What to wear and how to act at a job interview

[Zero Gravitas]

I hate you Anne, more than that annoying black one.

[Steve Lampkins]

Now, do I own shoes...?

Check your feet first.

[An tSaoi]

Phew, black shoes under bed.

[Zero Gravitas]

Polish them!

And brush your teeth while you're at it!

[An tSaoi]

That's me more or less set. Thanks lads.

[Tokyo Sexwhale]

Right, my turn.

I've got an interview tomorrow. It's only 10 weeks work and to be honest I'm not mad pushed, but I might as well give it a go. [nb]Not exactly a go-getter attitude.[/nb]. The problem is I don't own a suit, and there's no way I'd have either the time or money to buy or rent one. I don't want to end up like the guy in weekender's story, but my choices are very limited. Shirt and trousers do?

Fake Edit: I've just checked, and, like the lads on Top Gear, I only own jeans. Fuck. Three pairs of jeans is the totality of my leg wardrobe. How did this happen? Any suggestions?

Have you got one of those Next clearance outlets near you?  If you're lucky you can get a decent work-quality suit for £40-£50.  By lucky, I mean being able to find a matching jacket and trousers in your size.

EDIT: Hold on, you're asking us the night before?  You're fucking doomed son!

[weekender]

Oh come on, no-one notices the really small detail.

I've been wearing £8 trousers, £4 shirts for the past 6 years or so, and I'm good at my job.  I don't give a shit if I look a bit trampy.  I keep my £40 suit for special occasions.

If you're going for an office job, make sure your jacket matches the trousers, then wear a shirt and tie.

The rest is then up to your personality and ability, these are just the basics.

I had an interview once where they spent about 30 minutes interviewing me, one guy took a look at the back of my shoes and said "No".

I heard him, and said "Have you just pre-judged me on the grounds that I couldn't be arsed to polish the back of my shoes this morning?"

"Yes" was his answer, and "Your loss" was my answer, and I walked out.  30 minutes of fucking interviews and this jumped up prick rejects me because I didn't polish the back of my shoes?  Twat.

There's also a little point about what you can offer the company you're applying to, I might save that for another time.

[23 Daves]

My attitude to job interviews is to go in with the right balance of confidence/nervousness. In other words, the right balance of cocky/humble. One of the best ways to approach an interview is to exude relaxed without seeming laid back, and to throw in a couple of light entertainment asides when it seems appropriate. Remember that they are often nervous too, and tired, so if you can inject a little oxygen into the room you have made your mark. I know this because I have interviewed candidates over days and days of first and second round interviews. It aint pleasant and if a human being walks into the room who you could imagine having a beer with, then that is the first 50 meters of your 100 meter hurdles already completed.

I actually had to interview a bunch of people for a role in my last job, for the first time in my life - and it is strangely nerve-wracking.  You've been on the opposite side of the table so many times that you're very self-conscious about whether you're doing something to make the other person feel unduly nervous.  And it's never pleasant to have to ask a question which trips somebody up.  You need to know where the limits of their experience are, but the process of finding out isn't always delightful.

Anyway, I got my present job on an apparently brilliant interview.  An interview on a day I had a stomach bug and had spent most of the morning doing the sour apple splatters, and in which I answered the question "How do you ensure equality?" as the question "How do you ensure quality?" to the confusion of all present, and inserted some jokes into my written test (although I knew for a fact my answers were 100% spot on, otherwise I probably would have saved the jokes for the pub afterwards).  I already had a dayjob, therefore had absolutely nothing to lose, which is often the best position to be in - you tend not to hide your personality so much during the interview stage, approaching it on a "Well, if they don't like me or what I have to say, then they're probably not the best people for me to work for" basis.  When I was desperate for work, on the other hand, I nearly didn't get a full-time position because my interview wasn't good enough (I still don't understand how or why).  They only agreed to offer the position to me after their first choice of applicant turned the job down.  I'd had months and months of interviews at that point and had been continually disappointed, and in retrospect perhaps I appeared a bit wooden as a result of blanding myself down so much.

So I suppose the answer is to walk in wanting the job, and having done all the research and preparation you need, but not actually appearing as if you desperately need the job.  And don't be afraid of jokes or anecdotes about your work experience, although be careful which ones you tell.  And try to give yourself food poisoning beforehand, since that obviously works as well. 

[An tSaoi]

EDIT: Hold on, you're asking us the night before?  You're fucking doomed son!

Didn't find out till today.

[confettiinmyhair]

Fake Edit: I've just checked, and, like the lads on Top Gear, I only own jeans. Fuck. Three pairs of jeans is the totality of my leg wardrobe. How did this happen? Any suggestions?

Do you have any 24 hour supermarkets, a Tesco or an Asda perhaps? Get a cheap suit from there.

[Edible]

I do like that apart from the shoes issue? What colour are the converse trainers? If they are reasonably neutral, then yes but maybe (if you have them!) some black shoes. Nothing too shiny (as a casual compromise)

I only say this because it is still an interview, an interview where you may be up against someone who has done the full on suit and tie thing(or girly equivalent) and in this climate they can afford to be fussy about volunteers.

sorry for not replying sooner. I've already had the interview, i asked whether my clothes were suitable and i was told they were...I didn't get the place in the end - allegedly due to a lack of references. But i suspect it was because the lady there clearly hated my guts from the moment she set eyes on me. It wasn't even a real interview. it wasn't like i replied to an advert in the paper or anything - i was just referred there from the Volunteer's  office.

Oh, my treads are black, by the way..

[sit ubu sit, good dog]

Any Sheffiled CABers?

I am at an interview at Riverside East 2 Millsands (S3 8DT) tomorrow and am getting the train into Sheffield; is that an easy enough walk or should I get a taxi (I have ample time from getting off the train).

[Jackson K Pollock]

Any Sheffiled CABers?

I am at an interview at Riverside East 2 Millsands (S3 8DT) tomorrow and am getting the train into Sheffield; is that an easy enough walk or should I get a taxi (I have ample time from getting off the train).

Can't help with your query, as I'm London-based, but just wanted to say that you've got possibly the second greatest name I've ever seen on a forum [nb]after John Tenta Blues Explosion[/nb], so for that reason alone I wish you luck and hope you get the job!

[SetToStun]

Do you have any 24 hour supermarkets, a Tesco or an Asda perhaps? Get a cheap suit from there.

If you insist on wearing supermarket clothes to interviews you must also make sure you remember to take your anti-static zap-strap, put it on and earth yourself before shaking hands with your interviewers: nothing puts a damper on the interview process more than electrocuting your prospective boss with your handshake.

Alternatively, splash out £140 on a decent(ish) wool suit from Marks and Spencer and save it for best. Next do brilliant quality work shirts (100% cotton, double ciff, collar stiffeners) from around £25 a pop - an absolute bargain. And invest in a couple of sober ties - woven silk is always best and can be spotted at 100 paces by the average office manager. Shoes should be oxfords, black. Brogues belong in the country, not the office. Brightly coloured ties or socks with cartoon characters on them make a very bold personal statement: specifically "I am a twat. Employ me at your own risk". Suits should be grey, black or dark blue: green is for fishing and brown is for hunting and shooting. Cufflinks should be discrete, functional and not flashy. Try to avoid wearing a belt with a suit - you are not a shape-shifter and your clothes should fit. Of course, all that's probably just in the City but it can't possibly hurt elsewhere.

[Braintree]

sorry for not replying sooner. I've already had the interview, i asked whether my clothes were suitable and i was told they were...I didn't get the place in the end - allegedly due to a lack of references. But i suspect it was because the lady there clearly hated my guts from the moment she set eyes on me. It wasn't even a real interview. it wasn't like i replied to an advert in the paper or anything - i was just referred there from the Volunteer's  office.

Oh, my treads are black, by the way..

I'm sorry to hear that. Volunteering is just ridiculous now, before they were grateful for the help now they are aware you need them a lot more than you would like to admit. I've had experiences ranging from a few emails and being given a casual role to being security cleared(in a formal interview setting) so that by the time it came through I couldn't do it.

As a result I always get a bit paranoid on other's behalf when people say "It is only volunteering" or "I will turn up in a jumper and jeans because that is what the people who work there wear"

If you insist on wearing supermarket clothes to interviews you must also make sure you remember to take your anti-static zap-strap, put it on and earth yourself before shaking hands with your interviewers: nothing puts a damper on the interview process more than electrocuting your prospective boss with your handshake.

Alternatively, splash out £140 on a decent(ish) wool suit from Marks and Spencer and save it for best. Next do brilliant quality work shirts (100% cotton, double ciff, collar stiffeners) from around £25 a pop - an absolute bargain. And invest in a couple of sober ties - woven silk is always best and can be spotted at 100 paces by the average office manager. Shoes should be oxfords, black. Brogues belong in the country, not the office. Brightly coloured ties or socks with cartoon characters on them make a very bold personal statement: specifically "I am a twat. Employ me at your own risk". Suits should be grey, black or dark blue: green is for fishing and brown is for hunting and shooting. Cufflinks should be discrete, functional and not flashy. Try to avoid wearing a belt with a suit - you are not a shape-shifter and your clothes should fit. Of course, all that's probably just in the City but it can't possibly hurt elsewhere.

I'm sorry but when you have absolutely fuck all to your name this is a fuckload of money. I speak as someone who decided that a £10 suit jacket had to wait as I couldn't afford it until my jobseekers allowance came through.

I've spent far too much of my life panicking over interview outfits and not concentrating on the interview it self.

[Tokyo Sexwhale]

So did anyone get a job after all this then?

[An tSaoi]

I was told "We'll let you know", which probably means no.

[Tokyo Sexwhale]

What did you end up wearing?  And how did you act?

[Zero Gravitas]

Totally missing the point Tokyo.

So, did anyone get a new outfit after all this then?

[An tSaoi]

What did you end up wearing?  And how did you act?

Cheapy black trousers and cheapy white shirt and tie (couldn't afford a jacket so had to do without). It was quite warm in the building, so I don't think I looked out of place. There were two genial old men conducting the interview, which put me at ease. However, it was difficult to answer questions like "So why do you want to be a census enumerator then?" without sounding like a barefaced liar. Surely no-one actually wants to be one?

They showed me a really basic map and asked me to point out the different features ("Er, this is a road, these are houses..."), and then did an odd bit of roleplay where one of them was an irate homeowner that didn't want to be tested and I had to talk him into filling out the forms. Then they asked me questions like what I would do if there was a mad killer dog on the property, or it they were foreign nationals without much English[nb]They liked my suggestion of using the children as go-betweens, because they always have better English than their parents.[/nb] etc.

Took about half an hour, which seemed like a long time.

[Tokyo Sexwhale]

I hope you get it, so we get to hear your tales of saucy housewives and jealous husbands.  Census Enumerator on the Job!

[An tSaoi]

As long as no-one eats my liver...

[Zero Gravitas]

How are you at climbing over five bar gates very quickly anne?

[SetToStun]

I'm sorry but when you have absolutely fuck all to your name this is a fuckload of money. I speak as someone who decided that a £10 suit jacket had to wait as I couldn't afford it until my jobseekers allowance came through.

I've spent far too much of my life panicking over interview outfits and not concentrating on the interview it self.

Oh I totally understand that, really. That post was pretty much totally tongue-in-cheek (although the advice is actually quite sound). Interestingly enough, you can get the DSS to pay for a reasonably priced suit for you while you're unemployed, provided you can show you're going for office jobs and you (repeatedly) insist that they help you out. My other half's dad worked for the DSS in a front-line unemployment office for a while a few years back and was very surprised what help you can get provided you already know it's available. He was told by his boss to study the manuals to learn what benefits and assistance there were but also to bear in mind he wasn't allowed to offer up the information voluntarily. He had to break that rule a few times but was the only one at his branch who would, as he didn't see working for the DSS as a creeer, just a stop-gap. Funnily enough, during a subsequent brief period of unemployment he told his bloke at the dole office he wanted a suit and was surprised at the amount of resistance, even after he told the guy he'd done that job and knew exactly what the rules were.

[vrailaine]

Is "I want to gain some proper experience in this kind of work before furthering my education" a decent answer to that "why do you want a job in _________?" type questions?

...and how exactly do you chum up to lecturers enough to get a decent reference or four?

[Mister Six]

Is "I want to gain some proper experience in this kind of work before furthering my education" a decent answer to that "why do you want a job in _________?" type questions?

Depends what the job is, but I'd say not generally - most employers want to feel like their employees are an investment for the company and so are going to be around for the long term. On the whole I'd say that it's best to lie through your teeth that you want to work for Company X for the next few years at least and are interested in being promoted upwards within that company rather than fucking off to something else.

[Treguard of Dunshelm]

I'm sorry to hear that. Volunteering is just ridiculous now, before they were grateful for the help now they are aware you need them a lot more than you would like to admit. I've had experiences ranging from a few emails and being given a casual role to being security cleared(in a formal interview setting) so that by the time it came through I couldn't do it.

Yeah, if you can't get references than you can forget about it nowadays. Though CRB checks are necessary for some roles, they shouldn't prevent you from volunteering - sounds like the organisation couldn't get its act together. Most organisations we work with take volunteers on a provisional basis (continually supervised) until their check comes back.

[neveragain]

I've been applying here, there and everyfuckingwhere for six months now and only had one interview (well, one and a half) within that time period. I honestly can't understand why! I know my CV and covering letter etiquette is sound and my email manner is professional, so the only place I can be falling down is when they ring - which a few places have done and then not got back to me as they said they would - as I become self-consciously tongue-tied. Anyway, I'm fucking sick of it, I know it's hard to get a job but I would appreciate a few interviews.

The one and a half -
The first was for a pub job, and it's an environment I've had experience in so I should have been fine plus I'd mentally tuned myself for an interview, but as soon as I get there (dressed smart casual) I am welcomed by the marauding bulldyke landlady. I go up to the bar, where she's standing obviously, and we trade greetings then she immediately starts the interview with me standing there in public bar. I'm not ready for that, although yes I get that the job is rather informal, and most painfully she can't see my posh shoes. I'm asked two questions, which she would have already known from the CV I emailed and have no room for me to drag out any stories, real basic stuff, I was waiting for a more interesting query before starting to pontificate on the positive effects of alcohol on the British populace in recent years. And then that's it. 'Well, thank you, bye'. That was not a fucking interview, you bitch and I might as well have stayed at home. Although I did meet an interesting 19 year old girl on the bus, but that's another matter.
I was more enthusiastic for the second - HMV! I filled out the application with, to my mind, humorous answers - over-compensating on the jolly and confident front - and was invited in so I thought it would be a sinch. Again, as soon as I get there I'm sidetracked. A questionnaire. 'If you'd just like to fill this in first.' Err, I thought I would be speaking to a person, that's what I prepared for (I may have difficulty adjusting to the unexpected, but I still need a fucking job)... It was like a pub quiz, what was number one in last year's Christmas charts? Which of these films starred Matt Damon? And some bollocks about music technology. I know it's product knowledge but I am aware of the media in general and can help people in that regard, just because I don't know all the shitty populist stuff doesn't mean I should be jettisoned on spec! Then came the interview proper but because of that stupid test I felt so stressed that I could barely sprok peaperly. Failed it, just failed it completely. Pain in the arse.

Applied for BBC Salford ages ago and they said I got past the third stage of consideration and they would get in touch soon for an interview. That kept me buoyant for a while but then some bitch I used to know from school announces she's got a job with BBC Bristol. That eats me up! And the most fucking annoying thing is... she's a tremendously hard-worker and deserves it as much as anyone. For some reason that thought alone makes me feel so small.

[Edible]

Interestingly enough, you can get the DSS to pay for a reasonably priced suit for you while you're unemployed, provided you can show you're going for office jobs and you (repeatedly) insist that they help you out.

Not anymore you can't. Because of the coalition spending cuts the personal advisor discretion fund (or whatever it's called) has been scrapped. Now if you need money for clothes you just have to apply for a crisis loan. Can you believe that? Fucking Tory scum! They actually expect people to pay for their own clothes.

It's a fucking disgrace.

[An tSaoi]

I got this wishy washy letter this morning, and I still don't fully understand it.

Dear Mr An tSaoi,

The Central Statistics Office interviewed a significant number of applicants for the 5,000 Census Enumerator positions. You have been placed on a panel for your area from which successful candidates will be offered an appointment shortly. If you do not receive an offer within that period you will remain on the panel for consideration should future vacancies arise in your area, and we will contact you again if this situation arises.

You will appreciate that, given the scale of the numbers interviewed, the Central Statistics Office is unable to enter into further correspondence with candidates not offered appointments initially. Thank you for attending for interview and for your interest in these positions.

Yours sincerely...

Eh? That means 'no', right? Or does it?