help, SAHM with a job interview!

[KatherineKrupnik]

I'm through to the assessment centre round in a grad scheme. What on earth does one wear? I'm 29, size 10/12, haven't worn a suit since sixth form speech day & would feel really ill at ease in one. Normally I wear banana & snot. Help, please, help! I am imagining spending up to £100 on an outfit...

I would recommend a suit dress. They are somehow less like wearing your dads clothes difficult to wear than trousers/skirt and a shirt, yet look professional and smart.

The dresses normally save you money too. In M&S, the dresses are about £35-£45, whereas the trousers/skirts are £25-£35 but you need a good shirt with them for them to look good.

On your £100 budget, you should be able to get the matching jacket. If not, a good black cardigan (fitted, not baggy) would work over a black/grey suit dress.

Shoes should be clean and smart. Heels/flat, laces/court completely up to you, but clean and smart are a must. No ballet flats with lots of toe cleavage and baggy heels!

Good luck with the assessment centre :)

Is that basically a tailored, not-jersey fabric dress? I could do that.

That's what I would wear :) It's basically my staple wardrobe for work - dark grey/light grey suit dress, plus jacket/cardigan/scarf/jewellery, plus shoes or boots. I have about 6 dresses (incl some smart jersey ones) and I rotate them all week then bung them in the washing machine at the weekend :) It's not terribly imaginative, but I work FT and have two under 3 - washable and easy to mix/match accessories is all I can manage!

Your assessors at the assessment centre will be more interested in what you have to say than what you're wearing. As long as you look clean and smart, they won't even notice your clothes. Trust me, I assess at an assessment centre sometimes

Non-jersey looks smarter than jersey, sonic the budget would stretch to something like this, then I would go for it. It's not a huge financial outlay, and would make you feel the part, which I think helps you perform well. You don't want to be sat in an interview picking bobbles off an old dress and wondering if you look smart enough!

Good luck :)

Jersey dresses are excellent for not creasing though, and can look very smart if you find the right one. Good if you will be driving a long distance to get to the assessment centre. Good luck.

Thank you very much . All my previous interviews have been much more informal so want to make sure I get it right & don't accidentally turn up in a breastfeeding stretched out faded outfit!

Good luck :)