Dressing for success- Job interview

[mgdavis]

I hopefully have an interview in the near future, my first in almost six years and my second face-to-face interview ever. It is also my first interview for something above an entry-level position (wrench turner for a big DoD contractor).

Obviously I'm not going to go wearing jeans. A pair of khakis or slacks with a button up shirt, possibly a tie depending on what shirt I wear.

I do have one thing I'm not sure about though. I currently have a beard, a goatee and mustache to be more specific. It is a couple months long and looks reasonably well kept. I am loathe to shave it. I think it goes well with my shaved scalp, and I don't really want to go through the itchy regrowing process.

Think I can get away with the goat, or should I cut it off? I know for a fact that you can wear one while employed there, so I'd just start growing it again after the interview process.

[taurusowner]

What job are you interviewing for?  How you dress and your facial hair is going to depend a lot on that.

[mgdavis]

I'm trying to get in turning wrenches for a big DoD contractor. It's definitely a blue-collar job, I'd have no doubt in my mind if it was a white-collar position.

[Fjolnirsson]

If it looks well trimmed, I would leave it. I've found that most employers outside of security/police/fire and office jobs aren't too particular about facial hair. That goes double for "hands-on" sort of jobs.

[roo_ster]

The no-brainer for facial hair is a clean shave.

Not to say that one can't get hired being hirsute, but some folks just think poorly of facial hair.

Business casual or slacks, button-down, & tie may be dressier than what you'd wear to a wrench-turning job, but by doing so you demonstrate that you know how to clean up and a whole bunch of other little cues.

Also, shine those shoes!  Plenty of ex .mil at Lockmart.  If you do a civvie impersonation of getting ready for inspection, you would not hurt your chances.

[roo_ster]

Oh, good luck!

[mgdavis]

Shine my shoes? If I wanted to do the I'd have black shoes that weren't Corfam.  

Does windex count as shining?

Now that I think about it, I may have to go pull those out of a box somewhere.

[Ben]

I highly recommend a suit for the interview, even if it's a blue collar job. If you choose not to shave your beard, the suit will also give many many points towards the beard, if the interviewer happens to have a beard bias.

Many moons ago, when I got a job at the county dump, I showed up to the interview in a suit. Even years into it, my boss, who was on my interview board, would make the comment that it was a big factor in hiring me. There were other qualified applicants, but he said I was the only one who showed up in a suit and looked like I really put an effort into the interview.

I'm at a point in my life now where I actually like to wear suits or sport coats whenever I can. Back then I hated the thought of a suit for any occasion, but knew the importance of impressing an interview panel, so would bite the bullet when something was important.

[grampster]

I'm with Ben on this.  Effort counts much.

[mgdavis]

I'd wear a suit if I owned one. Slacks and a tie is all I've got.

Took a self portrait. Danged thing looks bigger from a distance, and I suddenly realize it's slightly lopsided.

Let's put it this way, would you hire this guy if he had a nicer shirt and somewhat better trimmed facial hair? 

[Gowen]

I asked my wife and she suggested that you clean up the goat.  Trim it so that it looks neat.  Otherwise you are ok.  That goat looks rough, gang bangerish.  You can grow it back after you are hired.

[Headless Thompson Gunner]

How you dress conveys to the interviewer how much you think they're worth.  It's a matter of respect.  Do you respect him enough to put in the effort to look nice?  Is he worth it to you?

It's also a matter of respect for yourself.  Do you care enough aobut yourself to make yourself look presentable?

At minimum, you need a crisp dress shirt, tie, slacks, and polished shoes.  A jacket, whether just a sport coat or a full suit, certainly won't hurt and would probably help considerably.  Is there anyone your size who could lend you a sport coat for the day?

The goatee is probably ok, but make sure it looks well groomed, like you spent some effort spiffing it up for the occasion.

[lupinus]

I'd trim it so it is neat and reasonably short.  Neat but to long can still be a turn off.

As for the dress, the tie can be tricky if you aren't wearing a suit or at least a sport coat/blazer. Some people will think nothing negative of a tie with no jacket while others look down on it as a half assed job of dressing up. If you get an interviewer that looks down on the tie and no jacket you would have been better off just not wearing a tie. Even those who look down on a tie and no jacket seem to look better on an outfit that is well put together minus a tie.

If you own a suit, wear one. If you don't then dress a level or two above what the job requires. Wear slacks with the preferred color being black or charcoal, a fitted shirt in a conservative color (white or light blue), and nice shoes shined as applicable to the style of shoe. And make sure that the cloths are of proper fit. Tight and baggy go in and out of style for a simple reason, neither looks quite right. Proper fitting cloths always are in style for the simple reason they always look good. Wearing a well put together outfit that has attention paid to the details looks better then an OK outfit that happens to have a tie included.

Edit to add- If you do go with the tie (and I'm not saying tie with no jacket is a hard and fast rule, it can just be a gamble) don't go it alone. Use either a tie tack, chain, or bar that is conservative in design. Few things look worse then a tie flopping around all over the place. For extra attention to detail points any and all metal worn should match or at least be of the same tone (wedding bands or class rings don't have to follow this rule). So if one piece of metal is silver, all should match. If one is gold, all should match. Don't wear two or three different metal tones as it looks thrown together. And for the love of everything, belt and shoes should match. They can be a few shades off, but they should be basically the same. Belt width should also match the size of the loops on your pants, thin belt with big loops looks horrible as does a wide belt stuffed in tiny loops. Socks, a few shades off is OK so long as it's not drastic, should match the slacks not the shoes.

[Seenterman]

Trim the goat a bit probably like an inch or two and just make sure it's strait and everything else is cleanly shaven (neck, cheeks). I think the clothes will matter more to the interviewer. Make sure everything is clean and ironed (duh) but this is from someone who has worn a goatee his entire working career from boxboy at partycity to a legal assistant in a fairly big lawfirm who wouldn't go clean shaven for anything.

[Monkeyleg]

Ditto on trimming the goatee, if not shaving it altogether.

As for clothing, nobody ever made a mistake by overdressing for an interview, at least not that I'm aware of. To be safe wear a tie and sportcoat.

I wore a suit to an interview for a photo studio manager five years ago. The interviewer gave me a little good-natured ribbing about it, but when the department head came in, I was certain the suit was the right choice.

[Ben]

I'd wear a suit if I owned one. Slacks and a tie is all I've got.

Unless it's currently a financial issue, you might look into buying a suit in a neutral, conservative color like navy or a shade of grey before the interview. All the major clothiers are having 50% or more off sales right now. Everyone should own at least one suit, and the conservative color will meet most all occasions.

Otherwise, as HTG mentioned, if you can at least borrow a sport coat (that matches the pants and shirt you own), or even hit up a local thrift store, where you might be able to find a sport coat for $15 or $20.

I also vote for trimming the beard a bit before the interview. It sounds like in the job you're applying for, there shouldn't be an issue if you grow it back out after you're hired.

Edit: To correct for what Lupinus mentions on page 2, by matching sport coat I meant "goes with", not the same color as.

[mgdavis]

How much does a suit run? I'd not be adverse to buying one, but I don't have frequent occasion to wear one. I'm not broke, but I just bought a few toys so cash is not exactly overflowing from my wallet at the moment.

[Headless Thompson Gunner]

Anywhere from $100 to several thousand.  Depends where you buy it from, how much quality you want.

A $200 suit should be just enough for this sort of occasion.  You aren't trying to outdress any bankers or lawyers, here. 

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

i'd hate to not get hired and wonder if the reason why was my refusal to shave.   especially in this job market. i got a suit at the salvation army for 20 bucks once  nice suits can cost  but i got a couple on sale over the years.   good luck man

[Ben]

Generally decent suits start in the high 200's (not on sale) and go up from there. If you shop a sale, or you have any outlet stores for places like Jos Banks or even Brooks Brothers, you can sometimes find killer deals.

Otherwise if cash is a concern at the moment, you might try something like this:

http://www.amazon.com/Presidential-Signature-Collection-Italian-Business/dp/B001LD9TI4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=apparel&qid=1263944684&sr=8-1

I actually bought one of these last year because I sometimes find myself in work situations where I go from an office setting to a not office setting, and didn't want to take a chance of ruining one of my better suits. I wasn't expecting it, but this actually turned out to be a nice suit.

Others may have different advice, but I'd rather go to an interview in a $99 suit that I spent $30 on to have properly tailored, than to show up in a $500 suit off the rack that doesn't fit me well. Tailoring can make the man (and the suit).

[HankB]

If you trim the goat (you should!) try to make it even . . . unless it's just a shadow from the flash, it looks crooked in the picture.

[Jocassee]

Men's Wearhouse. Tell them to set you up with an interview suit. They'll know what to do.

[Monkeyleg]

I regularly buy sport coats at Goodwill for $7. They don't look worn at all, and there's some good quality ones. I've seen some nice suits for about $20.

Get a good quality suit for $20. You'll spend more on a tailor getting you a good fit, but it's worth it.

[MillCreek]

MG, at a minimum, I would trim back the goatee until it is much shorter and I would beg, borrow or steal a sport coat/blazer to wear with a dress shirt, tie and dress slacks.  

I think you should look as conservative and run-of-the-mill as possible.  Here is why:  last time I checked, the only missiles at Bangor were Trident ICBMs and Tomahawks.  I have noted over the years that people who are in charge of nuclear weapons seem to like the stolid, steady, salt-of-the-earth types. One way to convey that is through dress.  Looking dignified and steady can only help your chances, in my view.

I hope that G98 comes along and chimes in; as someone who used to fly around the 'special weapons' in the back of the BUFF, I am sure that he can contribute on what sort of things the personnel reliability program folks look for.  Although this is a civilian job not involved with shining the physics package on the missiles, I would not be surprised if they look for the same sort of attributes for anyone involved with a missile program.

I could be absolutely wrong about this, and I would defer to others with actual experience in this area.  But my two cents.

PS: and I would point out that you look like a 30 year old younger version of me, with the goatee and shaved head.  Except my goatee is gray now.

[mgdavis]

I asked my wife and she suggested that you clean up the goat.  Trim it so that it looks neat.  Otherwise you are ok.  That goat looks rough, gang bangerish.  You can grow it back after you are hired.

I gotta say, this is the first time anyone has said I looked like a gang banger.

It's definitely uneven. I just trimmed it for the first time in a couple months yesterday when I was shaving my head, it looks like I need to go back through and even it up a little.

Been thinking it over. I'll probably shave prior to the interview. Torn between the suit and business casual. I haven't dressed up at all in at least three years, so I'll probably need to buy new slacks, shirt, etc anyways. Need to dig out my AF tie tack.

I hate buying clothes, especially ones that are seldom worn. I'm that stereotypical male with no fashion sense and no love for shopping.