<p>What do I wear? All my other interviews have been casual. I don't want to look like a try hard.</p>
<p>Would a nice blazer w/ a nice top and dark, good quality jeans and black boots be okay? Or should I go come up with a power suit combo?</p>
<p>Also, should I wear make-up? I don't really like to wear make-up and I'm pretty new at it but I've heard it's par for these kinds of settings. </p>
<p>It's monday evening, btw. </p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>You should dress appropriately for the venue. If your interview is in a lawyer’s office or an investment banker’s office, business attire is appropriate — for men that means a collared, button down shirt with a jacket and tie. For women, the equivalent attire would be a power suit. Make-up is not necessary, if you normally don’t wear it or if it would make you feel uncomfortable.</p>
<p>No jeans/boots. </p>
<p>I’m wearing boots because it’s ridiculously cold here. It’s -4 Fahrenheit, so I need to wear warm shoes. No jeans though - I have a blazer with a shell and black pants. </p>
<p>Boots are fine. Jeans would be fine, too, but it’s maybe a tiny bit better if you don’t.</p>
<p>People who work as lawyers/investment bankers understand that what they wear is part of their own personal brand identity, but isn’t a moral prescription for others. Clients can always wear whatever they want.</p>
<p>In addition to which, dress code can vary substantially from law firm to law firm and bank to bank, and the recent extreme weather in much of the country throws everything into a tizzy. There was one day last week when I was the only person in my firm wearing a tie (and it wasn’t Friday, either). Plus, some especially powerful people flout dressing conventions simply to show that they can. </p>
<p>Agree with <a href=“mailto:JHS...@ecouter11…you”>JHS…@ecouter11…you</a> are fine wearing boots along with your blazer and black pants…especially if the weather is that cold…</p>
<p>…I’m assuming you must be interviewing possibly in the Midwest somewhere…where the dress code may be a little more conservative…than say the bay-area or LA…</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice! I’m actually in a major Canadian city and it’s at a downtown firm.The guy is highly distinguished and I’m just unfamiliar with corporate environments. I have interviewed with scientists before, but they generally have very loose dress codes. A tie is pretty abnormal there!</p>
<p>I don’t know if the dress code is conservative or not; I have heard that Canadians care about dressing well more, though. I think it generally varies from area to area. </p>
<p>So . . . were you underdressed, overdressed, or just right?</p>
<p>My outfit was appropriate, but I think I could have assembled a more comfortable and casual one that would have worked just as well. He was in a tie and some kind of monogrammed shirt with cufflinks, but I don’t think he cared too much about what I wore. </p>
<p>The interview was fine from my end - as I think it is for most applicants. His questions were pretty generic and he seemed really tired/busy (which makes sense). He didn’t really sell Harvard really well though - I feel like it kind of lessened Harvard’s appeal to me. </p>
<p>Ultimately, it doesn’t really matter. I’m already pretty apathetic to the idea of college right now and admissions rates are pretty low anyway. </p>
<p>Thanks for the advice, though! I really appreciate everyones’ help.</p>