Men: How to dress for an interview

Shirt and Tie

This is the one area where you can really put your personality into business dress. Well, not quite – if you are interviewing for city positions, forget any shirt that’s not blue or white.

It’s generally best to go for solid twill or poplin cotton as it can provide you with more creativity in the tie area, and under no circumstances should you use French cuffs; your interviewer will think you have a high opinion of yourself.

If you have gone for a solid shirt and a fairly solid suit, make sure you do not also wear a solid tie; while you are not going to stand out as bad, nobody will remember you for your dress.

If wearing a solid shirt go for a dotted or striped tie, and try to match colours as well as possible. It’s hard to go wrong with red or yellow/navy on pale blue, or any shade of blue on white. As a good general rule, your tie and shirt should never have the same pattern – if your shirt is striped, get a solid or dotted tie. If the same pattern is to be employed, make sure there is a large difference in pattern size, or the combination will be too busy and difficult on the eye.

Accessories and Grooming

A very simple area for most university students preparing for interview, grooming should probably be weighted heavily at our most grand of institutions.

Basics that shouldn’t need stating: shower, shave, cut your nails and keep them clean, brush your teeth. Use wax or gel if your hair will appear messy without it but avoid drowning it – nothing will make you seem less professional than looking like you have just discovered gel. Do not use cologne as in a small space like an interview room it will be overpowering and create a negative impression.

Accessories may seem unimportant but it is the little touches that make all the difference in business dress. Always wear a belt matched with the colour of your shoes.

If you are going to wear a watch, try not to make too much of a statement – nobody appreciates a 19-year-old interviewing for an internship trying to be flash. Your watch should never be better than your interviewers’.

A pocket square (white matches everything) can help to complete a look and help your tie patterns to pop, but be careful when considering other colours; only attempt if you are confident in your matching.

Shoes

They can be in any colour, as long as it’s black.

If you are considering wearing brown shoes to an interview, then you really need my guidance and you’d better start paying attention.

Your shoes should be black, leather, and polished – they should shine, but not to a military level. A lack of shine on your shoes indicates sloppiness in your appearance, and any dust/dirt will make you look like an outright slob.

The kind of shoes you can go for will vary from role to role, but always make sure the toes are elegantly rounded, and generally it’s a pretty good idea to avoid loafers.

For City roles, it is standard to go for a clean Oxford or an understated brogue. It is worth paying for quality where shoes are concerned, and even if you aren’t shopping at Church’s you should make sure your shoes are at least leather soled and fit well.

Suit

The key to successful interview or business dress is being conservative without being boring, but forget trying to be interesting when it comes to the suit.

For banking, and any client-facing business role, you want a dark – navy or charcoal – single breasted suit with a notch lapel of medium width (skinny is very fashionable at the moment – avoid this like the plague; it will be uncool in half a year).

Small or average height men should buy two button suits, while those on the taller side should go for three. Always fasten the top button on a two and the middle button on a three, unfastening every time you sit down when it comes to the interview itself.

Try to resist the temptation to shoot down two birds with one stone and get a black suit as interviewers generally do not appreciate their applicants being dressed for a funeral.