Interview Attire

[whatsaname]

I know it might be early for this as a lot of interview invites have yet to go out and I've looked at old threads but they aren't too helpful. What are people's thoughts on appropriate interview attire (particularly for women)? I know it's better to be overdressed than underdressed, but is a suit for women necessary? 

[ellieotter]

Yeah from what past PhD candidates have told me, suits for women are pretty standard for interviews. You may also try a business appropriate dress with a blazer or a business skirt and blazer. Basically what you'd wear to present at a national conference is the usual!

Oh and wear comfy but appropriate flats. Many programs will give you a tour of campus so heels may not be wise, up to you though!  

Edited December 19, 2016 by psychlife4me
Added information

[dormcat]

I would absolutely recommend wearing a suit. I recently bought two pantsuits for interviews, one black and one navy blue. It's much better to be overdressed, and the more professional you look, the better. My friends in grad school all, with the exception of one in a school psych program, wore skirt or pantsuits. The one in the school psych program wore a nice dress with a sweater and said there were people even more underdressed than she was. A friend who interviewed at Duke, UConn, FSU, Fordham, and Virginia Tech for clinical programs said people who weren't in suits looked very out of place, but she recommended that if it's a multi-day event to only wear a suit the day you meet with professors and wear a nice dress or slacks with a blazer the other day.

[nervous_nellie]

Definitely suit for PhD programs. I'm not considering anything else for my upcoming interviews. For social events you can go business professional/casual. Slacks/skirts with a nice top. 

[FacelessMage]

I might go the dress and blazer route for interviews (my standard conference presentation outfit), with a pair of comfy flats or heels, depending on walking. I'd wear a pantsuit but I'm petite and it's an ordeal trying to find one that fits my short limbs. 

[Blackwater]

I would second everyone's statement about wearing flats. Purchasing a full suit can be very expensive ($100+), but you can purchase a nice business dress and tights for significantly less (JCPenny, TJMaxx). Just thought I would mention it in case you needed to take finances into consideration. 

[dormcat]

28 minutes ago, FacelessMage said:

I might go the dress and blazer route for interviews (my standard conference presentation outfit), with a pair of comfy flats or heels, depending on walking. I'd wear a pantsuit but I'm petite and it's an ordeal trying to find one that fits my short limbs. 

I'm a short lady and I found amazing suits at Ann Taylor (petite size, of course). I have NEVER found pants that don't need tailoring and while I'm not thin+petite, they fit like a glove. Pricy, but you can get a discount for signing up for their emails. Try it on in the store for sizing and order online with the discount, which is what I did.

Edited December 19, 2016 by dormcat

[Central Perk]

If you wait until after Christmas, most of the stores have huge sales and you can get stuff marked way down. I did this last year at Anne Taylor. I wore a blazer, ankle trousers, flats, and a blouse for every interview (except one where it snowed, and I switch the flats for nice boots). Everybody else was dressed exactly the same way. Most psych departments are fairly casual, and I was much more over-dressed than the faculty and the students (which is what you want). I don't think a full suit is necessary, but this is just my experience.

[stereopticons]

Ok, potentially going to look like a fashion-clueless idiot here, but what is the difference between a pantsuit and wearing dress pants and a blazer?

[Central Perk]

I actually don't know. I think a suit is when you buy the pants and blazer as a matching set?  I'm still ridding my wardrobe of tee-shirts from my high school sports teams, so adult fashion is still somewhat of a mystery.

[dormcat]

@stereopticons - pantsuit or skirtsuit will be the same color and material, and will be designed to "mesh" (so any little details will match, cut will be similar, same weight fabric, etc.). Slacks with a blazer can match and look nice, but unless they were designed as a set they aren't a pantsuit. I don't care much for fashion myself, I chose pantsuits just so I wouldn't have to worry about matching two articles of clothing together. 

[stereopticons]

Thanks, @dormcat. That makes sense! I guess I don't have a suit, then, technically, and I've worn slacks and a blazer to interviews.  I'm with @Central Perk. Adult fashion is too hard. If I could get away with wearing jeans and a t-shirt every day, I totally would. 

[dormcat]

4 minutes ago, stereopticons said:

Thanks, @dormcat. That makes sense! I guess I don't have a suit, then, technically, and I've worn slacks and a blazer to interviews.  I'm with @Central Perk. Adult fashion is too hard. If I could get away with wearing jeans and a t-shirt every day, I totally would. 

I count myself lucky that the only time I won't be wearing jeans and a t-shirt in 2017 is when I should be wearing a stupid pantsuit! Basically going to grad school to put off dressing professionally for another 5-6 years, nbd

[Necrovex]

I'd suit up. Better to be overdressed than underdressed. The latter implies one not caring about the position too much (at least that's how I would view it). Even doing Skype calls for my interview, I still plan to dress formally to enter the right frame of mind.

[whatsaname]

Thanks for the help everyone! This is so helpful and I also was unsure what the difference was between a pantsuit and blazer/slacks. Guess I need to get to some shopping soon.

[stereopticons]

31 minutes ago, whatsaname said:

Thanks for the help everyone! This is so helpful and I also was unsure what the difference was between a pantsuit and blazer/slacks. Guess I need to get to some shopping soon.

I'm glad it wasn't just me! Guess I should hit some after-Christmas sales, too. 

[FacelessMage]

13 hours ago, dormcat said:

I'm a short lady and I found amazing suits at Ann Taylor (petite size, of course). I have NEVER found pants that don't need tailoring and while I'm not thin+petite, they fit like a glove. Pricy, but you can get a discount for signing up for their emails. Try it on in the store for sizing and order online with the discount, which is what I did.

They look cute but sooooo pricey (especially in Canadian dollars). Sears, believe it or not, used to have cute charcoal grey suits in petite sizes (that were also machine washable), but they discontinued them. Still, if I still can't find anything I'll go pick up a black version of that same suit.

[Blackwater]

I actually have a question about interview attire myself now. I am a California native currently living there and have just been invited to an interview weekend in January in New York. I have a nice thick coat, hat, and gloves to wear. The only think I am concerned about is shoes. If it is going to be cold and snowing and I will be taking a campus tour and traveling from event to event outside I have no idea what to wear on my feet; normally in this type of weather I would wear boots. I of course planned on wearing nice flats with a suit, but now I am concerned that my feet will not be warm enough.

Does anyone have any suggestions? 

[FacelessMage]

9 minutes ago, Blackwater said:

I actually have a question about interview attire myself now. I am a California native currently living there and have just been invited to an interview weekend in January in New York. I have a nice thick coat, hat, and gloves to wear. The only think I am concerned about is shoes. If it is going to be cold and snowing and I will be taking a campus tour and traveling from event to event outside I have no idea what to wear on my feet; normally in this type of weather I would wear boots. I of course planned on wearing nice flats with a suit, but now I am concerned that my feet will not be warm enough.

Does anyone have any suggestions? 

You could always wear boots and bring a pair of flats with you, changing into the flats inside and putting the boots back on for outside. Definitely don't wear flats if there's snow on the ground. It's a good way to ruin a good pair of flats fast.

[HigherEdPsych]

On 12/18/2016 at 4:12 PM, whatsaname said:

I know it might be early for this as a lot of interview invites have yet to go out and I've looked at old threads but they aren't too helpful. What are people's thoughts on appropriate interview attire (particularly for women)? I know it's better to be overdressed than underdressed, but is a suit for women necessary? 

Women generally wear (black, grey) suits with some kind of neutral business-like top. Women with long hair had either tied it back or up. I would also be wary of wearing too much makeup.

[HigherEdPsych]

5 hours ago, Blackwater said:

I actually have a question about interview attire myself now. I am a California native currently living there and have just been invited to an interview weekend in January in New York. I have a nice thick coat, hat, and gloves to wear. The only think I am concerned about is shoes. If it is going to be cold and snowing and I will be taking a campus tour and traveling from event to event outside I have no idea what to wear on my feet; normally in this type of weather I would wear boots. I of course planned on wearing nice flats with a suit, but now I am concerned that my feet will not be warm enough.

Does anyone have any suggestions? 

You can find some nice boots to match anything on Amazon  

[Toren]

Is a suit overkill for guys during interviews ? Anyone willing to share what other males have worn to interviews ?

[hd397]

On 12/25/2016 at 7:06 PM, Toren said:

Is a suit overkill for guys during interviews ? Anyone willing to share what other males have worn to interviews ?

I don't think it's overkill at all! I would advise it. When I went on interviews last year, all the male applicants wore suits.

[Clinpsyc01]

Does anyone know where I can get a blazer or something to fit a very small person? I got an interview invite without much notice and I just went in basically every store in my subpar local mall and couldn't find anything that fit. I'm not that short but I am very thin, and professional clothing all seems to be huge on me for some reason. 

I have a feeling I'm going to have to buy a bunch of things online with express shipping... This is not going to be fun considering I'm both poor and Canadian. 

[FacelessMage]

13 minutes ago, hsrnl said:

Does anyone know where I can get a blazer or something to fit a very small person? I got an interview invite without much notice and I just went in basically every store in my subpar local mall and couldn't find anything that fit. I'm not that short but I am very thin, and professional clothing all seems to be huge on me for some reason. 

I have a feeling I'm going to have to buy a bunch of things online with express shipping... This is not going to be fun considering I'm both poor and Canadian. 

I would try anywhere that has petites....Reitman's, Sears, Cleo, etc. They'll likely have stuff small enough. Express also carries smaller sizes. You can always have it tailored afterward to properly fit you. 

Feel free to PM me if you need more ideas.