Hi all,
Would a dress shirt and a tie be appropriate? Or do I need to wear a suit as well?
This is for a vacation role at a government agency.
What to Wear for an Online Interview?
rocketrocket on 18/11/2020 - 23:53
Comments
Literally. No pants required.
better not stand up during the video call.
And learn to cross your legs when sitting if zoomed out
I guess what you would normal wear to an interview - fit for the role? shows that you put in some effort.
My recommendation is to wear what you normally would for a face to face interview. Not only to impress the interviewer, but also to put yourself into the right frame of mind.
So if you think you would wear a suit normally, do it. As for this particular role, what government agency? What role? I know you said vacation role, but if it's in a law style office as an intern, I'd say a suit couldn't hurt, if it's a front desk customer service role, you may even get away with a dress shirt, no tie. I normally consider what someone wears to the actual job, and take it up one step.
So if you think you would wear a suit normally, do it
I think the standard these days is one step above the interviewer.
If you anticipate the interviewer to be in a t-shit, then step it up a notch to a collared shirt.
If you anticipate the interviewer to be in a collared shirt, then wear a tie.Of course, you might call it wrong and mess up the interview, but that's life.
A suit in the middle of summer, while everyone is working from home, for a video interview, is overkill.
I think I read in Reddit (somewhere inside that rabbit hole) that an applicant asked his employer as to why he was chosen out of the many hundreds of applicants, the employer said it was because out of all them, he was the only one who wore a suit during the interview. I forgot the context though, just wanted to share. hahaha.
At the end of the day, it comes down to the whim of the person hiring, no matter how qualified or overqualified you are.
Thanks for the advice, it's for an IT position for the Bureau of Statistics. For the tech field in general, I've been told that a button up is more than fine for the interview, but I wasn't sure if I needed to go even more formal as it's a government agency.
My experience with most government agencies is that they are pretty casual and you’ll find some people dressed in business attire whilst some dressed quite casually on an average day. The exception to this would be staff in the DG, minister’s, CEOs office or similar.
For an interview I generally try to keep it quite formal (usually a suit) as most interviewers won’t be prejudiced against you for being too well dressed but some will if you’re too casual. I’ve noticed that I look much more professional when I wear my suit jacket for video meetings (I’m female and look young for my age and experience) but think it would look odd if people knew I was working from hone on a hot day. If it’s hot where you are and don’t have aircon also consider this as you don’t want to be uncomfortable. I’d say button up shirt as a minimum, tie and or suit jacket optional if you’re comfortable and it looks good.
You can always get dressed and have a look at yourself on the screen prior to the meeting and see what looks best. Good luck for your interview!
I did an online interview last week and I went the whole hog to put myself in the right frame of mind.
Dress for the position you want. For a field tech position I'd expect you to wear a polo with chinos.Buy a really nice polo. A nice, clean, well fitting top will show that you've made an effort.
If you want to go the extra mile wear a business casual patterned, short sleeved, open collared shirt. You won't be wearing that in the field so that's how they'll know that you're serious.At my government agency about 10% of wear a tie. Sometimes the CEO and Directors wear suits when there's something special on.
For an online interview a business shirt and tie is more than acceptable.
Nude.
Assert dominance.
Casual business attire upstairs.
Old, sweaty undies downstairs.Business shirt and jocks
Just a dress shirt would be fine.