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Interviews are some of the most crucial occasions in our lives. They open doors and help us build our futures, but first, there is the small matter of making a great impression.

One of the easiest things you can control when you go into an interview is how you look. How you dress and present yourself is completely up to you and there’s no doubt that it will play a part in how the interview goes.

Confidence

When you’re wearing a nice suit, you can be certain that you’re dressed appropriately, that you look sharp. You know you look the part, and when you look the part, you tend to start acting the part.

Whether you’re someone who exudes confidence, or someone who needs the confidence boost, the right attire gives you that little bit of extra confidence in yourself. Everything else could go wrong, but at least you know you’re going to look like that job should be yours.

First Impressions
Modern interviews are designed to limit the effect of first impressions and people’s internal biases. However, at the end of the day, recruiters are still humans, and they’re going to form first impressions – quickly.

First impressions can be formed in around 7 seconds, which means that what you look like is, rightly or wrongly, an undeniable factor in people’s split-second take on you. If you’re dressed professionally, wearing a smart suit, a business watch such as an IWC watch and a clean pair of shoes, you’re going to get off to a good start.

It Backs Up Your Performance

An interview is a very short period of time for a recruiter to get a reliable picture of someone’s character. Therefore, they’re going to use everything they have available to them to build up that picture.

They want to see consistency in lots of areas and dressing professionally will factor into this. If you nail your interview and come off as extremely professional and capable, you don’t want to miss out because your clothes didn’t also give this impression.

There are going to be a lot of other capable candidates interviewing, so make sure you have the whole package.

Respect

Dressing to fit the environment you’re going into is a sign of respect. Dressing professionally shows that you view your potential employer as a serious business and that you’re taking this interview process seriously.

You’re there to show these people why you’re a good fit for their business, so why not go the extra mile and present a professional, well-kept image?

Just Another Box Ticked

Your suit and the way you dress isn’t going to be a leading factor in whether you get the job, but it will play a part, however small. If it comes down to two employees who are equally well-qualified, but one dressed professionally and the other was a bit scruffy, which would you choose?

You want to tick as many boxes as possible and dressing professionally is one aspect that’s within your control.