How to style your hair for an interview
So, for my $.02, here’s my list of options for how to wear your hair for interviews: 1. Hair, Down Hair, down, is fine. If you find yourself touching your hair, smoothing it, re-parting it, whatever — then think about pulling it back.
The risk of keeping long hair down is that you'll touch or play with it during the interview. Or, if you wear lip gloss, it's easy for strands to stick to your lips. That's distracting! For a good solution, try a sleek, straight look and keep strands of hair behind your shoulders.
If you’re not sure what to wear to your job interview, you could send a quick email to your recruiter to ask about the dress code. If anything, it will demonstrate your proactive nature and your intentions to do well in your interview.
Instead of wearing your hair down, wear a classy bun or ponytail, or twist your hair into a smooth, long braid to keep your hair away from your face. Classy buns, ponytails or a long braid can give a professional look to your style while keeping you comfortable.
Standard attire for law firm interviews is business formal. This is the most strict and conservative work place attire. Your goals should be to look polished and professional -- not unique, cute, memorable or trendy. Your interviewer should remember you for your answers to questions -- not your attire.
Research shows that Black women with natural hairstyles, such as twists, braids, and 'fros, are perceived less professional and competent — and thus, less likely to get job interviews — than their straight-haired counterparts.
Try Loose Curls If you want a polished look that doesn't seem too stuffy, style your hair with loose curls. You'll look trendy and stylish during your interviews, and you won't have to put much effort into your appearance.
Dress Codes for Female Lawyers A tailored suit is a great option for women lawyers, although for women, a black suit is more acceptable in a legal setting than it is for men. A blazer or suit jacket is typically a must in most law firms, whether you wear pants or a skirt.
Wearing strong perfumes, too much makeup, revealing bra straps or tattoos, and long nails should be avoided. For men, having professional looking tie clips and pins may be suitable for their attire. Wearing a professional watch would be acceptable.
The truth is that your hairstyle does matter in an interview. Others' perception of you is shaped not only by your past accomplishments and answers to interview questions, but it's also driven by how you look – whether you're wearing formal clothes and how your hair is styled.
What Is an Unprofessional Hairstyle?Messy Bun.Provocative Undercuts.Pigtails.Unbrushed Hair.Vibrant Hair Colors.Side Ponytail.Too much Hair Clips or Barrettes.Messy Waves.More items...•
Classic hairstyles are usually appropriate for work. Examples include wearing your hair down straight, wavy, or curly, sleek ponytails, buns, low chignons, French braids, and half-up, half-down updos. Professional doesn't have to be fancy.
Wearing your hair up is often viewed as more professional than leaving it loose. For ladies with long hair, your extra length means that a high bun is a great option for you. As well as looking sophisticated, a high bun will also show off your bone structure in a lovely way.
Be mindful of your final look, which should be tasteful, professional, and polished. That way, the focus will be on you, and not how you styled your hair. If you're trying out a new job interview hairstyle, do a trial run ahead of time so you're happy with how you look. Interviews are stressful enough without having to worry about a bad hair day. ...
If you want a polished look that doesn't seem too stuffy, style your hair with loose curls.
Don't feel limited to a basic, straight-down-your-back braid. Try options like a fishtail, a side braid, a braid of braids, or a French braid.
A short haircut minimizes maintenance and speeds up your morning routine. It also lends a unique, edgy appeal to your look.
A short haircut minimizes maintenance and speeds up your morning routine. It also lends a unique, edgy appeal to your look.
The risk of keeping long hair down is that you'll touch or play with it during the interview. Or, if you wear lip gloss, it's easy for strands to stick to your lips. That's distracting!
Is a ponytail formal enough for a job interview? It can be, if you choose a polished look. Opt for sleek styling, using an anti-frizz product or styling cream to tame flyaways.
To create a contemporary look without appearing messy or undone; use some texturizing spray to damp strands and allow to dry.
12. Updo. You can never go wrong with an updo for an interview, and hurray for you, a curly updo looks miles better than a straight one. You can do so much with your curly hair; you can go for a twist effect or slightly edgier by leaving a few curls hanging loosely.
Loose Waves. For an effortless look you can opt for some loose curls; ensure you’ve created these curls with rollers, a curling wand or straightening irons to reduce frizz. If you want to add that extra shine run serum through the curls with your fingers. Shutterstock.
Just make sure you keep your hair out of your face; you can apply gel, serum, and up the hydration to keep the frizz away and keep your hair looking polished. Shutterstock.
Short hair can also look stylish and modern when worn with a soft wave. Opt for a side parting if you are interviewing in a creative industry. Before you leave the house, make sure you spritz your hair with some lacquer to give it that added volume.
Sleek Pixie. The ultra-short length of a pixie haircut is perfect for the professional environment. By wearing your pixie sleek, you’ll create a sharp and chic appearance. To ensure the look doesn’t become too bold or striking, opt for a side part to soften the overall look.
Side-Sweep. If you have luscious long hair that you like to show off (or simply can’t be bothered to do anything with it), you can use bobby pins to sweep your hair to one side of your neck, allowing it to flow over one shoulder. This style works well with wavy and curly hair, giving it that extra texture.
For an interview, your hair should be neat, recently trimmed, and not something you play with. Ultimately, the hairstyle should be forgettable.
How to Style a Ponytail for Interviews. Use your hair to cover the elastic. Putting a sedate, professional hair accessoryto hide the elastic (or using an elastic with a barretteor cuffbuilt in) — I think the look above looks great because the barrette nearly matches her hair, and the hair looks very neat.
A ponytail is fine — but it can’t look pageant or cheerleader at all. I’d suggest you think LOW ponytail, if only because I think people associate higher ponytails with cheerleaders — plus I often find them uncomfortable to wear for long days.
Hair, down, is fine. If you find yourself touching your hair, smoothing it, re-parting it, whatever — then think about pulling it back. If your hair is super voluminous and it takes a bit of effort to maintain a neat look throughout the day, I’d suggest just pulling it back.
On the day of the interview, style your hair on your own or have it professionally styled. Touch up the style with hairspray or styling gel or cream to prevent hair flyaways and a frizzy appearance.
Arrange your long hair into different styles while wearing your planned attire to determine which style matches your outfit, face and hair color, and makes you look your best. For example, you might wear your hair straight or curly hanging down or pulled back into a low ponytail or chignon near the neck.
See a stylist or barber several days before the interview for a trim to remove dead ends and improve your look. For example, if you have a long, layered style, you might ask your stylist to add layers so your hair doesn’t fall limp after blow drying and styling. If you’ve recently colored your hair an extreme shade, or need a root touch-up, also ask your stylist to recolor it.
If you’re uncertain about how to dress, or you're applying for a job in a conservative industry where an employer might frown on certain clothing or hairstyles, such as the legal industry, contact the employer’s human resources department for guidance.
Always inspect your clothes for long hairs sticking to the fabric, as they can make you appear unkempt. Remove the hair by hand or with a lint brush.
If you’re interviewing for a corporate position in finance or law, for example, wear formal business attire. For men, this means a matching suit and tie. For women, it means a tailored dress, pantsuit or skirt suit. However, for less formal positions and workplaces, business casual is almost always the best option.
For your business casual interview, wear black or brown closed-toe flats, pumps or low heels. Make sure your shoes are not scuffed, scratched or dirty, and avoid strapped sandals, flip-flops, sky-high stilettos, sneakers or brightly colored shoes.
Always wear a leather belt that closely matches your shoe color. You could add a simple pocket square to a blazer pocket to complete the look.
Collared shirts with long sleeves. Wear a light-colored, pressed button-down shirt with long sleeves and a collar, and make sure it’s neatly tucked into your pants. You can wear a knit tie with a simple pattern or solid color, but this is completely optional.
Wear a top that is comfortable, professional and conservative. Try a button-down shirt paired with a cardigan, a simple blouse with a casual jacket, a navy blue blazer or a knit sweater. Choose neutral colors and simple patterns. Avoid slouchy or oversized sweaters, ill-fitting clothes, plunging necklines and fabric that wrinkles easily. It’s also an option to wear a casual dress paired with a cardigan and simple belt.
Keep your jewelry choices simple and professional. Avoid chunky, large or distracting bracelets, necklaces and earrings. Instead, wear simple hoop or stud earrings, a delicate necklace and one or two simple bracelets that don’t jangle. If you wear nail polish, make sure it’s unchipped and in a classic, muted color.
If you’re wearing a button-down shirt, you may want to tuck it into your pants or skirt for a polished look. It’s also acceptable to wear khaki or cotton pants, as long as they look professional .
All of us, at some point in our lives, have watched an episode or two of any makeover show. Come on, you don’t have to be a heavy binge watcher to know what I’m talking about.
Dressing up for an interview is all about matching their company culture.
First of all, you want to avoid pants that are too tight you can’t sit comfortably or so tight you have a visible panty line. If you have a “camel toe” at the crotch or if your pants are “smiling”, your pants are too tight. A picture is worth a thousand words:
Makes sense because 55% of first impressions are determined by the way you dress and walk through the door and 65% of hiring managers say clothes are a deciding factor between two candidates. But no one ever tells you what it is exactly you should wear to an interview. Not us!
A jacket always adds a professional touch to any simple black dress. Paired with a nice pair of shoes and handbag (avoid flashy colors here), it might just be what your day-to-day black dress needs to enter the business professional clan. Keep the look simple, polished and elegant.
Business professional attire is the most formal attire one can wear (weddings notwithstanding), it needs to reflect your personality and competence without going overboard. Truth is, most everyday outfits women have in their closet can be tweaked and have you interview ready.
Suits are a staple of a woman’s professional closet. Even Wonder Woman has one! For women, suits are generally made of a blazer and either a pair of trousers or a skirt in a matching fabric. Here are some guidelines for interview attire to follow.
Acceptable clothing for men includes casual slacks, khakis, short or long-sleeved dress shirts, crew and V-necked sweaters with a collared shirt, and cardigans. Acceptable shoes include thin- to medium-sole leather shoes, lace-up loafers, dock shoes, or Rockport style.
Acceptable pants include khakis, linen blends, silk, twills or corduroy, and Capri pants that end close to the ankle. Acceptable shoes include thin- to medium-sole leather shoes, loafers, pumps or any updated style with a low or stacked heel, open-toed or dress sandals.
As business dress becomes more casual, a written dress code policy is important for any law firm. How casual is too casual? Of course, it depends on the day's scheduled events, but assuming that your attorneys won't be going to court or conducting depositions or settlement conferences in the office, what are they expected to wear as they work on their caseloads?
Overall, there are only a few standard types of interview attire, the most popular of which are smart casual, business casual, executive casual, and business formal.
If your interview outfit hangs off of you like a wet potato sack, that isn’t going to make a great impression. When you’re clothing is too big, it almost makes it seem like you’re playing dress-up in your parents’ clothes. That’s no good.
Take the time to make sure each part of your outfit fits correctly. If a piece is too large, either have it tailored to fit or choose something else.
First, you need to consider comfort and fit . Why comfort? Well, you’re going to be wearing this outfit during a critical moment. If you’re distracted by itchy fabric, do you think you’ll make the best impression possible?
What many people don’t realize is that certain colors and patterns don’t appear the same when viewed through a lens or screen. For example, white and black can actually be bad choices for video interviews, as well as many bright colors.
Instead, you move more into classic office wear options. Think slacks or pencil skirts with button-up shirts, sweaters, and cardigans. For shoes, you’ve entered into relaxed dress, like a nice loafer, ballerina flat, or ankle boot. For women, open-toed heels may be okay, depending on the environment.
If your interview isn’t on the ground floor, climb a set of stairs. You can even be a bit extreme, using motions that you aren’t likely to have to make, but could happen.