Turning up to interview in jeans and trainers

[Cuffi]

Awaiting for interview/assessment day. Out of the ten waiting. Three are wearing pale jeans, trainers, Adidas tracksuit bottoms.

All the rest including me wearing smart trousers, tops and shoes.

From what few workers I have seen, some are wearing dark jeans.

I think everyone needs to wear smart clothes for interviews. Doesn’t matter if the prospective employer has a casual dress code

Not necessarily. Really depends on the job.

If it would be perfectly acceptable to wear it at work there, then it's not wrong to wear it to an interview
I'd normally going slightly smarter eg if light jeans allowed, go for black jeans but you still want to look like you fit in.

In my old job sometimes people dressed too smart and it made me question their understanding of the job role, and hampered them in some practical elements of the job. For example if you work in care, you should be wearing an outfit you can hoist someone in, if you are applying for a kennel, you should be able to walk a dog and clean a kennel in your outfit. My DW got caught out for having not sensible enough shoes on a job that unexpectedly made them do a heavy practical element

Some entry level retail jobs give you an outfit and really don't mind

Also, some people might not want the job. The system as it is requires people to go for job interviews, they might not be that arsed about getting it

I think there's a middle ground - I've hired for retail before and jeans/trainers would be a bit of a red flag (but I've still been won over) but so would immaculate turnout heels/blazer etc.

I now work in tech and the majority of our engineers wear jeans so I wouldn't bat an eyelid at someone interviewing in that - they are all virtual though so now I can't tell anyway 😂

What’s the role?

Definitely depends on what the job is.

What's the role?

Depends entirely on the job. Some jobs it would look odd.

Whilst everyone should dress smartly for interview, some people just don't have a suit of money to buy smart clothes that they wouldn't normally wear. As long as they are clean and tidy I'd cut people some slack.

I think it very much depends on the job, something like warehouse work, fine, something like hotel receptionist, less so.

It’s for a call centre/admin role. My trousers were from Primark for £8 bought 4 years ago

It was always hammered in to me by school and college that no matter what the job always go formal even if it’s just black trousers, sensible shoes (no trainers) and a smart top.

I think times have changed though, my dd2 friends turn up to interviews in jeans and converse for cleaning and retail jobs and still get the jobs so 🤷‍♀️

Depends on the job. I think err on the smarter side for interview but then dress for the job once you get it.

Definitely depends on the job - I used to work at a really small startup/think tank and still remember being really overdressed in a suit at the interview when the founders were in hoodies!

Where I work now (large employer) we actually tell interviewees that they don’t need to wear business dress, especially the grad scheme/early careers, to make it more accessible, and the interviewers don’t dress up either.

For an admin role yeah definitely. It could have been a cost thing, but one way or another people should at least try and grab something from the charity shop or borrow something for interview. Although they may have been specifically told by the agency that interview wear was casual.

Why are cheap polyester trousers automatically deemed smarter than jeans?
Personally I think you should be able to dress for an interview the same way you would dress if you got the job.

It does depend on the job. For some creative jobs a suit and tie wouldn’t match the vibe at the interview but baggy clothes and trainers would.

Best to err on the side of smart casual overall though.

I once went to a retsil interview when I was about 20 and still remember the person who arrived for theirs in a tracksuit. It stands out because they were before me and in and out in around 1 minute.

What are the people doing the interview wearing?

You don't go to an interview dressed as the job you are applying for lol.

You go dressed smartly, even if you're gonna end up dressed in overalls or whatever.

I experienced interviewing for a food factory, showing up in a suit and smart shoes, getting the job on the spot and being given overalls to wear and heading right into my first shift.

I think people should be interviewed wearing clothing within the bounds of what's appropriate to be worn for the job they're applying for. Anything else risks distracting the interviewer from what's actually important.

Chances are, some people are there from the job centre and they don't even own or can't afford new interview gear.
There's no room in the unemployment monthly payment of £390 to buy new clothes. £390 barely covers food... Let alone food, gas, electric, water, council tax, insurance etc.

Why would immaculate turn out be a red flag?

Entirely depends on the job. I work in tech and absolutely no one comes in smart clothes to an interview. Jeans, trainers and a hoodie is the norm.

We once had an apprentice turn up in a suit and tie. He was lovely and we gave him the job, but 2 years later we still rib him about his interview attire!

I had that drummed into me as well.

I’ve had all sorts of shit, MW job interviews, but I’ve always worn the smartest thing in my wardrobe. Not that I have many clothes that aren’t leggings and sweatshirts, but I have Usually got some sort of a nice, plain dress in there, mainly so I don’t turn up at parents evenings looking like I’ve been dragged through a hedge backwards, and I only have one pair of decent looking shoes, dr martens, but that’s better than my trainers.

Believe me though, I know struggle, and I know not even having a tenner for the charity shop to sort yourself out with a shirt and trousers, so I do understand completely if someone doesn’t have anything smartish at all to wear.

Because it’s not about the cost of the attire, it’s about the image you wish to reflect at interview. Obviously your communication skills and experience come into play here, but what you wear is a reflection of the image you want to portray. You will be judged, at least partially, on what you look like.

Depending on what the working environment is. Call centre, they are quite relaxed, I would have worn black jeans and a nice top. I would probably wear the same for warehouse, agency, etc.

If it was in a more professional setting, I would wear a suit.

I don't think joggers and adidas would be a good first impression.

There are schemes available now where if you are unemployed you can go and get an outfit (2nd hand but all laundered) specifically for job interviews