Can you wear jeans to a job interview? The answer is that it depends on the job for which you are interviewing, the company culture and your age. This article walks through various scenarios for both teenagers and adults to help guide your decision making.
It Depends…
To expand on the jeans question…are you a teenager interviewing for a job at the mall or are you an adult interviewing for a sales job at a tech company? Totally different scenarios with two separate sets of guidelines. The common factor with any interview is that you want to make a positive first impression with your appearance to the hiring manager.
Let’s start with teenagers
Example 1: Employees Wear a Uniform / Company Has a Dress Code
The first question you need to answer is: what is the dress code of the place where I am seeking employment? Many fast food and fast casual restaurants such as Chick-fil-a and Chipotle have a uniform that employees receive. At Chick-fil-a for example, the uniform consists of black pants and a red shirt. Since employees are not wearing jeans, I would recommend not wearing jeans to an interview. At a minimum, you can dress in clothing that aligns to the dress code, but my recommendation is to “elevate your attire” one level above the dress code of the company. What does this look like?
Teenage Boys
- Dress Code: Aligning to Chick-fil-A’s dress code would include a wrinkle free polo shirt, casual slacks such as khaki’s and closed toed shoes. For the polo shirt, ensure that the bottom two buttons are buttoned at a minimum.
- Elevated Attire: Elevating your attire one level above the dress code of the company might include a crisp, wrinkle-free button-down shirt, dress pants and dress shoes. If you don’t have any of these items in your closet, try to borrow them from a friend or family member. Afterall, you are looking to make money so ideally you are not having to spend money upfront. A thrift store is another idea to pick up dressier clothing items or shoes that you may not have on hand.
Teenage Girls
- Elevate Attire: Women don’t typically wear polo shirts so we will jump right to an elevated look for your job interview. A professional polished interview outfit might include a blouse, button down shirt or sweater with dress pants or a skirt. Neutral colors are typically a smart choice as they work well with most complexions and look professional. For shoes, opt for closed toe shoes as that is what you will wear on the job. If you choose to wear jewelry, make simple choices such as small hoops or a basic necklace.
Example 2: Employees Do NOT Wear a Uniform
Let’s say you are planning to interview for a weekend job at TJ Maxx or a local garden store. You have personally observed that employees are not wearing any sort of a uniform and most are in casual attire. If this is the case, it is acceptable to wear jeans to an interview so long as you make good choices with the type of jeans and the balance of your attire. No rips, no frayed bottoms and ensure that the jeans fit appropriately. You want your attire to communicate that you are professional and will fit in with the company’s culture. Be sure to avoid items in the next section.
Clothing / Accessories to Avoid
While of course you should feel free to express your personal style with your interview attire, there are certain clothing and accessory items that should be avoided in all scenarios. They include:
- Girls: Crop tops, tank tops, any clothing that is ripped or has holes as part of the style, sandals, excessive perfume.
- Boys: sneakers, jeans, hats, visors, “loud” jewelry, large brand logos on your clothing, excessive cologne.
Moving on to adults…
In you are interviewing for any type of job within an office setting, jeans are not an option for any of your interviews. Even if the company adopts a casual dress code and you know employees can wear jeans to work, remember that interviews are more formal events where you are looking to put your best foot forward. Once you land the job, it is perfectly acceptable to align to the company’s dress code. The chart below details the types of clothing that fall into the traditional dress code categories. For the majority of interview scenarios, I would stick to the guidelines in the “Business” column. Ideally your goal is to “elevate your attire” one level above what employees wear to work every day. For example, let’s say you are interviewing at a small, technology company start up and employees wear jeans (“Casual” dress code) to work every day. Elevating your attire one level above would mean picking clothing in the “Business Casual” column at a minimum.
If the dress code of the company is not evident to you, feel free to ask your interview point of contact for that information. Some places of employment are more formal in nature such as banks so that would be helpful to know in advance so that you can dress appropriately.
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