview.

Discodog

On the shoe front, as teachers spend hours on their feet, go for "sensible" smart shoes .

Pandora2

Thanks folks.....It is a Development Admin position in a Quaker School so I think I'll invest in the suit.....:)

Discodog, I know as much about this school as anyone on the board, past pupils, Alumni, facilities and target markets.

They didn't provide a job description but I went digging and found one fielded by another school so if they ask me how I might see the role I have a general framework in mind.

And I kid you not when I say I could pass myself off as Mary Dyer (most famous Quaker female, I did the research;))

Keep it all crossed for me, the car died this morning!!:eek:

Discodog

Well it sounds like dark suit with skirt - at least if you don't get the job it will be handy for funerals

meemeep

M&S have reasonably priced suits and shirts at the moment.

Pandora2

So folks......the black skirt suit and crisp white shirt has been procured.......now to go over my notes again for the umpteenth time.......(and again, and again, no doubt!!)

Thanks for the help

boobar

Pandora2 wrote: »

So folks......the black skirt suit and crisp white shirt has been procured.......now to go over my notes again for the umpteenth time.......(and again, and again, no doubt!!)

Thanks for the help

Best of luck.

coco_lola

Pandora2 wrote: »

Keep it all crossed for me, the car died this morning!!:eek:

Good luck! My car died the day of my interview too.. Always the way

JackieChan

coco_lola wrote: »

Good luck! My car died the day of my interview too.. Always the way

Worrying trend.. Mine broke down too just after an interview 2 weeks ago.

+1 for researching the company thoroughly. Really shows that you have an interest in the school(its ethos,any awards that they have won...etc) and not just a job.

Pandora2

JackieChan wrote: »

Worrying trend.. Mine broke down too just after an interview 2 weeks ago.

+1 for researching the company thoroughly. Really shows that you have an interest in the school(its ethos,any awards that they have won...etc) and not just a job.

Well, it's over me now....afraid to talk about it in case I jinx anything. I think the interview went well, at least the 30 minutes flew by and I did feel all the better for presenting in a suit:)

How I prepared for the interview was one of their questions and I gave good account of myself, I hope. Only saw the person before and after me but they looked every bit as prepared as myself and probably a lot more in the way of 3rd level qualifications, hopefully my experience will have stood to me. Keeping everything crossed and if nothing else it will have been great interview practice!! Calls for 2nd interview within a week meanwhile, the search goes on;)

Discodog

Well done. Now remember to hang up the suit

Pandora2

Aired and in a suit cover in the spare wardrobe (crush factor;)), I heard ya the 1st time

Seriously, thanks for the advice, been a long time since I was in the market for a job !!