Poll: Dress shirt for interview

[SLC]

Hello everyone, quick question here.

My FM interview season gets underway this week and I had a question about attire.

I've generally gone with a white shirt and a neutral color suit for interviews in the past. Usually charcoal gray suit or something similar.

This year I have two suits, custom fit, more of a slim/modern look. I'm pretty happy with them, though one may be a bit on the light side to use during interviews.

Anyway, I've purchased a number of shirts. White, pale blue, deeper blue, and white with black crossed stripes.

I think the white plaid shirt looks slick with both suits. But is a patterned shirt professional enough for residency interviews? I'm inclined to say yes, but figured it would be worth asking.

Here are some pictures of similar looks to give you an idea of what I'm thinking of. I couldn't find an image of the gray suit with the patterned shirt, but this image looks pretty close to what I've got as far as the shirt goes.

What do you think?

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[deleted87716]

Personally, I'd stick with white. Light blue is also an option, but it will show sweat.

As the saying goes, "If they remember your clothes, you were dressed wrong." This isn't the time to be a fashionista.

 

[mommy2three]

i agree with blue dog
on interviews last year i saw the guys in plain colored shirts usually white/gray/pastel blue etc but no patterns.

 

[DrMidlife]

agree...that's a great shirt but not for interviews.

 

[DrLeon]

I disagree... It's 2014. I wore a similar shirt on an interview, and I have seen other men wear shirts that were further outside the norm. It takes more than good fashion sense to distract your interviewer from your qualifications. If you are comfortable picking out a suit that doesn't clash, and hi have the right personality for the program you're interviewing at you should be fine.

 

[deleted87716]

^ Absolutely. If you're a complete shoe-in, and DrLeon obviously was, then wear a clown suit. The rest of y'all might want to play it safe.

 

[DrLeon]

My apologies... I didn't know you served on the interview fashion committee, and interviewed prospective candidates to be able to weigh in on this. Just as using N=X is an overused argument in these forums, only wearing black/blue suits with plain shirts is an overused strategy on the family medicine interview trail

 

[deleted87716]

My apologies... I didn't know you served on the interview fashion committee

I don't publicize it, so your ignorance is excused.

 

[DrLeon]

Joking aside, OP wants to wear a simple checkered shirt on interviews which shouldn't negatively affect him. Pair it with an appropriate dark tie and you will be fine.

 

[el_duderino]

Joking aside, OP wants to wear a simple checkered shirt on interviews which shouldn't negatively affect him. Pair it with an appropriate dark tie and you will be fine.

Says the med student to the attending?

Seriously, there's nothing to gain by dressing this way to an interview. The interviewer/PD/whatever won't be impressed by your modern look, and you risk looking less professional than your peers.

Also, be sure to actually wear a belt.

 

[DrLeon]

Says the med student to the attending?

Seriously, there's nothing to gain by dressing this way to an interview. The interviewer/PD/whatever won't be impressed by your modern look, and you risk looking less professional than your peers.

Also, be sure to actually wear a belt.

Says the member of an admissions committee that interviews applicants all the time to an attending who hasn't stated what their experience is with interviewing candidates. Let's descend into vitriol here; this is a forum where a man asked for opinions, and I just provided my own, valid one

 

[el_duderino]

You interview students for residency positions?

 

[deleted87716]

I served on the admissions committee when I was in med school. Do I get a cookie...?

This is common freaking sense. Don't make it complicated.

 

[DrLeon]

You guys do realize this is an opinion poll right?

If either of you is currently a PD or a resident who interviews applicants your OPINION will have more weight than mine, but it will still be just an opinion. We are all entitled to one. No one in this forum is forced to, or even should only consider my opinion as law. I will continue to wear what I want during interview season, and come February or March I'll let you guys know which of my top 3 programs I will match into

 

[deleted87716]

You're entitled to your opinion, of course.

That doesn't mean it's correct.

 

[el_duderino]

You guys do realize this is an opinion poll right?

If either of you is currently a PD or a resident who interviews applicants your OPINION will have more weight than mine, but it will still be just an opinion. We are all entitled to one. No one in this forum is forced to, or even should only consider my opinion as law. I will continue to wear what I want during interview season, and come February or March I'll let you guys know which of my top 3 programs I will match into

Oh lord.

 

[DrLeon]

I see this is going to go nowhere. OP, best of luck to you on the interview trail.

 

[cabinbuilder]

You don't tug on superman's cape, you don't spit in the wind, you don't mess around with the ol' lone ranger and you definitely don't mess with blue dog. Just sayin'

 

[SLC]

Well my wife asked a similar question on her Facebook "doctor's wives" group and they almost all said white. There were a few who said "any of the options are fine as long as you're comfortable and confident in it."

I'm at the interview site, I brought the white shirt. Thanks for all the opinions!

 

[VA Hopeful Dr]

You're entitled to your opinion, of course.

That doesn't mean it's correct.

No kidding.

This is really a simple issues. Could you wear any manner of dress shirt you like and probably be OK? Yes, I don't see why not. Is it worth the risk that one of your interviewers will view you negatively because of your fashion choice? I certainly don't think so, but when I was interviewing I didn't want to risk anything that might hurt my chances. Maybe that makes me foolish, but I doubt it.

 

[brats800]

I agree that if they remember your interview attire you did it wrong. I remember discussing people on our rank list. Never once did we say "that person dressed too professionally, we should rank them lower."

 

[Prncssbuttercup]

Unless you have a suit that can pull off a solid color shirt, I'd stick with white. I agree with the attendings' opinions that being more formal is better than less formal. Med school interviews aren't residency interviews, as a woman I can get away with red/blue/purple/etc blouses, but I am not sure that a guy can... Play it safe!!

 

[Jessicapoul]

how to dress for a job interview?

Many women are confused that whether they should go for skirt or a pantsuit. skirts are traditionally more preferable to pantsuits as they are more formal.Skirts and custom dress shirts are preferred to pantsuits as they are formal, but in all professional environments both are acceptable. Your suit should be comfy, yet not easygoing or energetic in appearance.

 

[JustPlainBill]

Well, while it looks good on the fashion model, if you ain't built/bearing a striking resemblance to the model, do it at your own risk -- medicine is an inherently conservative field and you would be surprised at the things that get talked about at the post interview conferences where programs put up pictures of the candidates and begin ranking them -- it takes on an "Animal House" like atmosphere at times ---

Believe me, I've been there when clowns thought that it was appropriate to wear as professional attire:

Males: Skin tight (I mean anatomic detail revealing) brown slacks, thick soled Doc Martens, powder blue shirt with a tie that was monkey paw knotted and only extended down to the xiphoid process with sleeves rolled up to the elbow, a pencil line beard that tracked the jawline until the angle of the mouth but was shaved at the chin and extended into a mustache with 1 carat CZ bilateral earrings, blonde hair with dark accents cut in a minispike flattop fashion --- they were decent GPA/board scores that were ranked right out that first day.

Females: Stripper height white open toes patent leather heels, a skirt that extended down to the knees but was so tight she had to almost duck walk, a keyhole blouse that showed off the cleavage barely restrained by a push up bra, white lab coat, big hair, extreme makeup and topped off with fake nails with small CZ studs -- same deal as the male.


Do yourself a favor -- go down to Men's Wearhouse or Jos. A Bank and tell them you're going on professional interviews for a residency position -- let them outfit you -- get the older guy store manager rather than some simpering young whelp who's never been on the other side of the desk during an interview -- i.e. the one who makes the yea or nay decisions....

You're just graduating med school and starting residency -- "they" still own you for at least another 3 years -- do what you're told and don't make waves -- it'll be a lot easier on you....

 

[smq123]

Meh, I don't think that the checkered shirt is THAT terrible. It's still a fairly conservative design, and with a dark suit, it should look ok. It's not like he's wearing a shirt with Daffy Duck printed on it.

Then again, I went to a fairly casual residency program, although it was still in the Philadelphia area (read: Northeast stuffy conservativism). That shirt would not have raised eyebrows at our program. That shirt definitely would not raise eyebrows at a residency program in California or Florida.

And be careful with white, especially if you're a food-stain magnet. Coffee on a white shirt would be worse than a patterned shirt.

 

[deleted87716]

And be careful with white, especially if you're a food-stain magnet. Coffee on a white shirt would be worse than a patterned shirt.

No, it would look equally bad. If you're wearing a shirt that's so busy or dark as to hide food stains, you're definitely wearing the wrong interview shirt...

 

[smq123]

I guess.... I honestly just don't think it's that big of a deal. If you're a good candidate, and the shirt isn't that loud or weird (and checks or pinstripes are hardly that avant-garde), no one is going to care. If you're a terrible candidate, it's just icing on the cake. The shirt isn't going to make or break your interview.

 

[Doctor4Life1769]

Oh good grief.
I honestly feel that people make too much of a big deal when it comes to clothes and shirt color, etc.
As long as you're not looking like a total nut or clown, it is fine.
Believe it or not, we had someone show up to dinner in sweats. Now that will get you noticed and talked about.