To wear this for an interview?

[youremyperson]

It's for a clinical position on a children's ward. I've not interviewed in person for a long time!! Is this professional enough?

@nosyupnorth

so many people in this thread suggesting a woman can't be feminine/show personality and be employable. how incredibly depressing.

You can't wear a party dress to an interview, nothing to do with how feminine it is, it just looks like you're not taking the job seriously.

Well, I mean, you can wear whatever you like, but I'd be more inclined to hire someone dressed more neutrally.

@HeelsHandbagPerfumeCoffee

Indeed. Almost as if they think Any flair or individuality is something to be quashed

Most of us don't think that but have pointed out that lots of other people do.

And I'd rather OP got her job than was whipped up into a "stick it to em" frenzy on our behalf. It's not our job to risk, is it?

She could dress in full camouflage for me, but I'm not interviewing her.

I love it and the way you have styled it sounds perfect. I’ve never been able to pull off the plain dark pencil skirt/smart trousers plus white blouse look myself. I always look like a waiter or a teenager playing dress-up (although I think I’m too old for that one to be a worry now). I also think that pencil skirts or fitted shift dresses can also look too sexy for an interview if you have a hourglass figure (of any size) I think a fuller skirt can downplay this well. Your size, shape, face, hair and makeup are all relevant to the overall look. So is how confident you feel in the outfit. From what pps with experience in your field or in recruiting have said it sounds like it’s a risk compared to a plainer outfit but a risk that could also pay off - as a pp said you would be more memorable wearing this rather than in a plain shift dress. Disclaimer - I have no experience in recruiting and don’t work in the NHS or paediatric medicine.

Op seems very composed and measured in her responses.not frenzied in the least @Nohomemadecandles

Something functional and business like.

Throw in a jazzy scarf or funky shoes or bright handbag to say I have flair. The dress is not suitable for a business interview sorry.

I would employ you based on the dress alone-never mind anything else! You can never be too over dressed.

The dress is not suitable for a business interview sorry.
It’s not a business interview. There is no direct comparison

Then it's worked, hasn't it!

I could (and have) write endless tomes with evidence on workplace clothing regs and the silly old fashioned views people cling to. Honestly, I try and educate decision makers and people who make these clothing based policy decisions but it falls on deaf ears in so many cases. People are pricks. Especially interviewers who feel like they've "earned their stripes". (And women are much worse ime!) It shouldn't matter but it still does.

I think I’d need to see you in it to judge.

Depends in part what it looks like on. The skirt looks very puffy in the picture so it looks like an evening dress and not a day dress. I personally think women can get away with far more in terms of work wear than men can, so I don’t think it’s a sexist issue. In my opinion that dress is not smart enough, but it might look different on

A job interview is usually professional or business attire.

Wonders whether to make a dated comment about RMNs wearing DMs with everything, so obviously you should wear the dress with uniform footwear...

Honestly, the only time I’ve rejected someone for appearance at an interview was someone who turned up in a scruffy fleece, T shirt and sandals for a role that involved presenting to GPs about a new project.

Be presentable, but be yourself, if that dress is you go for it. And good luck.

No, don't wear that.

I think for interviews you need to stand out

For one interview I really wanted I wore a yellow and black sixties style Print. It made me feel confident and hopefully when they discussed everyone after I stood out as I got a job.

Given the thread is so divided in places, that's probably a good enough reason to reconsider, uness you're one of the few people out there who would be willing to sacrifice a job offer in order to express your style at interview.

I love that dress but wouldn't be brave enough to wear it to an interview. I would probably play it safe with a fairly plain dress but maybe a funky jacket or scarf to liven it up.

It's a lovely dress but...

... a big part of what an interviewer is assessing is judgement. I want you, as the candidate, to show me that you have excellent judgement, and are good at anticipating how your actions will affect others, and at calibrating them accordingly. If you wear a party dress to an interview, it will tell me that you might not be very good at doing that.

If you're the stand-out candidate, the dress will make no difference. If it's a close call between you and an equally good candidate, it might sway me.

Just needs a jacket in a plain colour otherwise it is fine and you will likely be remembered.

Majority of thread don’t work in nhs, don’t interview and are repeating tired cliches
As I said,there is a national shortage of paeds nurses. Often jobs go to 2-3 re-advertisement to recruit.
If op turns up knowledgeable, current registration, good reference she’s highly likely to get post

I don't work in the NHS but it's not a party dress to me! It's not revealing or OTT. But others more well qualified than me

@HeelsHandbagPerfumeCoffee

Majority of thread don’t work in nhs, don’t interview and are repeating tired cliches As I said,there is a national shortage of paeds nurses. Often jobs go to 2-3 re-advertisement to recruit. If op turns up knowledgeable, current registration, good reference she’s highly likely to get post

I do work in the NHS.

I interview all the fucking time a lot.

How do you know the OP is a nurse? A clinical position on a children's ward could be anything from OT to pharmacist to ward manager. Some of those roles are much more competitive than others and, even in professions where demand exceeds supply, you can still have more than one good candidate for a vacancy.

@HeelsHandbagPerfumeCoffee

Majority on this thread haven’t a scoobie If op has current registration, answers well,appears competent..she’ll get appointed There's a national shortage of staff, there’s not a surplus of candidates Often posts go to 2,3 adverts as there are no suitable candidates

Frankly the dress isn’t an issue

Agreed,

OT, pharmacist,ward manager they’re all in short supply. Hard to recruit to posts
In fact often locums fill the OT and pharmacy posts for a number of months
Clinical? She could be the SpR, the SALT, the PT....let’s see if op tells us

Can we see it falling flat with the outfit you've described? I'm completely torn, love it for flair and think it suits a paeds role well, but do think it might fare better toned down.