<p>Hey, I have an interview scheduled in 1.5 weeks at a lawyer's office. What type of clothing should I wear? I was thinking khakis, blue ribbed wool sweater, and brown shoes.</p>
<p>You have to dress for the location. Unfortunately, you're going to need to be more dressed up for this than if you had an interview at Starbucks. Law firms are mostly business casual, and you don't want to be underdressed. A lawyer might be annoyed if he's being a guest into his firm who is inappropriately dressed. So, step it up a little bit -- slacks and a long sleeved shirt or something like that.</p>
<p>you think a tie?</p>
<p>A tie definitely wouldn't hurt. Good luck on your interview.</p>
<p>It won't hurt. He'll be used to interviewing people in ties, so you won't be overdressed.</p>
<p>I have an interview in about half an hour. I'm wearing a casual striped blazer, some torn capris, argyle flats, and a green vintage NY tee.</p>
<p>Will not dressing up hurt me? Because I figure I might as well present myself as how I am everyday.</p>
<p>You also are not going on interviews every day. You should wear something appropriate for an interview, not for a day at school. Dress for the occasion.</p>
<p>But it's at a teen hotspot coffee shop...</p>
<p>If you want to present yourself as someone who acts inappropriately and is disrespectful, go for it.</p>
<p>Because I wore argyle flats, I act inappropiately and am disrespectful?</p>
<p>If that's the kind of view Columbia has, I'd reject it before it'd reject me.</p>
<p>Anyway, my interviewer dressed similarly (exchange my flats for some spiked boots) and it went wonderfully. No fake facades.</p>
<p>A doo rag and knickers.</p>
<p>I think it's fortunate that your interviewer was similarly dressed; however, that is FAR from the norm. You are very fortunate that this was the case. I think you took an unnecessary risk as I'm sure you had a pair of capris in your closet that weren't torn. If your interviewer had been dressed in dress-casual (as most are), you would have be inappropriate and in the grown-up world disrespectable (yes, you are not in the grown up world).</p>
<p>What you wear is not who you are (as you seem to think), and "showing" who you are might have really backfired. I'm glad it didn't, but be smart next time. Your attire is not the way to make a statement about who you are. Good luck.</p>
<p>Couldn't have said it any better than ColumbiaMom did.</p>
<p>Thanks Columbia2002. I had several typos in my reply, but the main one I wanted to correct is that I meant to say that you are NOW in the grown-up world.</p>
<p>"What you wear is not who you are (as you seem to think), and "showing" who you are might have really backfired. I'm glad it didn't, but be smart next time. Your attire is not the way to make a statement about who you are. Good luck."</p>
<p>I think differently. I'll respect your opinion and I'll stick to mine. What I wear is not WHO am I, but representative of. I have no problem dressing up for the occasion, but I feel I'll dress as I am, speak as I do, state my own opinions for my college interviews. If my interviewer doesn't like it, tough.</p>
<p>I rule my life; the college doesn't. If I don't get in solely because of the impression that I made because of the way I dressed, the college certainly isn't for me. If an interviewer can't handle the fact that I wore a pair of hand-made and personalized capris to a coffee shop, it's perfectly fine to me.</p>
<p>I get by in the "grown-up" world despite what I wear.</p>
<p>"I have no problem dressing up for the occasion"</p>
<p>It sounds like you <em>do</em> have a problem with dressing up for the occasion. It not, what exactly is your diatribe about, then?</p>
<p>"I rule my life; the college doesn't. If I don't get in solely because of the impression that I made because of the way I dressed, the college certainly isn't for me."</p>
<p>Why don't you apply to Torn Capri University?</p>
<p>thank god none of my interviewers have been as uptight as you</p>
<p>i couldn't even imagine cracking a joke with someone like you when you can't even look past what people wear</p>
<p>why do you want applicants to dress up when you're supposed to dress them down anyway?</p>
<p>What are you talking about, fae? I find it pathetic that my potential peer group at Columbia is this passionate about being rebellious simply for the sake of being rebellious. You are not sticking it to the man by refusing to dress up, Effulgent, just being immature. It's a trivial formality, yes, but it shows a certain degree of respect to take the time to think about how you're going to appear. I find it pretty doubtful that not dressing up would be enough to ruin your chances of admission, but it's still completely assinine to risk offending your interviewer just so that you can prove you have a knack for acting juvenile.</p>
<p>How am I uptight? ColumbiaMom and I were trying to help this guy not make a fool of himself. This isn't about how <em>I</em> judge interviewees, but how the typical interviewer would judge someone based on their clothing. If you don't think first impressions matter, then you're out of your mind. Numerous studys show that interviewers (unconsciously) decide whether they like someone within the first 30 seconds of meeting an interviewee.</p>
<p>I don't "want applicants to dress up." I didn't tell the guy to go out and buy a Brioni dinner jacket. I just said he shouldn't wear ripped pants.</p>
<p>I tell my interviewees how they might dress because I don't want them to have to worry about these silly games. If we're meeting at Starbucks, I tell them to dress casually (because I don't really care and I'll be casual too). If we're meeting at my office, I tell them to do business casual (because I don't want someone with torn pants walking around my office). This guy was NOT told what to wear. When in doubt, he should avoid torn pants.</p>
<p>Well put, dmurphy. Good point about the respect. Effulgent's interviewer is a volunteer who is taking time out of his weekend (which he could spend with his family or whatever) to speak with him. He's an adult and is owed a minimal amount of decency and courtesy and to not have to meet with someone with an "I don't give a **** and I'll act like a juvenile attitude."</p>