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9What to Wear to an Interview

“I bought a new suit before doing a day of interviews at a company I was dying to get into. The interviews went great and we finished after almost four hours. I left and later realized the price tag on my jacket was still attached the entire time.”

— Mortified job seeker

The average job interview is between 30 and 60 minutes.

According to research done at the University of Oregon, how long do you think it takes for an interviewer to decide whether you're hireable?¹

1. 15 minutes
2. 30 minutes
3. 45 minutes
4. 60 minutes

The correct answer is “none of the above.” You get 20 seconds.

In the first 20 seconds, your interviewer will reach numerous judgments about you, which are unlikely to change regardless of how long they speak with you. Those judgments will include your competence, warmth, and hireability.

First impressions are critically important in an interview—arguably more important than most of what you will do or say over the next 60 minutes. What the interviewer sees in the first 20 seconds—your clothes and demeanor—will play a HUGE role in whether you win the job. We'll cover how to evoke the right demeanor in the next chapter, but first let's focus on your clothes.

Understand the Unconscious Bias Around Apparel

“I work at a bank. It doesn't take a lot of research to find out the proper outfit for employees of banks. And yet, I've had people walk in for interviews dressed in blue jeans, or wearing moccasins, and I've told them straight ...