<p>I was offered an interview at a local Starbucks. While the place seems relatively casual, should i dress more to the occasion or the location? Is a suit and tie too formal? Is a dress shirt and nice pants okay? I am assuming jeans are out of the question...
Thanks for your help.</p>
<p>Most of the students I interview dress casually but not sloppily. A pair of nice dress slacks or khakis with a nice shirt are fine. Suit and tie are a bit overkill, especially for Starbucks. To give you some idea the only time I thought a student was inappropriately dressed is when he came directly from wrestling practice in a dirty pair of sweats with a towel over his shoulder. (He did not get in!!) Almost anything else would be fine. Jeans are probably a personal choice but probably fine for a casual place such as Starbucks. </p>
<p>That said I am no fashion critic.</p>
<p>I agree with OWL; nice shirt and nice pants is always a safe choice.</p>
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the only time I thought a student was inappropriately dressed is when he came directly from wrestling practice in a dirty pair of sweats with a towel over his shoulder. (He did not get in!!)
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<p>You must have interviewed the same guy I did! Well, I had a guy like that except he came from basketball practice. He apparently forgot about the time, and was pretty apologetic. He was otherwise pretty mature / knowledgeable about Columbia / a decent applicant, so I gave him a decent report and didn't think it was worth mentioning in the report that he showed up in gym shorts.</p>
<p>I had my interview in a cafe and wore black pants, dark gray top, black cami, and a knee-length coat. I didn't have time to put a lot of time into it but it was overall more than an informal but not a formal outfit. I hope this helps? I have a friend who interviewed in a Starbucks as well so I'll ask.</p>
<p>Rule of thumb: Look nice. That doesn't mean wear a suit or anything, but no jeans, no sneakers, nothing ripped or with writing on it.</p>
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Rule of thumb: Look nice.
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<p>Certain types of jeans can look nice, depending on whether you can pull it off.</p>
<p>this is a little off, but does Columbia offer you the interview? you can't request for it?</p>
<p>thanks</p>
<p>^you're slightly more likely to be marked down for underdoing the clothing than overdoing it, showing up in sports wear can send the message that you don't a s*it about the interview. So i'd say even though it is starbucks, wear business casual - a dress shirt, formal pants, dress shoes and a white undershirt, no tie no suit, it wouldn't be considered an overkill, but you def will look professional and smart. dress smart and talk casual.</p>
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wear business casual - a dress shirt, formal pants, dress shoes and a white undershirt
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<p>NEVER wear an undershirt that's visible when you're wearing a dress shirt. That is, if your top button is opened because you're not wearing a tie, your hideous undershirt is in plain view. That's just tacky.</p>
<p>I have been an alumni interviewer for 11 years and my best advice is to look neat and clean--jeans are fine as long as you pull it off as a neat and together look. And, by the way, I do all my interviewing at Starbucks!</p>
<p>There's not much you can do being a guy. It's hard to get into the zone between formal and informal (whereas most girls can easily pull it off). </p>
<p>When in doubt: Slacks and tucked in shirt. Perfect for pretty much every job/internship a student could get. My old boss used to get annoyed when students would wear suits and ties. Some like the formal, some find it to be "an air".</p>
<p>For a starbucks, just omit all the worst offenders of the slacker genre: Hoodie, cargo pants, t-shirt (with nothing else). Anything else will likely be fine.</p>
<p>I interviewed for a 2nd cup a long way back and wore a shirt with rolled up sleeves, dark t-shirt underneath, and dark jeans. Can't remember the shoes. I got the job and felt at ease there.</p>
<p>I agree with everything in this thread (And commonly interview in a Starbucks), except:
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NEVER wear an undershirt that's visible when you're wearing a dress shirt. That is, if your top button is opened because you're not wearing a tie, your hideous undershirt is in plain view. That's just tacky.
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I have to disagree with this. In my view, a bit of exposed white cotton undershirt is much better than exposing your chest hair. All while giving the impression that you ruin dress shirts by sweating directly onto them. I'm sorry, when wearing a nice shirt, you protect it the way you would nice pants - with some undergarments.</p>
<p>Generally speaking I'd give extra points to someone who came in with a particularly funny tshirt (example</a>). But that's a high-risk scenario, you don't know if your interviewer is going to be 65 and without a sense of humor.</p>
<p>Ah BustedTees. The perfect source of birthday gifts to give, receive or just kill time browsing.</p>
<p>also, don't bathe in cologne. That's gross. It's only sexy in a club. Oh, and NEVER order a frappuccino during an interview.</p>
<p>The next interviewee who shows up to talk with me whilst smelling of cologne or perfume will be the first.</p>
<p>I have seen some crazy hairdos though. That's always fun. My scoring system:</p>
<p>"Just rolled out of bed": -10 points
"Desperately need a haircut" (male): -5 points
"Desperately need a haircut" (female): +5 points (hey, it looks kinda cute)
"Mohawk / Afro": +10 points if you pull it off, -5 points otherwise
"Over-gelled guido": -20 points
"It takes 6 months for this permanent hair dye to grow out?": -10 points</p>
<p>Just saying. I've had to sit next to a bouquet of gardenias on steroids at CCE--who says that the rules don't apply to college interviews?</p>
<p>P.S. Denzera, I'm glad you didn't interview me! :)</p>
<p>So how much credit do you give for the "just rolled out of bed" + "Richard Feynman incarnate" combination?</p>
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I have to disagree with this. In my view, a bit of exposed white cotton undershirt is much better than exposing your chest hair. All while giving the impression that you ruin dress shirts by sweating directly onto them. I'm sorry, when wearing a nice shirt, you protect it the way you would nice pants - with some undergarments.
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<p>GQ or any other fashion adviser is consistent with what I've said -- undergarments (whether boxers or an undershirt) are exactly what they're named and aren't meant to be shown in any circumstances.</p>
<p>They make dress/sport shirts with high button stances so you can wear them open without exposing much of your chest hair. If you're a bear and have tons of chest hair, then groom yourself.</p>
<p>When you wear dress pants, your lower legs and knees (where there are sweat glands) aren't "protected" by your underwear and you're "sweating directly onto them." And I'm not sure if you actually believe that one can "ruin dress shirts by sweating directly onto them," or if you just think some idiot might have that impression.</p>
<p>Clothes are meant to be worn. Shirts get damaged over time through the cleaning process and general wear-and-tear. If you're protecting your clothes as if they're some mint Honus Wagner rookie cards, then you've got problems.</p>
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also, don't bathe in cologne. That's gross. It's only sexy in a club.
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<p>Someone has poor taste in liking B&T clubs...</p>
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During my searching I came across this great blog which posts tips and tricks on dressing in the professional world. Recently they posted two guides for interview attire - one for women and one for men.</p>
<p>Guide to dressing for Interviews (Men):
<a href="http://execstyle.blogspot.com/2008/0...erview-mens.ht%5B/url%5D">http://execstyle.blogspot.com/2008/0...erview-mens.ht</a>...</p>
<p>Guide to dressing for Interviews (Women):
<a href="http://execstyle.blogspot.com/2008/0...erview-women.h%5B/url%5D">http://execstyle.blogspot.com/2008/0...erview-women.h</a>...</p>
<p>And the blog itself is ExecStyle.com - Fashion Guide for the Well-Dressed Man - there are some great tips there if anyone's interested.
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<p>This is the proper link: <a href="http://www.execstyle.com/eBook/Interview_Dress_Etiquette.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://www.execstyle.com/eBook/Interview_Dress_Etiquette.pdf</a></p>
<p>Most of it is basic, but whoever wrote this doesn't know all that much:</p>
<p>p. 7 and 13 don't categorically dismiss the notion of wearing a black suit to an interview.</p>
<p>p. 9 says that burgundy is "fashionable"</p>
<p>p. 9 has a picture of wing-tips</p>
<p>p. 15 suggests that you can have plain-bottoms with pleated pants</p>
<p>THAT was a joke, GQ</p>