- Joined
- Jan 8, 2013
- Messages
- 5,471
- Reaction score
- 8,370
Sure I mean the director of the place I interviewed most recently was wearing jeans and a t shirt, but he didn't have to impress anyone, I did. Once you reach a certain level you don't have to give a crap what people think about what you're wearing but until you get there I think you err on the side of professional clothing.
Sent from my phone using the mobile app because I bought it and I'm stubborn
Hmm.
I am also in the more traditional camp for my personal choices for interview attire itself (although I look terrible in pant suits so I wear conservative, "corporate-style" dresses in solid, neutral colors)... but I disagree that the possibility for incurring gossip is a reason to fret over something that small. Unless your outfit was chosen deliberately to shock and offend people, it's petty and ill-mannered for other people to act like a bunch of Mean Girls about it, so nuts to them for feeling insecure enough to need to do that.
I also feel it's inappropriate to equate fashion choices with competence, unless the outfit makes people actively uncomfortable. Honestly, props to whoever was judging that competition -- women in the sciences have enough obstacles without people saying she won "even though she wore" xyz thing.
(I also am of the opinion that nicely tailored jeans can look a heck of a lot more professional than a crummy fitting suit, but I come from a world where CEOs make board presentations in graphic tees or black turtlenecks. Interestingly, they are still massively successful for other reasons, like I dunno... aptitude and motivation and stuff.)
...That said, please don't take this as my advice to "wear whatever" to an interview, because it's important to err on the side of conveying respect and you only have one shot, and I don't work in admissions.
Sent from my phone using the mobile app because I bought it and I'm stubborn