Women's Interview Dress

The way we dress for an interview can ultimately be the deciding factor in whether the company chooses to hire us or not. However, because of the variety of fashion changes that are happening everyday, it is close to impossible for a women to find the perfect interview outfit. Surprisingly enough, appearance has been estimated to influence up to 70% of employment interviewers' judgments (Springbett, 1958). Sometimes I think women just wished that before the interview the company just gave you a robe so that your outfit was not part of the decision process. After the study was completed, I found the results to be quite surprising. For example, not that all men are this way, but I that they would be a lot more accepting of slightly revealing outfits in an interview. However, I guess I was wrong. The results showed that although men would enjoy the sexualized interview outfits, it would actually give them a negative feeling of how the women would perform in the office. And women on the other hand were much more accepting of more fashionable additions to the plain business suit. For example, women did not mind tweeds and other colors whereas men just wanted a simple tailored suit that did not draw much attention. 

Although I believe that these are all good points, I think that in todays work community, it is important to look at where you are going to interview. I believe that many companies want to hire an employee that is dressed in a way that represents the spirit of their company. For example, if you were applying to be a social media director for say a tattoo shop, they most likely would laugh if you wanted in with a full on pants suit. So with all of these things considered, we will never really know if our interview outfit works or not.-Kaitlin

Fashionable Interview Attire for Women

Women's job interview attire basically breaks down into appropriate versus inappropriate. The study that the textbook discusses focuses on narrowing down the categories of dress into “appropriate,” “maybe,” and “inappropriate.” Taking a closer look, gender played an important role in what was acceptable or not. Moreover, women were more accepting of slight variations from traditionally appropriate interview attire than men were. This study was conducted in 1991, as well as 2002; the findings concluded that a more conservative look was preferred in 2002, compared to 1991. The economy has much to do with the type of dress that societies prefer. The results of the study demonstrate that our interview dress is moving toward conservatism, but not as much as prior to what the state of the economy was in 1991.

I have always had a tough time deciding what type of dress was considered appropriate for an interview, and quite frankly, this article did not clear up much! I gathered that the more covered-up and plain a woman is in her interview, the more likely it is that she will land that middle-management position. I completely comprehend that, but I am confused as to where the line is drawn when it comes to interviews in the fashion industry. This study was done with jobs that do not concern the fashion industry, so it would be interesting to see if the results are the same if the focus is on those jobs. -Mallory

After reading “How Personnel Interviewers See Women’s Job Interview Dress”,  I directed my focus on what were considered inappropriate suits. In the article, a few of the characteristics that correlated with inappropriate suits were, skirts above the knee, high-contrast trim on pant legs, matching leather jacket with pants and busy textures or bold stripes. The reason I found this to be so interesting was these characteristics of inappropriate suits described what I myself would likely wear on an interview. It shows how this information pertains to the type of position a woman is applying for.  For instance, in a creative field, diverting away from the norm can actually be appropriate. It is about evaluating what the work environment entails when deciding on the right choice for interview attire.

-Rachael 

I found the article, "How Personnel Interviews See Women's Job Interview Dress: A 2002 Update", very surprisingly with the results it gave. However, I have to take into consideration that this was an update from 2002, I am sure the facts would be different now in 2012. Some of the most shocking facts to me were the Guidelines for Appropriateness. Little details such as a collared shirt vs a non collared shirt, made such a huge difference. It is almost required to wear a collared shirt to an interview, whether you are male or female, and I do not see this changing any time soon. Another fact was women's heels, there was a height requirement, which I didnt think people took seriously, but apparently a its a big deal. The height requirement of heels are 1 1/2 to 3 inches high, and closed toe. I didnt think these little details made such a huge impact, but it is something to take into consideration for your next interview. -Amanda