To wear jeans to an interview

[Mrsglitterfairy]

That's it really... WIBU to wear black skinny jeans and a blouse with smart shoes to an internal interview?
It will be held at some point in the middle of my working day at the end of this week. Usually a very casual office, I generally wear jeans, trainers/uggs and a tshirt so would defiantly look smarter than usual..

Some of you are very rigid in your thinking.i don't own a blazer because I'm not at school
I'll never wear a blazer,interview or not.blazer is old fashioned,lady at m&s dresser
Yes look smart at interview,and look appropriate to the setting you're applying for

You know the environment OP, from what you describe your outfit sounds like it would fit in fine. If it is representative of what you'd wear day to day if you're hired, then I think presenting an honest picture of yourself from the outset is more likely to impress.

I hate wearing business suits, apart from the discomfort, it's hard to reflect your personality in them (though I try with the shoes and top) and I find people find me intimidating, especially with my hair up.

Frankness wins for me every time. Be yourself OP. Show them who they're really hiring.

Best of luck, hope you get it.

The only point I would make is have you seen what they wear for interviews previously? And what did the successful candidates wear - for example were you overdressed for your original interview? What were they wearing that day?

I would probably overdress slightly and bring a change of clothes if you feel bad about being overdressed during the working day (escapes me why that would be though).

The old saying "dress for the job you want, not the job you have" seems appropriate here.

You say that but when I rocked up in my Cat Woman suit...

@Mrsglitterfairy - internal promotions tend to be a waste of time insomuch as they will know the outcome of the interview (if they want you or not) weeks or months in advance. This is about cementing their hopefully positive opinion of you. I would go for a couple of steps smarter than usual. Show that you're taking it seriously. Definitely take a trip to Primark or similar for non-jeans trousers. You don't need to dress like a wannabe Apprentice candidate but definitely make the effort.

I'm surprised no one suggested taking the smart outfit into work and get changed an hour before the interview.

I interview regularly in my role and, in particular for internal positions, there is still an expectation on my part that you "make an effort". I've had Warehouse Operatives get changed out of their winter outdoor wear into a smart suit, shiny shoes and shirt and tie. It was noticed by several in our office, all who are dressed fairly casually, that he wanted that job and looked the part.

The main thing for me would be effort you make - you want people to see (including the top manager who doesn't wear a suit) that you've made the effort because you want the job that badly.

I always think, a smart skirt/dress with a jacket or a suit, with heels (however small) change your posture and level of smartness if you are female (flats can look too casual and sometimes scuffy for me personally - those pumps remind me of school ballerina pumps!), or a a suit and tie if you are male.

Good luck with the interview, remember STAR when answering questions!

Actually in my industry if someone turned up wearing a suit they would almost certainly NOT get the job. It totally depends on the industry and office culture. Even for a board position I still didn't wear a suit. Don't own one and unless they come into fashion am unlikely to, whereas friends who work in finance, accounting etc are all about the suits! Good luck op! Oh and asking the person who will be interviewing you is a great idea, shows you are thinking about it in advance and really care.

Yup in my industry a suit would definitely count as a black mark against you

It would suggest you didn't understand the culture of the industry and show poor judgement and a poor fit for the company

In the creative industries I've never even seen a suit in any of the companies I've worked for, including board members. You'd look like an estate agent who'd rocked up for the wrong interview.

Smarten up a bit - sure! Wear a suit? Ill advised

It just depends on the office culture and industry

If you pitched up in a suit in my industry, it would be a clear sign that you don't 'get' the industry or understand what it values. You'd be written off then and there I'm afraid.

So the 'you absolutely must wear a suit' brigade need to wind their neck in and acknowledge that all workplace culture's are different. And then they'll stop sounding so clueless.

OP either the jeans or dress sounds good. Best of luck with it.

It seems in tune with the office vibe, so go for it.

Sure if it's in keeping with your office and you look smart

My interview is now going to be on my day off so at least I won't have to wear the outfit all day. Think I'm definitely going to go with the dress & tights option. Thanks for all the advice, Will let you all know how I get on

OP, I love the idea that you "would defiantly look smarter than usual". However, being defiant in interview is definitely a bad idea.

Ah ffs! Ethylred bloody auto correct strikes again

The jeans outfit sounds really smart but could there be someone from a different (less casual) branch/ head office on the interview panel who'd not get the best impression from jeans? The dress and flats with a jacket sounds great. Good luck!

Well the interview was this morning and I ended up wearing a navy dress, tights and shoes. I was glad I did as everyone said how nice I looked and the interviewer commented on it too although we had a bit of a laugh about how I scrub up ok I think it went well but there are 8 of us up for the position so will have to wait and see. I should know by Monday

Good luck!!

If they already know you it would be a bit weird to put on a fotmal suit. I think you should go for the skinny jeans

I arranged an interview for an applicant yesterday for a manual position, he was concerned that he might not be able to come in a suit as he will be coming from his current work. I tried to reassure that this wouldn't be judged badly, but this had made me think why people have this opinion?
Dressing up for interviews is crazy, you should be hired for your skills. Which leads me to think about other positions I am currently hiring for, the reception post I will judge appearance as part of the criteria so I am a hotbed of contradiction and need to have a think about this

I know what you mean stoneage we seem to be in such a culture that you have to look 'right'. I do agree that judging appearance for a front of house post is needed but in the sense that their clothes are clean and ironed, they look clean, hair is neat etc and they smell fresh. I suppose their outfit should have some consideration but not so much that they have a suit but that they look smart and tidy

I tried to reassure that this wouldn't be judged badly, but this had made me think why people have this opinion?

I think it's the traditional convention that an interview means showing up looking smart and "dressed to impress" however, interviews used to be reserved more for qualified positions and so understanding what constituted professional attire for the job was part of the interview. However, the culture in a lot of offices has relaxed over the years, so in the past if you worked in an office it was almost guaranteed you would be required to wear a suit (and probably expected to wear a skirt too) whereas now, a lot of offices are more likely to have a "smart casual" dress code.

Nowadays you get interviews for everything - from working on a building site to becoming a CEO - and so the people actually attending interviews are going to be assessed by different standard and therefore interview attire should no longer just be seen as strictly "office wear" but more "smart, relative to the industry".

If you're applying for a job on a building site, and turned up to interview in smart jeans, shirt, jumper and boots, you'd look smarter than you would in your work wear of work jeans, polo, hi-viz jacket and work boots you would be seen as looking smart.. However, if you turned up to an interview for a management position in the city in that outfit, when work wear would be suit and tie you would look like you hadn't made an effort and didn't understand the expectations. Also, if you showed up in a suit and tie to an interview for a job in a more casual company, I'd wonder if you actually comprehended the job or the working conditions as it would look like you had totally misunderstood the industry standards.

Then, in between those two extremes, a lot of offices (especially ones where there isn't a lot of customer interaction) have a much more relaxed culture overall, including work wear. So while you can't turn up in a tracksuit, a suit would be too much and smart jeans are more than acceptable ... yet a lot of people, including PPs on this thread, still have the mindset that "interview = always wear a suit" rather than "interview = something smart for that industry/office/company".

I used to teach in Spain and the schools I have worked in have always had a very relaxed view of workwear as a teacher - as long as it was sensible, practical and presentable (ie clean/in good condition) then it was fine. I used to work with one primary teacher in his early 20s that I only ever saw wear jeans, polo shirt, hoodie and trainers as did most of the Sixth Form students. If a stranger walked in they would have struggled to tell which of the jeans/hoodie/trainer wearing people was the teacher if they saw them all in the corridor, but he was one of the best teachers in the school and I learned a lot from working with him, regardless of what he wore.