Career Discussions Dress to Impress…

Dress to Impress…

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      This is an old adage and something everyone agrees on but I a little curious about the details.
      I also believe that you should be the change you want to see and my clothes reflect that.
      I dislike how people tend to stick to dark colours (at least in Canada) so I like to change it up. My winter jacket is hot pink but I wonder if I should wear that to interviews or go for a more neutral colour. I’ve done both and the pink doesn’t seem to have a negative response but I’ll like you guys to weight in. I pair my very hot pink jacket with a dusty rose coloured purse.

      Same goes with blazers and dress shirts, most of mine don’t follow the usual style and has something more. A frill down the front of whatever and my blazers have accents….basically you get the point – my clothes are very girly. But for interviews should I stick to my more traditional version of business formal or mix it up a little?

    • Avatar of Zee TanZee Tan
      Keymaster
        • CFA Charterholder
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        @diya lol like I said, just a bit better to stand out a bit, but not overboard.

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        Let us know when you know @Diya! [-O<

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        @SidMenon and @christine will do. If I get it I’ll be lurking less so you’ll all notice lol
        Also if I get the job he wants me to write an exam right after I finish my CFA…fun stuff =D I’ll get more letters after my name!

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        @Reena I always wanted to have more letters behind my name than in my name.

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        @Zee I usually go for strictly traditional. I think once I had an interview where I was dressed up more cutely (?) than usual and the interviewer started flirting. I did get the job and he did pay me handsomely (better than the agreed upon rate) but it was weird…and because of this I usually conform to the usual staple of business formal.

        I also had an interview at a tech company and worked there for 5 months but I just couldn’t conform with their dress code. Ripped jeans and wrinkled shirts?!

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        @christine wait, what is platonic flirting?!
        I think work and flirting/romance just don’t mix!

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        @Sophie glad I could brighten your day a little ^.^

        The interview went well (I think – I’ve never had such a long interview before!)
        I was able to swap everything to more business formal from purse to phone case but I forgot to swap jackets with my sister #-o

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        @Sophie He said he’ll call me back soon so now the dreading waiting.

      • Avatar of SnippySnippy
        Participant
          • CFA Level 2
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          Absolutely. We know it’s going to be good news, @Diya! 😀

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          @diya ouch – more exams! What kinds of letters will you have? 🙂

        • Avatar of SnippySnippy
          Participant
            • CFA Level 2
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            Yeah, i’m curious about these letters 😛

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            I always stick to blue checkered shirt and black trousers simple living 8-|

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            I only just saw this. Your question made my day @diya 🙂

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            @christine I’m used to not having my weekends
            CFP – Certified financial planner
            https://www.csi.ca/student/en_ca/courses/cfp.xhtml?cid=ga-cfp1&gclid=CLD3wZOktrYCFetAMgodlyIAJg#tabview=tab1

            But I can write the challenge exam and skip most of the pain

          • Avatar of ReenaReena
            Participant
              • CFA Charterholder
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              More alphabet soup!

            • Avatar of Zee TanZee Tan
              Keymaster
                • CFA Charterholder
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                I think you should not aim for extremes. With extremes, you basically take a risk – the interviewer will remember you, but for a good or bad reason?

                The advice I usually give is to see what people in that particular company usually wear. Get an idea of what the ‘norm’ is for that company, and then adjust from there.

                For example – if I see that most people in a particular company wears tshirts and jeans, I’ll look like a prat wearing a full suit to an interview. So I’ll show up with jeans but a proper working shirt with no tie (i.e. dressing up from the norm a few notches). If the firm’s employees tend to wear work trousers and shirt with no tie, maybe I’ll add on the tie and blazer.

                If they’re super conservative (i.e. fully suited), I’ll follow suit (:D) but maybe with one accent – e.g. a bold skinny tie, or a scarf/brooch in your case.

                Figure out the norm, and move up one or two degrees in formality if they’re not super formal.

                Sorry for the male bias but I don’t want to give wrong advice! See if the girls weigh in. 🙂

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                @diya I’d advise against wearing a blue checkered shirt and black trousers 🙂

                I think ‘dressing to impress’ is definitely a good guide. You want to impress your interviewer. A bit of platonic flirting is ok (more like banter) but don’t take it too far.

                I think dressing traditionally is absolutely a safe way to go. Wear a particular item of clothing like @zee says to feel more at ease with yourself – a scarf, a favourite bag, shoes, anything.

                But most importantly let your self-confidence do the talking. 🙂

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                Thanks everyone! I’ll stick to strictly traditional!


                @christine
                yes, self-confidence does wonder. I have seen the magic of self-confidence and it always leaves me in awe.

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                @diya er, kind of hard to explain. You’re absolutely right in saying work and romance shouldn’t mix so I’m not suggesting that you do that!

                It’s similar to how two male friends might, at face value, insult each other, but they don’t really intend to be mean to each other, it’s just a bit of fun and games. An exchange of wits.

                So in the male-female dynamic, the exchange of wits sometimes is in a flirty format, but it’s not proper flirting, i.e. it’s very, very mild, and there’s no intention on either side to take it any further.

                I might be digging myself a deeper hole here…

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                Awesome @diya – normally long interview is a good sign 😉 What is the next step like? So exciting!

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                I like the adage ‘dress smart, work smart’!

                I think I age with @zee, basically find out what the general dress code is and step it up a notch or too. Remember that most people will make there mind up about you within the first 7 seconds of meeting you.

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