Dd Interview clothes

[lissie123]

My dd (22) has secured an interview for a graduate training job in London. Does anyone have any thoughts about what she could wear? I’m pretty clueless as I work from home and haven’t worked in London for years. She is petite and size 12 and generally wears jeans joggers and fleeces.

Depends on what field of graduate training. The interviews my DC attended were pretty formal (finance and government) so a smart dress and shoes or suit with appropriate top - what their schools referred to as ‘business dress’.

Suit or Dress and blazer. Usual business wear for interviews.

Thanks. It’s not finance or government so less formal perhaps. My dd is reluctant to wear anything remotely smart. I’ve bought a white shirt from M&S that is fitted and we’ll go from there.

We are very informal dress in the office. - jeans , shorts all go

But I'd still expect an interview candidate ( and the interviewers) to be more formally dressed - black trousers , shirt and smart jacket or cardigan for example

Go over smart not under- smart

It gives an impression you made an effort for the employer which is always a good first impression to give

I don’t believe your daughter has absolutely no idea of the dress code for that sort of graduate interview … She must surely be amongst a cohort of graduates? Isn’t she more likely to listen to her friends than to strangers of her mother’s generation?

But as pp have said - smart office wear is best for an interview. It just depends on how much she wants to spend.

@lissie123 why are you buying her interview clothes? I mean, you might pay for them, as that’s something parents can do, but it seems strange that you would be choosing them. (Unless, of course, she has an illness or condition that prevents her from shopping??)

Black bottom half, skirt or trousers, personally I like linen blends as it looks smart but is comfortable.

I think a shirt or blouse if you are not wearing a jacket / blazer, if you are wearing a jacket then you can get away with a T shirt.

Black shoes (or with trousers really smart trainers that are plain coloured).

My thoughts, she's an adult -she's much better to ask her friends / others from uni who've done similar interviews. MN is mind blowing how over involved some parents are in their adult kids lives.

Definitely business dress, but she doesn’t need to look like she’s going to a funeral. I think a smart navy looks better than black. A dress with a coordinated blazer can look really smart but well cut trousers are good too. She should find something within the business smart bracket that she feels good in and which suits (no pun intended!) her personality.

M&S will have options but also places like Zara can have some gems. I wore a lot of Karen Millen when I was younger as the clothes were smart with a bit of interest.

It’s worth spending time to find the right thing, try on lots of clothes, as she will start to need a few smart things as she gets older and quality pieces will be worth it.

A generic Next suit will stand her in a good position for interviews in most industries even if she never actually wears it to work.

In my industry smart business wear is expected at interview even though jeans and trainers are fine in our office once you start work.

Drip feed

A suit or dress. Make sure it is at least knee length. Smart, clean shoes. Don’t have to be black but no trainers or sliders.
Clean hair.

She might not like dressing smart but unfortunately if she turns up causal she will be judged, given an interview is all about judgement.

thanks for all the styling advice. DD has said she’ll have a look at next and Zara and has taken on board the need to look smart.

Great result!