What to Wear- Winter Interviews

“The Clothes Make The Applicant”

Or: What to Wear (Winter Addition).

Interviewing at schools or with alumni has slowly and surely become an essential part of the application. They’re all about the face-to-face meetings, gauging your personality, and getting unprepared and unpolished words straight from your mouth. They want to know what you sound like and how you think on the spot.

There’s one part of interviews you can prepare well in advance and polish to your hearts desire- your outfits.

So today CollegeApp chick becomes a fashion blog with:

 What TO wear- Winter Interview Addition

I will break down the typical interview situations, and how to dress for them.
Disclaimer: Boys have it much easier, because keeping warm in men’s dress clothing is easier than women’s). Girls have it easier in the summer.

Visit/Presentation at your High School or College Fair -

This is the most casual of possibilities. You will want to balance comfort with professionalism and neatness because having to change in the middle of the day can be a hassle. You may only get a few moments of face to face time with the rep, so you want to make a good impression and be memorable.

What to wear-

For the girls: I recommend wearing a nice, brightly colored, button down shirt or blouse, jeans, and riding boots. The bright color will help them remember you, and button downs look flattering on everyone. A sweater can also work. If you’re the type of person to wear dresses to school, a patterned dress, tights, and a cardigan or blazer looks great too.

For the boys: You have it easier. I’d say jeans and a button down or polo (or a nice looking flannel, go for preppy or quirky, not grungy). If you have shoes that are not sneakers, sandals, or dress shoes definitely wear those. Converse sneakers can look nice too.

Avoid: Don’t look like you’re trying too hard, as you can leave a  negative impression. Also don’t be uncomfortable, because you will have to wear it all day.

Coffee With an Alumni-

While this interview is fairly casual, you are trying to convince the alumni that you are [insert school here] material.

What to wear-

For the girls: Wear a nice dress or skirt and blouse. This should not be formal and should look professional (anything with a lot of satin or lace will not do). Tights, a sweater, and boots will keep you warm and look fashionable. I don’t recommend wearing pants, because they are so difficult to get right, but if you really hate dresses, go for dress pants and a sweater that are flattering.

For the boys: Wear pants that are not jeans or dress pants (kakis, corduroys). Wear a sweater if you have a nice one, or a clean ironed button down. Do not wear sneakers, but dress shoes are a little much. If you have something in between, go for that. If you don’t, go for the dress shoes.

On Campus Interview (no tour)-

Because you’re going into their arena, you will want to be business-casual for this interview. You’re taking the time to go to the school, so make sure they have an impression of you looking put together and neat. Not going on a tour gives you more options, because warmth and shoes are much less of an issue.

For the Girls: Try a dress, tights, and a blazer. The dress should be, at the shortest, two inches (index finder length) above your knee. You can also wear nice shoes (flats or small heels). Funky colors are okay as long as they’re balanced out elsewhere (one pop of color).  Look professional and err towards conservative, but stay age appropriate. Borrow from siblings, not your mom. You can definitely wear a funky necklace or funky earrings if you’d like, but nothing too big. Small conservative jewelry pieces look great too. Once again, if you must wear pants, do pants and a pretty feminine blouse that are flattering and make you look good.

For the Boys: Wear dress pants and dress shoes. You have a little more freedom on top. I’d say either go for a button down or, if you’re daring, a cool blazer (not a big boxy one, an age appropriate one). Bright colors or cool (tasteful) patterns on top can help you stand out from the sea of white and sky blue. Personally I think a tie is a little much, but if you can rock a skinny tie (and I mean rock it), that is age appropriate and tells them a lot about your personality.

On Campus Interview (tour)

This is basically the same, but there is the extra consideration of warmth here.

For the Girls: See the above post, but make sure to wear warm leggings instead of tights. In fact, my tip is to wear warm leggings over your tights (extra layer of warmth without extra bulk). Bring warm, weather proof boots to wear when you’re outside, but bring flats in your bag to wear in your interview.

For the Boys: Remember when I said you have it easier? Follow the post above. All you have to do is bring a change of weather proof shoes.

Overall Tips:

Hair: Keep your hair out of your face (boys and girls). It is distracting to both you and the interviewer. My rule of thumb has always been that the style should eliminate the need to touch your hair (half ponytail, headbands, clips, bobby pins) while still looking flattering.

Brief myth-bust here: It is okay to wear your curly hair curly. People say that curly hair is unprofessional, that’s a lie as long as it’s neat and out of your face (also, inbox or email me if you need curly hair tips, I have very curly hair and I know my stuff).

One last tip for the ladies: Make up should be minimal. If you don’t wear make up, wear a little chap-stick to keep your mouth lubricated to make speaking easier and to remind you to smile. If you do wear make up, make sure you look professional. No bright or dark colors or funky patterns. Look natural.

Remember, no matter what the level of formality, you want to look neat, conservative, put together, and clean.  But that doesn’t mean stuffy. Look age appropriate and feel good in what you’re wearing. If you’re happy with how you look, you’ll feel confident.

Of course, your interview skills are more important than the clothes you’ll wear. But it is better to look overly professional than overly casual. Look like you’ve made an effort, and it will pay off in spades.