Job interviews are stressful. You have to make mental lists of your accomplishments, do prior research on the company, and ace each interview question while keeping your smile intact. And then, there is the age-old question of what you should wear to the office.
While we can’t help you with the Q&A parts, we can definitely help you close up the style gap, so you’re always dressed appropriately for the interview. So to help solve this riddle of “what should I wear to my job interview”, we got some tips from female bosses.
Read up, dress up, and get that job you want!
Images: Instagram (@jessica_hendricksyee / @rakiareynolds), TPG News, Showbit.
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As one of the most powerful figures in the global fashion industry, Anna Wintour knows a thing or two when it comes to dressing. And her tip? Stay authentic.
“You have to dress for yourself”, Anna says. “It’s the same for any job you might be going for. I think it doesn’t do yourself a service to fake it.”
She also adds that she will “always remember a young man who came in in a dress and a handbag, and I gave him the job on the spot”.
The ex-CEO of Yahoo is known in business circles for her influence on Google in the latter’s early years. And even though she’s no longer leading global tech giants anymore, Marissa still knows a thing or two about power dressing.
“It’s good to show that you don’t need to sacrifice your sense of femininity because you are an engineer”, Marissa advises.
As the founder of jewellery brand The Brave Collection, Jessica Hendricks Yee lends her outfits a more creative spin. Still, when it comes to dressing for an interview, it’s best to dial back on anything that’s too showy, and stick to a simpler look.
“I recommend clean and chic with a little hint of your personality,” the Forbes 30 Under 30 List honoree says. “For me, I’m always wearing a few layers of jewelry that are meaningful to me and that give my look a little bit of a cool, gypsy feel. I like to mix high-low, casual, and refined for an easy, yet polished look.”
If American fashion designer Tory Burch’s clothes are anything to go by, then this is one female CEO who you’ll want to pay attention to. After all, her clothes are best-suited for the modern-day working woman who wants stylish threads that they can trust to help them look their best.
For job interviews, Tory recommends to “find the silhouettes that look best on you. When clothes fit right, you feel more confident and that’s what translates.”
President of the Singapore Committee for UN Women, Trina Liang-Lin’s one advice for interview dressing is to pay attention to the company and its values.
“Try to guess what the woman who may potentially interview you will wear, and riff off of that”, she says. “It’s a fun exercise, and also puts you in the mindset of the company culture.”
As the owner of Skai Blue Media, Rakia Reynolds is often decked out in cheery brights and fun accessories that take the dullness out of the work day.
When asked for her job interview dressing tips, Rakia says that it pays to do your homework. “When you go into an interview, know WHO you are meeting with and what the brand of the company represents as it relates to that person. Personality always reigns, but employers are looking at how you can be an extension of their brand, so being polished and poised in some instances precedes that.”
As a fashion icon and inventor of the iconic wrap dress, Diane von Furstenberg knows a thing or two about dressing for the top job at hand.
“You should wear whatever makes you feel the most confident and like the best version of yourself,” she muses. “I don’t really have a lot of rules for those kinds of things, but if someone is trying to be someone they’re not, I think that’s usually pretty easy to figure out.”