Flip through any how-to book on job interviewing and you're bound to run into the same timeworn tenets on how to dress when facing the hiring squad.
"A conservative two-piece business suit" is appropriate for men and women, according to "The College Grad Hunter" (2008) by Brian D. Krueger, with women clad in pantyhose "at or near skin color."
Susan Britton Whitcomb, author of "Interview Magic" (2008), suggests that men wear "a sharp navy blazer and dress slacks" when interviewing at companies with a casual atmosphere.
Slacks? Pantyhose? Are we still getting gussied up the way they did in "Mad Men" to get hired?
The short answer, in many fields, is yes. But this is Southern California, where more than a few creative-minded companies consider board shorts or cropped jeans appropriate business attire. Significant swaths of the local job market have their own dress codes -- which makes choosing a solid interview outfit all the more difficult.
And with unemployment in California at 11% in April, employers often find themselves choosing among candidates who look nearly identical on paper. That's when looking impressive in the flesh can tip you right into the catbird seat.
We asked executives from the creative, business and entertainment fields which looks work -- and which ones don't -- for job seekers in their areas.
First, they agreed on a few universal rules:
Be well groomed: This would seem to go without saying, but based on employer comments, it's worth repeating. Don't even bother walking through those double doors with a ratty pedicure, dirty shoes or clothes or greasy hair.
Kimber Maderazzo, senior vice president of global product development for personal-care juggernaut Guthy-Renker, said she notices chipped nails and grown-out hair roots -- and though she frowns upon drag queen-heavy makeup, "even women who don't usually wear makeup should wear a little on an interview," she said. "They need to look polished."
Pay attention to the details, because it's the little things that seal the deal: Sure, you've never worn a sweat suit on a job interview -- but employers agree that it's almost never the core outfit (the suit, the skirt) that makes the big impression.
Thomas McCullough, executive vice president and chief operating officer for First Regional Bank, remembers an experienced banker who interviewed for a position at his office whose small -- but significant -- sartorial snafu ended up costing him the job.
