Got a job interview? Don't wear a suit
How dressing up can hurt your chances for getting the job
Job interview time: Best foot forward, dressed up like you're going to wedding, right?
Not so, argues Daily Muse business writer Katie Douthwaite, who says that business-formal dress could hurt your chances of landing the job.
Why? You’ll stick out – in a bad way.
"If everyone at the company wears jeans and t-shirts on a regular basis, your suit is going to make you come across as stuffy and formal — or worse, a total mismatch for the company culture," she says. "It’s more important to find out how company regulars dress on a daily basis, and then step it up just a notch for that first meeting (e.g., if everyone wears jeans, don a pair of pressed khakis). You’ll easily prove that you can fit right in."
Douthwaite notes this doesn't apply to traditional corporate offices, where suit-and-tie is still standard, or if you can't get a handle on how employees dress.
In those instances, "too dressy is always better than too casual," she adds.
That's just one of several traditional job-hunting rules the writer argues don't necessarily fly today. For example, ditch your objective statement.
"They come across as vague (“I’m interested in a position where I can use my experience to expand my skills”) and generic," she says.
Click below for more traditional job-hunting rules that are begging to be broken.