The Interview Crisis

Last week I was called in for my first, what I like to refer to as, “big-kid” interview. After applying to what felt like hundreds of positions, a well respected local hospital invited me to participate in their interview process for a marketing position. After celebrating the call for a few minutes my thought immediately turned to that which at some point plagues every young woman- “What do I wear?”

Having lived in the college uniform of jeans and tees for four years and working in an office that is very casual, I was immediately terrified having to come up with something ‘professional’ on my meager post-grad budget.

After unsuccessfully Googling ‘interview outfits for women’ and only finding article after article on the importance of suits and hosiery, my next step was to consult some of my classier friends (the ones that wear pearls for a trip to the grocery store) and get their opinions on appropriate interview attire.

After dragging my tolerant boyfriend to the outlet stores 30 miles away that weekend and sending my friends texts of myself in every outfit Ann Taylor, J. Crew and Banana Republic had to offer, I walked away with a nice dress, a skinny belt and some killer jewelry. On interview day I put my new outfit on and was confident and ready to ace it.

What I did not expect was the two more rounds of interviews I would have to go through for the same position. Not wanting to recycle the same outfit two more times and with my clothing funds dwindling I had to get a little more creative. Fortunately friends of the same size are a fantastic asset when you need clothing in a pinch. I was able to get two ‘new’ dresses and use most of the same accessories to dress them up.

Three interviews and countless “does this look ok for an interview” picture messages sent from dressing rooms later, I think I finally have a handle on dressing professionally and can hopefully avoid future wardrobe freak-outs.

For others that may be in my position, I have included pictures of some of my interview outfits in the hope that never again will a young woman resort to Googling for suggestions only to find pictures of red suit blazers and ‘mandatory’ hose.