Women's Dress Tips for Interviews

[legan]

I think that something along these lines is ideal but I think that particular dress looks a tiny bit too short to me, unless you are on the shorter side and it hits your knees. That dress looks almost long enough to me but I dont think I would play around with an 'almost' appropriate outfit at an interview this important. My opinion is that if you can find something like that but a tad longer, then it would be perfect!

 

I'm actually probably taller than that model, but for some reason the dress hits me much lower, like at the middle of the knee. I bought it a couple years ago, and I'm guessing they changed the design a bit, or just photoshopped it somehow for this picture.

 

Either way, I might rethink it.

[bsharpe269]

I'm actually probably taller than that model, but for some reason the dress hits me much lower, like at the middle of the knee. I bought it a couple years ago, and I'm guessing they changed the design a bit, or just photoshopped it somehow for this picture.

 

Either way, I might rethink it.

 If it hits the middle of the knee that I would say youre good. It looks comfortable as well... with the stress of the itnerview the last thing you want to be dealing with is uncomfortable clothes too!

[beccamayworth]

I know it's a bit of a cliche, but my advice is: wear whatever makes you feel good about yourself.

 

I went to an open house for prospective students for a Cognitive Psychology program, and most girls were wearing suits. I thought I would feel stupid in a suit (I've never had one before) so I went with black tights, a black a-line skirt and a floral short-sleeved button-up shirt, which is much more my style. Because this outfit makes me feel confident, I didn't feel out of place at all. I went on to be admitted to this program (and I honestly think no one cared about what I or anyone else was wearing...).

 

Also, most current grads were wearing jeans and blouses... so I kinda looked more like them than like the prospectives, which made me feel more at home as well.

 

I also went to an open house for Linguistics and it was muuuuch more casual. I think this varies a lot from field to field. 

 

Ok I'll change my advice slightly: wear whatever makes you feel good about yourself, as long as it's academic-appropriate (i.e., do not wear your Princess Leia costume). 

[CulturalAnth]

I live in a very cold area, and this is what I would wear for an interview on a cold day: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/71283606573932067/

 

I have interviewed in a cute, pink, Forever 21, professional dress, at UNLV (and was more dressed than any grad student I met!), I wore a flowy feminine pink dress with a cardigan at another interview (Oregon State), and in Washington I wore grey slacks and a white and black blouse. I was dressed appropriately for all of them.  

[CulturalAnth]

Hey guys, I'm attending a two-day open house for accepted/prospective students, so it's not an interview. The first day consist of a cocktail part at a professor's house. How does one dress to that?? I'm so confused and the date is rapidly approaching. I want to be super comfortable and at ease, but also look put-together and elegant in some way.. :/ 

 

I would wear a nice, but not too formal, dress for this. Not a "cocktail" dress either, but something you might wear on a date to meet your SO's parents for a holiday. 

 

I like to try to choose something that will make me stand out, but not in a bad way  

[gingin6789]

Where does one find cute dress pants? I searched the mall this past weekend and didn't like anything. I'm just not a loft/banana republic kinda girl. If anyone has example pictures of said outfits, that would be great   Also most of my interview weekends involve several socials, dinners, and parties... how dressed up/casual should we dress for those?

 

As far as hair, my hair is super long. is it fine to just wear it down? I don't want to come off as if I'm trying to look sexy. 

Express.  I bought pants there for a job four years ago, and they're still in great shape and so comfortable.  I always go with the "Columnist: barely boot" fit:

http://www.express.com/clothing/Women/Columnist+Pants/cat/cat320072

 

"Holy cow, gingin," you say, "those are expen---"

I cut you off mid-word and respond, "Four. years. These pants LAST!"

 

As for shirts, this is my stand-by.  It is the same shirt in three different colors (periwinkle, a greyish-purple, and the deep red shown in this link):

http://www.express.com/catalog/product_detail.jsp?productId=8549136&categoryId=cat320062

 

That shirt is great ... for me, at least.  I'm kind of awkwardly built in that I have a fairly slim torso, small-chested, wide shoulders, and long arms.  It's hard to find a dress shirt that fits properly.  Most of the time, it either hangs like a box around my torso while fitting perfectly in the arms and shoulders, or it fits perfectly in the torso while I feel like I'm about to rip out the back of my shirt like the Hulk.

 

So, a shirt like that in the colors listed above with a charcoal grey or black pair of awesome dress pants.  As for shoes?  A VERY old pair of dress shoes that is still in decent shape, is "walkable," doesn't make my feet hurt.

 

I actually don't know anything about the socials and dinners, etc.  That awesome mod cloth dress linked above looks awesome for dressier occasions.  In case you missed it:

http://www.modcloth.com/shop/dresses/work-with-me-dress-in-black 

 

Speaking of which, Kamisha, WHAT did you do???  NOW I have to buy this dress because it is SO AMAZING.  Thank you!!!  I LOVE dresses with sleeves!!!!!

 

As for this question:

 

 

I'm wondering what people's thoughts are on the following:

 

- long hair:  wear it up or down?

- glasses or contacts?

 

I would say whatever is going to keep you less distracted and more focused during the tours/interview process.  If I wore contacts, I'd have the urge to rub my eyes or put drops in during the visit, and if my hair is near my face, I can't focus.  Hair can look professional whether it's worn up or down, and either glasses or contacts should be fine!

Edited February 28, 2014 by gingin6789

[agent229]

I really like New York and Company's dress pants. Their shirts suck for some reason but the pants seem good.

 

I'm on a visit where the high is 0 degrees, so I kind of threw fashion out a bit, but am trying. I am going to wear some mid-calf Keen boots that are waterproof but look nice, some thick leggings.... and then either a sweater dress type thing with some shirt layers under, or a pencil skirt over the leggings with a different sweater. Hopefully it works!

[RunnerGrad]

Just to update:  I decided to wear my hair down, mainly because it was freezing cold out, and a hat would have messed with my hair far more had it been up.  The serum I used in it kept it from frizzing and being all static-y.

 

Wore glasses for one interview, contacts for the rest, to prevent the fogging up of glasses when going from cold outside to warm inside.

 

At all my interviews, the majority of the candidates were in suits or wore blazers with dress pants or skirts.  A couple had dress pants with a blouse, but they were the minority.  Interviewers also tended to wear suits, blazers, or dress pants/skirts with a dressy blouse.  (Yes, I'm in a female-dominated field, and didn't see one male on the interview circuit).  I think I only saw one person who wasn't wearing makeup - the rest all had at least a touch of makeup, even if it was just mascara and lipgloss.  No one was "done up" however, just nice, clean, basic makeup.

 

That was my experience with 5 interviews over the course of a week and a half.  Now the waiting game begins.

[legan]

For my interview yesterday, I wore my hair down (because I have fantastic hair and should be accepted on that fact alone!) and wore my glasses, because I don't do contacts.

 

I have heard that women are sometimes perceived as more mature when they wear their hair back. So, if that's what you're going for, that might be something to keep in mind.

[HicklePickle]

There was a whoooole range of outfits for my masters interview today. I was in a matching suit, and was by far the most dressed up. There was another girl with a dark dress and blazer that was the closest to my wardrobe. Some girls had colored blazers and some were wearing cardigans. The most casual wore dark skinny pants and a colorful blouse. Some wore makeup and others didn't. Many wore glasses and others didn't.

The thing that I do want to note, however, is that the girl in the blazer and I arrived first. We were both complimented on our outfits. That alone made me confident that I made the right choice in dressing up!