Female Interview Attire

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sunnyeyedme

sunnyeyedme

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The options women have for professional attire are a lot broader than men... So... what do you guys think? What is the most appropriate for a pharm school interview. What would make the best impression? A full suit? pants or skirt? Colors? Heals? how much make up? Hair styles? What kind of bag? Do girls still need to wear tights if they are wearing a skirt?


These are all questions I agonized over... In the end I decided on a gray skirt suit with a blue shirt. 1/2 inch heals.. no tights since they are super annoying and uncomfortable.. minimal make up and hair completely up since I have long hair which isn't super professional..

Well.. what are your opinions?
 
sunnyeyedme said:
The options women have for professional attire are a lot broader than men... So... what do you guys think? What is the most appropriate for a pharm school interview. What would make the best impression? A full suit? pants or skirt? Colors? Heals? how much make up? Hair styles? What kind of bag? Do girls still need to wear tights if they are wearing a skirt?


These are all questions I agonized over... In the end I decided on a gray skirt suit with a blue shirt. 1/2 inch heals.. no tights since they are super annoying and uncomfortable.. minimal make up and hair completely up since I have long hair which isn't super professional..

Well.. what are your opinions?
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I do not think the bag rally matters. My one interview last year was in march in rochester, ny so it was very cold/snowy and we all had coats. They took us into a separate office and there was a separate place to our purses and coats. (I suppose you could have carried it to the interview if you really wanted to).

I have a black pinstripe suit with a bright blue collared blouse. I don't wear heels at all so I did not have to agaonize over that. I will say that I had a tour and I would have felt uncomfortable walking that much in heels. I personally like a full suit but there were some girls who did not wear one (just paired a blouse with a skirt). I don't wear makeup or "do" my hair so I really didn't do anything different than what I normally do there.
 
As a non traditional who is going into pharmacy after spending nearly twenty years in corporate America let me say that you should absolutely wear nylons if you are wearing a skirt/dress. A conservative suit with a skirt is a good choice....stay away from the colors navy or black as that is what nearly everyone else will be wearing....and I mean nearly everyone.

I mean if you aren't going to wear nylons to this important interview then what would you consider an important enough occasion for the wearing of nylons?

Nylons are professional, bare legs are not.

Anyone who tells you differently has not worked in a professional environment or is too young to realize that omissions of such simple things plays a big part in their being viewed as inexperienced.

When a young girl would come to interview with me for a position as the receptionist or file clerk I would view bare legs as a sign of her youth and inexperience. But if a young college grad came to interview with me for an accounting position and came in with bare legs, even though I knew she was young and inexperienced, I would wonder if she was going to be able to be up to the job.
 
Pharmgrlnxdor said:
As a non traditional who is going into pharmacy after spending nearly twenty years in corporate America let me say that you should absolutely wear nylons if you are wearing a skirt/dress. A conservative suit with a skirt is a good choice....stay away from the colors navy or black as that is what nearly everyone else will be wearing....and I mean nearly everyone.

I mean if you aren't going to wear nylons to this important interview then what would you consider an important enough occasion for the wearing of nylons?

Nylons are professional, bare legs are not.

Anyone who tells you differently has not worked in a professional environment or is too young to realize that omissions of such simple things plays a big part in their being viewed as inexperienced.

When a young girl would come to interview with me for a position as the receptionist or file clerk I would view bare legs as a sign of her youth and inexperience. But if a young college grad came to interview with me for an accounting position and came in with bare legs, even though I knew she was young and inexperienced, I would wonder if she was going to be able to be up to the job.
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👍
 
You should wear a black or navy female suit. Skirt or pants is your choice. I'd touch it up with a splash of color on the shirt or accessories. You need to look professional, but also remember this is a job interview so go conservative (hence the black or navy). You could also go for gray of maybe an earthtone brown but I'd stay with a very conservative color.

Once you get into school you can pull out the colorful clothing, until then you should stick with the conservative color.

When I was interviewed for pharmacy school I had two female interviewers and one was wearing a skirt, the other pants, and both were wearing black.
 
I wore a black suit with a teal shirt underneath. I wore pants, but I heard that if you are comfortable in skirts, you should wear skirts. The reasoning behind that is, the people who are interviewing you may be "old fashioned" and went to college or whatever when women were only allowed to wear skirts and dresses. Don't wear too much make up, either. I wore the basics: Foundation, eyeliner, and a natural tone eyeshadow. Nothing too overpowering, but just enough to make an effort. I also have long hair, and I wore mine down, because its part of my personality (and I think I have a fat face. lol), so I would think it's whatever there. Def wear tights or panty hose of some sort if you go w the skirt. My mom always says to, and I trust my mom. 😛
 
Women NEED to wear a suit, whether it be skirt or pants. I find a skirt suit to be more professional but pants are okay if you aren't comfortable in skirts. I would agree with the nylons comment as well.

For colors, I went with black with a bright shirt underneath. Women can get away with that. For suit color, I would stick with black, navy, gray or dark brown. Heels are always more professional (low heels, not 5") but if you absolutely MUST wear flats, please get nice looking ones. They should not have a bow or something like that on them - that is childish. Pointy toed flats look nice.
 
Thanks for you input! I am reconsidering my choice not to wear nylons. I heard from various older people that they weren't important anymore and they rarely see women wearing them... but I'm from Southern California so maybe that is just here.. So I think I will get some. I want to be as professional as possible, even if they aren't necessary I'm sure my interviewers will appreciate the effort.. Thanks!
 
Carboxide said:
Heels are always more professional (low heels, not 5") but if you absolutely MUST wear flats, please get nice looking ones. They should not have a bow or something like that on them - that is childish. Pointy toed flats look nice.
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I don't think heels necessarily look more professional than flats. To me, they look more prissy. Mine had a small bow and it didn't look childish. (Of course, it was really, really, really small and it was mostly covered by my pants so that probably helped.
 
desmoulins45179 said:
I don't think heels necessarily look more professional than flats. To me, they look more prissy. Mine had a small bow and it didn't look childish. (Of course, it was really, really, really small and it was mostly covered by my pants so that probably helped.
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Prissy or not, heels are what professionals wear.

As for bows...you clearly disagree. That's fine. I'm saying that i personally view them as childish and if I do, chances are some adcoms do too. You won't see your interviewers wearing them, that's for sure.
 
Carboxide said:
Prissy or not, heels are what professionals wear.

As for bows...you clearly disagree. That's fine. I'm saying that i personally view them as childish and if I do, chances are some adcoms do too. You won't see your interviewers wearing them, that's for sure.
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As for the first part, count me as someone who wail never be "professional" I guess. Most other people I know wear heels because it makes their legs look good or because they're "cute" and they love shoes, not because they look professional.

I can see if they are large or something but you probably wouldn't notice it on mine.
 
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sunnyeyedme said:
Thanks for you input! I am reconsidering my choice not to wear nylons. I heard from various older people that they weren't important anymore and they rarely see women wearing them... but I'm from Southern California so maybe that is just here.. So I think I will get some. I want to be as professional as possible, even if they aren't necessary I'm sure my interviewers will appreciate the effort.. Thanks!
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I agree. I can understand why some older people would consider them a necessity for professional attire, but now days I have heard from and seen a lot of corporate women who do not wear panty hose anymore.

Not to mention you are in southern Cali and I am in south Florida so things are probably different here. I've seen students interviewing at the health profession division where I go to grad school, and they all wear dark colored suits, but usually no panty hose with the skirt suits. Also... it's important to keep in mind that it has been in the 90 degree range and very humid well into last week here so it would be borderline unhealthy to wear panty hose in this weather. lol I think in this case it would be forgiven by most people.

With that said... if you do chose to wear panty hose I think it would probably look nicer, but I personally wouldn't worry about it as long as you have everything else under control.

I have really long hair too and I never ever wear it up because I look very young and I feel like it's a lot harder for people to take me seriously. Some people look older with their hair up, but others don't. I have side swept bangs though which look unprofessional so I pin those back out of my face.

I also agree with the person who said to wear conservative colors. I feel like pharmacy admssions are a serious and professional event, and it shouldn't be dealt with as a fashion show. At first the only suit that I could find that fit was a white skirt suit with gold buttons on it from BeBe. I felt like it was extremely inappropriate because my goal was to have my interview stand out and not my clothing. Once you are well respected in your field that's a different story I suppose. My boyfriend's dad had a heart surgeon show up in a tie die shirt with a Jerry Garcia beard. lol He was obviously a flower child, but I think his baby boomer patients could relate 🙂

Maybe that's just me, but what do I know? lol I just thought I would post because I know a lot of girls really dwell over this issue. You don't want to feel unprofessional or disrespectful with your attire, because it will make you uncomfortable, and that is the last thing you want on your interview day.

I kind of broke the "rules" with my shoes though. I wore high heels, but they were the only really nice black polished shoes I had and I didn't feel like paying another 100 dollars for a shorter pair. I'm also only 5'2" so I feel like I need to wear heels. They were completely closed toe, however. I wouldn't recommend wearing open toed shoes, but I guess that's all up to opinion.
 
In response to the previous post..I have side swept bangs as well and I was planning on leaving them down, is that a bad thing? I wasn't sure if it was unprofessional or not! As far as clothing goes, I'm wearing a black suit with a bright pink top underneath to add some color and pointed toe kitten heels.
 
I had my first interview today and I was by far one of the most dressed up women. Only one other girl had a full suit and one actually had a frilly white skirt with a tank top and a short sleeved vest thing... And I was the only person to wear a color other than black which I think may have made me stand out (one person had a really dark blue suit which looked nice as well) .. over all I was comfortable and I think that helped me be confident in the interview.. 😀
 
sunnyeyedme said:
I had my first interview today and I was by far one of the most dressed up women. Only one other girl had a full suit and one actually had a frilly white skirt with a tank top and a short sleeved vest thing... And I was the only person to wear a color other than black which I think may have made me stand out (one person had a really dark blue suit which looked nice as well) .. over all I was comfortable and I think that helped me be confident in the interview.. 😀
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hey sunny ^ ^ just wanted to thank YOU for making this thread 👍 sure has helped ALOT to prepare for mine[well, hopefully!!!... pending SAT scores]. but, anyway... i hope you get accepted xDxD thanks again! and best of luck also...:luck:
 
berrisweet712 said:
In response to the previous post..I have side swept bangs as well and I was planning on leaving them down, is that a bad thing? I wasn't sure if it was unprofessional or not! As far as clothing goes, I'm wearing a black suit with a bright pink top underneath to add some color and pointed toe kitten heels.
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I would go with whatever makes you comfortable. I left mine down for an interview once but I changed my mind about it later on because I was always pushing them out of my eyes. If they don't bother you then go for it = )
 
sungieality said:
I don't think side swept bangs are unprofessional. I believe it would only be a problem if you were constantly brushing them out of your eyes and you had the sad puppy-dog look of peering through your hair. I have side swept bangs and I have no intention of pinning them to the side.
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Mine are on the longer side so they get in my eyes sometimes lol
 
omg THANK YOU FOR THIS THREAD! my interview is on november 13th and i've been agonizing on my choice of outfit. question--my interview is at PBA, a conservative religious school...i am more comfortable in pants, so i was thinking a black pants suit. i am undecided on what type of blouse since it is a conservative school. I went to a baptist high school and i KNOW for a fact that what you wear realllllyyyy matters to them. i know i'm supposed to get a tour, so heels are out for me (i'll kill myself lol) but i was thinking some nice, professional looking flats would do fine. advice??
 
What about small heels? And how do you feel about maybe wearing a colored shirt that isn't really too bright (Like say, maybe a blue)? I'd stay away from red, but that's just my opinion. I had someone tell me that red reminds them of harlots, and ever since then, I haven't worn red to anything I need to impress at. lol Don't wear too much makeup, especially at a conservative school. I grew up going to an extremely conservative high school, and make up wasn't really allowed, so I don't know if that was just my experience alone, or if that applies for everywhere.

Just my 2 cents, and good luck on your interview! :luck:

P.S. Go with the pants suit. You should be comfortable.
 
Heels are not neccessary. If you feel more professional that way, go for it. Feel free to bring flats for any tours/long walks from parking garages. No hair in your face, no heavy makeup. If you look like you're going out to a bar, that's too much eyeliner. Pastels are pretty safe...I wore light blue and royal purple under a black suit.
 
takethecannoli3 said:
omg THANK YOU FOR THIS THREAD! my interview is on november 13th and i've been agonizing on my choice of outfit. question--my interview is at PBA, a conservative religious school...i am more comfortable in pants, so i was thinking a black pants suit. i am undecided on what type of blouse since it is a conservative school. I went to a baptist high school and i KNOW for a fact that what you wear realllllyyyy matters to them. i know i'm supposed to get a tour, so heels are out for me (i'll kill myself lol) but i was thinking some nice, professional looking flats would do fine. advice??
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Here is a solution for the blouse. A lot of blouses are low cut and would normally show a lot mroe cleavage than I am comfortable with (I am really puritan-like with what I want to show). A lot of people wear tank tops but I hate tank tops and it still doesn't help with coverage.

To take care of this problem, get a t-shirt to wear underneath. Not a crappy one that you'd wear to work out in, but one out of decent looking material (the person at the store called it a camisole but I don't know) one that has a smooth neckline, and wear it underneath the blouse. The top part of it sticks up underneath the blouse and doesn't reveal anything. Sine the rest of it is covered, it doesn't look out of place. This should probably be fine for a conservative school and doesn't cost much.
 
i have medium length hair that is layered and i also have front bangs. what should i do with my hair? i think putting it down normally is too casual so should i braid it, put it in a ponytail or a bun? how about half up half down? thanks!
 
cdiep13 said:
i have medium length hair that is layered and i also have front bangs. what should i do with my hair? i think putting it down normally is too casual so should i braid it, put it in a ponytail or a bun? how about half up half down? thanks!
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i just took a little bit of my hair and put it back so it didn't get in my eyes. I wouldn't even consider it half up, because it wasn't even that much. I don't think it matters as long as your hair isn't in your face (I personally don't like braids for an interview but that's just me)
 
Hey guys. As far as the shirt thing I think any color that isn't too loud is good (blue, white, purple, or green) but as far as the style I would just go straight for a nice button up shirt with a collar. None of this low cut thing with a shirt underneath..I don't know.. that doesn't seem as professional to me. With a button up shirt you can leave maybe the first or first two buttons undone without it being unprofessional.
 
sunnyeyedme said:
Hey guys. As far as the shirt thing I think any color that isn't too loud is good (blue, white, purple, or green) but as far as the style I would just go straight for a nice button up shirt with a collar. None of this low cut thing with a shirt underneath..I don't know.. that doesn't seem as professional to me. With a button up shirt you can leave maybe the first or first two buttons undone without it being unprofessional.
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or "3" and make things a bit more interesting...:laugh::laugh::laugh: naaah, just KIDDING!!!
 
sunnyeyedme said:
Hey guys. As far as the shirt thing I think any color that isn't too loud is good (blue, white, purple, or green) but as far as the style I would just go straight for a nice button up shirt with a collar. None of this low cut thing with a shirt underneath..I don't know.. that doesn't seem as professional to me. With a button up shirt you can leave maybe the first or first two buttons undone without it being unprofessional.
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A lot of shirts that I saw have the first button really high (like you would be chocking yourself if done up) and the second one really low. If the top one was unbuttoned then it would be a lot lower than I would like (not trashy but just not for me. I don't even like v-neck or scoop t-shirts). It was hard to find one that was not like that. Still like to have a shirt underneath though. (Also I sweat a lot so that helps absorb sweat and makes me feel a lot more comfortable).
 
cdiep13 said:
i have medium length hair that is layered and i also have front bangs. what should i do with my hair? i think putting it down normally is too casual so should i braid it, put it in a ponytail or a bun? how about half up half down? thanks!
Click to expand...

I have hair nearly to my waste and I put it up in the sharp looking ponytail for my interview. I added some product and texturized just a bit to make it look nice. I definitely looked very professional during my interview and felt at ease enough to sit in the front row when the associate dean was giving us a welcome talk.

You can also braid it, it looks nice as well. I wore a loose braid to my white coat ceremony and got many many compliments.
 
SmKN808 said:
or "3" and make things a bit more interesting...:laugh::laugh::laugh: naaah, just KIDDING!!!
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Overly sexy is the one thing you don't want to be during the interview. At one school, there was an applicant in our group who had on such incredibly tight pants, it even made me feel uncomfortable.
 
cheburashka said:
Overly sexy is the one thing you don't want to be during the interview. At one school, there was an applicant in our group who had on such incredibly tight pants, it even made me feel uncomfortable.
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heyy cheba ^ ^ INDEED! and i agree sis 😍 by the way... was this applicant a dude with tight pants? or this...?
tight.jpg

now that's what i call OVERLY sexy...:laugh::laugh::laugh:
 
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takethecannoli3 said:
omg THANK YOU FOR THIS THREAD! my interview is on november 13th and i've been agonizing on my choice of outfit. question--my interview is at PBA, a conservative religious school...i am more comfortable in pants, so i was thinking a black pants suit. i am undecided on what type of blouse since it is a conservative school. I went to a baptist high school and i KNOW for a fact that what you wear realllllyyyy matters to them. i know i'm supposed to get a tour, so heels are out for me (i'll kill myself lol) but i was thinking some nice, professional looking flats would do fine. advice??
Click to expand...


Hey... I wouldn't worry about PBA. I've visited there before and they are really really nice and non-judgemental. All of the girls pretty much wear black pant suits with various types of blouses underneath. Trust me that they aren't judgemental with the clothing at all though. I went to a Catholic junior high and they specifically did not allow make up or nail polish or ANYTHING, so I was worried about what to wear on campus, but when I was walking around I saw students wearing eye shadow, heels, etc. If it was me personally, I don't wear a lot of make up to begin with, so I just wear some lip gloss and some really thin eye liner under my eye (not over it though) just to be safe.

As long as you look decent you will be okay. I bought a black suit in case I get an interview this year somewhere and I have a bunch of plain white shirts that I can wear underneath. (it's still really hot down here in south Florida so you should keep that in mind too). If you feel comfortable in flats I would definitly wear those. The only reason I wear heels is because I'm only 5'2" and they don't bother me to walk in.

Hope that helps!
 
I wore a gray suit with black flats and a black turtle neck and put my hair in a pony tail. It looked really conservative and nice.
 
I stressed out way too much over clothes. I don't think people really care that much about it as long as you look presentable. They care more about what you say. That is going to be the deciding factor in whether or not you get a spot. Nobody is going to deny you a spot in pharmacy school because you wore flats instead of heels. As long as you don't look unprofessional, you should be fine.

I would avoid those tight red pants though. They look like they would cut off your blood supply. That can't be good.
 
cheburashka said:
Overly sexy is the one thing you don't want to be during the interview. At one school, there was an applicant in our group who had on such incredibly tight pants, it even made me feel uncomfortable.
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This sometimes changes when you have too many guys on the student ambassador group (we do play a role in admissions as your interactions with the ambassadors are being graded). Based on the current P1 class, I'd have to say that unfortunately, looks did play a factor in who was accepted and who wasn't since pretty much all the P1 girls are smoking hot.

Personally for me, I graded based on the attitude of the applicant, if they were nervous I'd give them a break, but I grade the applicants who look relaxed and laid back a lot higher than the applicants who look like they are uptight.

When we ask questions like, "what do you like doing for fun", don't say studying, research, etc!!! We want people who like to go out, have fun, chill, etc. Pharmacy school isn't 100% work 0% play.
 
Sparda29 said:
This sometimes changes when you have too many guys on the student ambassador group (we do play a role in admissions as your interactions with the ambassadors are being graded). Based on the current P1 class, I'd have to say that unfortunately, looks did play a factor in who was accepted and who wasn't since pretty much all the P1 girls are smoking hot.

Personally for me, I graded based on the attitude of the applicant, if they were nervous I'd give them a break, but I grade the applicants who look relaxed and laid back a lot higher than the applicants who look like they are uptight.

When we ask questions like, "what do you like doing for fun", don't say studying, research, etc!!! We want people who like to go out, have fun, chill, etc. Pharmacy school isn't 100% work 0% play.
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😆😆🤣I would not count on slim possibility of appealing to potentially creepy male student interviewer over appealing to a faculty member and making a a good impression on the person who has a much greater hand at evaluating your interview - professor, faculty member, even dean. :meanie:

Overly sexy is unprofessional, imho. Have all the sex appeal in the world, but leave it at home when interviewing for a doctorate program, unless you want to look out of place. :meanie: As for good looks, social studies show that unfortunately 😡 good looking people generally spreaking are more successful at whatever they try their hand in. Still, one can be good looking and dress professional.
 
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Should I carry a handbag or should I leave it in the car? I am just wondering b/c that would mean I would be carrying it around the whole time, right?
 
lxh0131 said:
Should I carry a handbag or should I leave it in the car? I am just wondering b/c that would mean I would be carrying it around the whole time, right?
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Some places have a set area/coat rack in an office where you can leave it. You could probably just leave it with your coat
 
lxh0131 said:
Should I carry a handbag or should I leave it in the car? I am just wondering b/c that would mean I would be carrying it around the whole time, right?
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Depends on the length of the interview. For a two - three hour interview, you don't really need a handbag. You will be provided with everything during the interview such as pen to write the essay and etc. My interview at OSU was really short and I didn't need a handbag for anything.

For a 5-6 hour interview, I would definitely bring a handbag (and I have when I interviewed). I brought a bunch of snacks, water bottle and etc, put it in my purse and carried it around. Just make sure your handbag is humble, without pink feathers or giant blingy things. 😉
 
Sparda29 said:
This sometimes changes when you have too many guys on the student ambassador group (we do play a role in admissions as your interactions with the ambassadors are being graded). Based on the current P1 class, I'd have to say that unfortunately, looks did play a factor in who was accepted and who wasn't since pretty much all the P1 girls are smoking hot.

Personally for me, I graded based on the attitude of the applicant, if they were nervous I'd give them a break, but I grade the applicants who look relaxed and laid back a lot higher than the applicants who look like they are uptight.

When we ask questions like, "what do you like doing for fun", don't say studying, research, etc!!! We want people who like to go out, have fun, chill, etc. Pharmacy school isn't 100% work 0% play.
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HAHA Yeah but you can still look cute and respectable at the same time... they don't have to dress provocatively to look nice lol
 
cheburashka said:
Depends on the length of the interview. For a two - three hour interview, you don't really need a handbag. You will be provided with everything during the interview such as pen to write the essay and etc. My interview at OSU was really short and I didn't need a handbag for anything.

For a 5-6 hour interview, I would definitely bring a handbag (and I have when I interviewed). I brought a bunch of snacks, water bottle and etc, put it in my purse and carried it around. Just make sure your handbag is humble, without pink feathers or giant blingy things. 😉
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Wrong. Only one of my interviews gave me a pen. Bring a purse and suck it up...you're a girl! You carry one all the time!
 
Carboxide said:
Wrong. Only one of my interviews gave me a pen. Bring a purse and suck it up...you're a girl! You carry one all the time!
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😕

They seriously expected you to bring your own writing utensils ? That's unprofessional on the part of school, imho.


General guidelines are that technically you shouldn't bring anything to an interview, besides a portfolio.
 
Carboxide said:
Wrong. Only one of my interviews gave me a pen. Bring a purse and suck it up...you're a girl! You carry one all the time!
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Not really. I try to avoid carrying one if I can help it. I HATE carrying a purse.
 
phathead said:
You can't go wrong with sequins...
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It's fun to laugh at but I actually saw someone with something similar at one of my interviews.
 
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