What to Wear to a Job Interview (3 Different Dress Codes)

so you got a job interview congrats you're probably feeling kind of excited a little bit nervous what if they ask tough questions you know what if you're not qualified for the job what about the awkward salary negotiation you have enough to worry about and on top of that you have to figure out what to wear to the interview even if it's over Zoom you still gotta dress up maybe you've done some research on the company you figured out that they have a smart casual dress code or maybe the recruiter told you to wear business casual but what do those things even mean these days should you just wear a suit and tie I get it job interview attire can be confusing but in this video I'm going to clear it all up specifically we'll go over three things first I'm gonna tell you the most important thing to keep in mind when getting dressed for a job interview or any professional setting then I'm going to give you three outfit examples that you can just copy and finally we'll go into each office dress code like smart casual and business casual and decide for them figure out what they really mean in 2023. before we get into it huge thank you to today's sponsor nomos glasuta I have been wearing a Nomo Swatch the mini Matik every day for a few months now and it's quickly become my favorite watch even before owning it I've always been a fan of the nomo's aesthetic it's this clean kind of Bauhaus design they have Innovative in-house mechanical movements and automatics a lot of versatile case sizes that work well on smaller wrists now for this partnership nomos sent me one of their new tangente neomatic blue gold watches in 35 millimeters it also comes in 39 millimeters but the smaller size is perfect for me the tangente and by the way I hope I'm pronouncing that correctly I've heard a few different pronunciations it's one of nomos's most popular collections it's definitely a dressy watch but it doesn't feel too fragile or dainty like you don't just wear this watch for special occasions you can dress it down I would definitely wear this Blue Gold version with jeans or chinos this round stainless steel watch is powered by an in-house automatic movement that's just 3.2 millimeters tall which allows for a very thin case that slides easily under the cuff of any dress shirt and you could admire this feat of engineering through the sapphire crystal case back although that would require you to take the watch off your wrist which I'm telling you you're not going to want to do but the most striking part of this watch is the dial it's this deep warm Sunburst blue that kind of changes depending on what sort of lighting you're in the rhodium plated hands and highly legible silver numerals look perfect against the blue dial there's also a sub dial for seconds and the word neomatic or neo-matic appears in Gold under the nomos word Mark and it's very Nomo to add a little splash of color on their dial just to give it a little bit of extra playfulness now this watch comes on a shell cordovan strap from the legendary horween Tannery in Chicago you can also get it on a silver bracelet for a more casual sporty look but let me tell you the cordovan is very comfortable and breaks in really nicely I think this is a great everyday watch it's perfect if you work in like a smart casual or a business casual office but it's easy to dress down and yeah you can wear it with a suit you can wear it with a tuxedo so it kind of does it all anyway I could go on all day about nomos and the tangente in blue gold but if you want more images and more details about this watch head over to nomo's website I'll link to it down below in the description or you can just Google it huge thank you to nomos for supporting the channel by sponsoring this video big fan of the brand and it's really a pleasure to work with them like this okay let's talk about job interview style the number one thing to remember is that it's always better to be a little overdressed than a little underdressed if you're overdressed you might feel a little silly but if you're underdressed You Look Silly better to feel foolish than to be the fool so keeping that in mind here are a few outfits that will always work for pretty much any interview number one a gray suit white dress shirt Navy tie and black oxfords and of course a nice watch this is a great outfit for especially younger guys who want to look a little bit more mature you could also take this outfit but make it a navy suit which is good for older guys who want to look a little younger because blue does that swap the black dress shoes for dark brown or burgundy swap the Navy tie for burgundy and keep the watch outfit number three is a bit more casual a pink dress shirt casual sport coat khaki trousers brown suede Derbies or lace-up shoes a leather briefcase and a tasteful watch there's a great option when you don't want to suit up and then finally you could swap the jacket for a sweater swap that dress shirt for like an Oxford button up tucked in keep everything else the same and you've got yourself a casual outfit that's going to work for any casual or spark casual job interview and this is as casual as I would go but of course your interview attire depends on the dress code so let's break down these professional dress codes and figure out what they actually mean the most common office dress code right now is smart casual now there's no official definition of smart casual so it's always okay to ask your recruiter what it means that said you can think of smart casual as mixing dressy and Casual elements in the same outfit here's a side by side comparison of casual on the left and smart casual on the right it's hard to explain but you can see the difference right as another example a typical casual outfit is jeans t-shirt and sneakers to make it smart casual you want to swap out one or two items for dressier options for example you could keep the jeans but instead of a t-shirt wear a long sleeve polo and instead of the sneakers wear boots or you could swap the t-shirt for a button-up shirt keep the jeans but tuck your shirt in and swap the sneakers for loafers if you want to keep the Casual shirt and casual shoes try adding a sport coat on top to make it smart casual especially a casual sport coat kind of unstructured like this one and this works the other way around too instead of dressing up a casual outfit you can dress down a formal outfit for example take a suit but ditch the tie and swap the dress shoes for sneakers disclaimer that's not the easiest look to pull also tread carefully or ditch the jacket all together and swap the dress shirt for a refined sweater like a Merino turtleneck of course keep in mind the temperature you're likely to feel a little too hot during a job interview so if you run hot maybe don't wear a turtleneck or a wool sweater so that's smart casual but what about business casual the dress code is still super common in the workplace but it doesn't mean what it used to so let's break it down business casual used to mean that you had to wear a jacket over a dress shirt but no tie nowadays it's much more relaxed most business casual offices expect you to wear a button-up shirt tucked in but no jacket or tie jeans and sneakers are not business casual except for maybe on casual Fridays of course if you're interviewing for a job on Friday don't follow casual Fridays okay just dress like it's a Monday now if you have a job interview and you're kind of on the fence about whether or not to wear a jacket I say go for it again totally fine to be just a little bit overdressed but you don't want to be underdressed during a job interview so when in doubt wear the jacket for business casual shoes go with loafers or dressy lace-ups like bleachers Derbies maybe dress boots or dress Chelsea's dressy Chukka Boots you know I'm not talking about like Clark's desert boots here really if you're gonna wear boots make sure that they're not too casual Doc Martens are not going to cut it during winter time you can try layering a sweater over your button-up shirt this is a great substitution for a jacket and it's very comfortable it'll keep you warm and it's a sharp look also if your shirt is wrinkled or if it doesn't fit properly a sweater will hide all of its flaws as for outerwear you're going to want to skip the parka and opt for something a little bit dressier like a wool Overcoat or top coat you know if it's springtime just wear like a Mac jacket or a trench or a raincoat so that's business casual and finally we have business formal business formal is actually the easiest dress code for guys because it just means that you gotta wear a suit and a tie and dress shoes now it might be tempting to wear a fun color or really kind of sprezzatora up with like a burgundy suit and you know pocket squares and a lapel button and fancy tassel loafers but I recommend keeping it simple save your fancy pants outfits for weddings and brunch dates with the boys for the workplace you're going to want to stick with navy and gray or charcoal if you really want to stand out you can try a brown suit you know any shade of brown it's still conservative enough for most formal environments but it's something a little bit different so it'll set you apart from the sea of Navy and gray also don't bring your backpack to the office or to a job interview if you're gonna wear a suit you're going to look like a student who just graduated and has his first job interview especially if you already look young so get yourself a proper work bag like a briefcase or a portfolio or a messenger bag and again if you're interviewing on a Friday don't assume it's okay to go with Casual Friday attire you know wear a suit and a tie but of course most guys don't work in formal offices even law firms and you know Wall Street banks have kind of loosened up their dress codes the last decade or so so chances are nine times out of ten if you have a job interview it's going to be smart casual or business casual and if you follow the advice that I laid out in this video you can be sure that your clothes will be working for you and not against you I'm not saying that you'll definitely get the job but I'm not saying you won't I have a good feeling about this one either way be sure to top your outfit off with a nice accessory I think the best accessory for guys is just a solid wrist watch an elevated everyday watch like this nomos tangente is perfect for pretty much any professional setting checks all the right boxes for me and I think it will for you too of course I'll link to this watch Below in the description if you have any questions about a job interview style or workplace attire in general please let me know down in the comment section thank you as always for watching and until next time stay stylish

Channel: Brock McGoff

Views: 39,975

Keywords: job interview style, interview, job interview, business casual interview, smart casual interview, job interview dress code, should you wear a suit to a job interview, business casual vs formal, smart vs business casual, casual job interview, job interview style men, job interview outfit ideas

Id: iaQvQ6VuTSY

Length: 9min 50sec (590 seconds)

Published: Wed Apr 19 2023