Jump to content

Need some interview advice


russian rocket

Recommended Posts

Hey guys I have an interview tomorrow, this is the second interview or can possibly be looked at as the third interview. It's for a chemical plant process operator position. The first two times I dressed nicely,(dress pants, dress shoes, dress shirt) for this interview the HR lady said to dress somewhat casual. This interview is going to be a group assessment. How do you guys recommend I dress?
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would do dress casual. That is Casual Dress Pants like cotton pants, button down shirt and since it's summer, a nice linen jacket...again, something casual. Pull the jacket off once you meet the group. Mens Wearhouse is filled with this type of dress. I wear it all the time in summer.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Everyone interprets "casual" differently and I would go with what you wore to the first two interviews. The HR teams do not always (Sometimes) have a good pulse on the hiring manager and his/her opinions. If you interview well I would not stress over it.. Focus on providing the best answers to the questions and showing how you can differentiate yourself from the other candidates (Positive/problem solver/critical thinker).

 

Not in HR, but have interviewed about 30 local and international people for some technical (windows infrastructure) positions.

 

Joe always has great ideas/comments, but would not go into an interview in a golf shirt like the dork in the pic.. Khakis and a reasonable dress shirt maybe..

 

Tim - Same, but depending on the environment the linen jacket maybe much (You should know this from the two interviews)..

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hopefully you got a chance to look around when you were there before and can emulate how others were dressed. For a group interview you want to leave them with an impression that you are one of them and will fit in. So, mirroring their attire is the key. You definitely don't want to overdo it for this one or you risk being viewed as a threat by any of them with advancement aspirations.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have done a few "casual" interviews in the past and this is what I wore.

 

Button down dress shirt / Polo shirt

white shirt underneath (no graphics or design)

Jeans / khaki pants

Belt (Dress belt, nothing with a huge buckle or design on it)

Dress socks

Dress shoes

 

I also would go with that Harmonda said about "fitting in". Try and get a feel for who these people are, what they are looking for, and how they act. Going over the top sometimes can come off as a threat and they will instantly dislike you. At the same time, try and show confidence in yourself when answering any question even if you have to say "I don't know" because they will be able to smell a BS answer from a mile away.

 

Best of luck in your interview :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here is how I approach it:

 

Don't trust HR. It's easier to over dress and shed clothes to look casual than it is to dress casual and suddenly find yourself in a room full of suits and scrambling to class up your attire.

 

Wear a suit, tie, the whole 9 yards. Upon meeting the first person size up how they are dressed. If they meet you in jeans/kakis and a polo shirt, politely ask them if they mind if you remove your tie and see how he reacts. If you get the all clear then you can stuff your tie and jacket in your bag and still look "dress casual" in black shoes, dress slacks, and a button down shirt with an open collar.

 

to me "interview casual" never involves khakis and jeans. it's at the least a white button down (so white and crisp it blinds people when you walk in a room) and suit pants/dress slacks.

 

If you do still want to push for the khaki's you can take the preppie approach: make sure they are crisply pressed, wear a tie, brown shoes, button down collar shirt (white or blue), and a blue blazer or sport coat. This way if you wan to shed into casual you can but if it is a formal meeting you look stylish and not under-dressed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

thanks for the great suggestions guys. im thinking the khakis and button down shirt and dress shoes might be the winner.

as far as the hr lady goes, she has been apart of the first two interviews.

first interview was an assessment test

second interview was a three person panel who asked a bunch of questions

this interview is a group assessment, ill be paired with a few other candidates and we will be given a problem to solve as a group. they want to assess your team player skills.

 

i feel grateful just to get to this point, from what i have heard, 5000 people applied for the position, 500 were selected to take the test, 100 were interviewed and now i think its down to 40-50 people, there are 15-20 spots to fill. sooo fingers crossed that i do good enough on the next interview tomorrow

Link to comment
Share on other sites

thanks for the great suggestions guys. im thinking the khakis and button down shirt and dress shoes might be the winner.

as far as the hr lady goes, she has been apart of the first two interviews.

first interview was an assessment test

second interview was a three person panel who asked a bunch of questions

this interview is a group assessment, ill be paired with a few other candidates and we will be given a problem to solve as a group. they want to assess your team player skills.

 

i feel grateful just to get to this point, from what i have heard, 5000 people applied for the position, 500 were selected to take the test, 100 were interviewed and now i think its down to 40-50 people, there are 15-20 spots to fill. sooo fingers crossed that i do good enough on the next interview tomorrow

 

If you are going to be in a group of people and evaluated that way, you should stand out with how nice you look without being overdressed. Everybody is going to be in khakis. I say go dress slacks or suit paints and a very nice dress shirt and shoes. make sure it is all wrinkle free and crisp.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

dress slacks, button down shirt, tucked in, dress shoes, black socks... no tuxedo t-shirts... it's still an interview... whoever said jeans is crazy... if you came to an interview that I was running and you were wearing jeans, you would not get the job, no matter how good you are... it's about professionalism and jeans are never acceptable for an interview, even if it was tacobell
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Chemical plant operators wear nomex uniforms provided by the company. Probably a dark blue pant with a light blue shirt or something similar. They may look like they are delivering something. It's just a working uniform.

 

If it were me, I'd mention to the interviewer ahead of time that I was coming from work, so I would be dressed the way I was for my current job. That way if you are under/over dressed, it won't sound like an excuse after the fact.

 

If you don't want to lie, actually come from work in dockers and a polo.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Strong eye contact is a must.

 

I like to wear a strong musty scent. That, coupled with a firm handshake and a hearty, somewhat condescending laugh, always announces my arrival as an alpha and someone who doesn't negotiate or like liberals.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

dress slacks, button down shirt, tucked in, dress shoes, black socks... no tuxedo t-shirts... it's still an interview... whoever said jeans is crazy... if you came to an interview that I was running and you were wearing jeans, you would not get the job, no matter how good you are... it's about professionalism and jeans are never acceptable for an interview, even if it was tacobell

 

You know what else isn't acceptable? Your negativity. Thanks for coming in, but I think the committee has all the information we need to make our decision.

Edited by Dr. Pomade
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I like to wear a strong musty scent. That, coupled with a firm handshake and a hearty, somewhat condescending laugh, always announces my arrival as an alpha and someone who doesn't negotiate or like liberals.

 

Nothing says "firm handshake" like using both of your hands to shake. Make sure to squeeze in a vigorous and forceful manner. If your partner flinches you know you did it the right way.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...