What to wear to interviews?

[dolly dagger]

Hey gang,

I'm wondering what people think of wearing a dress with a suit jacket on a Peds interview rather than a jacket and skirt/pants combo. I'd love to avoid buying a whole suit if I can get away with just a new jacket, and I'd certainly feel more comfortable wearing my own clothes on the interview trail. A friend who's also applying in Peds told me she'd heard that Peds interviews often require more conservative dress than we may expect given the reputation the field has for being pretty supportive and open-armed. This seems like such a weird balance between being "safe" and trying to "set yourself apart" (and I'm also pretty fashion-clueless, haha). Can anyone help?


I own this dress, and two more with similar cut and style: http://bit.ly/2nQIHt


The only advice I found from some Googling was this: http://bit.ly/8Tb2b

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[bks524]

So here is what I would say (from a guy). I don't think it matters one bit what you wear. We had people show up in all kinds of stuff (granted most had reasons ie lost luggage) and we just said OK. It didn't affect them one bit. I would say that your personality and social skills far outweigh what you wear. My thoughts about applicants were always toward how they fit in. I hardly paid any attention to their academic record unless it was glaringly bad or ridiculously good. I have been on all sides of the interview process. If you are an adequate applicant with more personality than the chair you are sitting in then your outfit won't matter a whole lot-especially as pertains to your situation.

Finally I will leave you with this story. I interviewed at University of Florida several years ago. A female applicant showed up in a hot pink buisness suit. Let me just say it was HOT PINK. They loved her! They could not stop talking to her and about her pink suit (I will leave my opinion aside ). It almost made the rest of us feel like inadequate applicants because I did not wear my lime green pants. Long story short, I looked up their resident page a year later and guess who had matched at the University of Florida - HOT PINK girl. So sometimes what you wear can actually help you!

 

[PEA]

I totally agree with the advice given on your google search. The goal is to look professional. The dress you linked to is too short and sleeveless, I wouldn't recommend it.

I wore a brown tweed-patterned suit with a nice crew neck 'dressy-type' shirt underneath the jacket. The style of jacket made the crew neck shirt a good choice. It was also a flattering colour to compliment the suit. I chose it because it didn't look too formal yet professional. I wore my comfortable leather, lace up dress shoes that I polished up to look new again. I wore very 'clean' make up.

During my interviews, a few other women were in skirts but I noticed the skirts tended to look wrinkled and creased after they were sitting. The heels they wore made walking around the hospital awkward for them, we took stairs, not elevators on the tour and there was a lot of walking.

If I didn't have a suit, I probably wouldn't have gone shopping if I had nice, new-looking, good quality dress pants and a suitable blouse/sweater/shirt depending on the weather and what temperature you need to feel comfortable. I'm always cold so I would choose a sweater.

Good luck to you!
I don't think many people could carry off HOT PINK girl, my advice is that you don't want people to remember your clothes, you want them to remember YOU!

 

[AceRockolla]

Hey gang,

I'm wondering what people think of wearing a dress with a suit jacket on a Peds interview rather than a jacket and skirt/pants combo. I'd love to avoid buying a whole suit if I can get away with just a new jacket, and I'd certainly feel more comfortable wearing my own clothes on the interview trail. A friend who's also applying in Peds told me she'd heard that Peds interviews often require more conservative dress than we may expect given the reputation the field has for being pretty supportive and open-armed. This seems like such a weird balance between being "safe" and trying to "set yourself apart" (and I'm also pretty fashion-clueless, haha). Can anyone help?


I own this dress, and two more with similar cut and style: http://bit.ly/2nQIHt


The only advice I found from some Googling was this: http://bit.ly/8Tb2b

Setting yourself apart is a good thing but when you do it by wearing non-conservative clothing I think such a plan can back-fire. In most instances, conservative is the way to go. Shades of black/brown/gray/blue are always better than shades of pink/red/purple. You also need to be careful the way things are "cut" so that not too much skin/legs/arms/tatoos/etc. are visible. For some clothing items, I think the cut is almost more noticable/distracting than the color/pattern.

All in all, play it safe. If you think something might not be a good idea to wear, it probably isn't! Just my 2 cents.

 

[bks524]

Probably the best thing for you to do is to ask your pediatric advisor.

 

[dolly dagger]

Thanks, everyone! I guess conservative is always better--this isn't the place to let my personality shine through (although I LOVE that hot pink story!!). I was mostly hoping to see if I could wear the clothes I already own and just add a suit jacket over that dress. At the end of the day, I'm glad to hear from bks524 that personality and social skills matter the most!

 

[Sweet Tea]

I think that playing it safe is your best bet. I've met people like the Hot Pink Girl (now know as HPG) who did well on interviews, and I've met people like HPG where the outfit really backfired. I've noticed a wider array of colors of suits and styles on peds than say when I was a surgery resident, as in, people wear blue/gray/olive green/khaki/brown/navy in addition to surgery's basic black, and you have a lot options for color and print with the your shirt. I like your dress, but I think it's too short and a suit would serve you better.

The good thing about a suit is that it'll get you through residency and conferences, presentations, grand rounds presentations, fellowship interviews, and job interviews. I'd just make the investment.

Oh, and wear comfortable shoes as you'll be walking! I did an interview with a sprained ankle in heels and I don't think they ranked me highly. Heh.

 

[AttyHubby]

How would you all take this (direct quote from an invite to interview)? My gut response is to wear a suit anyways...

"Please note that we do not have a formal dress code. Spending money on three
piece suits and other expensive business attire which you will not wear as an
intern (or professor) is not required. Suits, 3 inch heel shoes, etc., are
not necessary. You will be in a hospital with potential colleagues, teachers,
and patients; therefore, dress appropriately but in a relaxed manner."

 

[marcus8]

Collared shirt and tie. No coat.

 

[oldbearprofessor]

How would you all take this (direct quote from an invite to interview)? My gut response is to wear a suit anyways...

"Please note that we do not have a formal dress code. Spending money on three
piece suits and other expensive business attire which you will not wear as an
intern (or professor) is not required. Suits, 3 inch heel shoes, etc., are
not necessary. You will be in a hospital with potential colleagues, teachers,
and patients; therefore, dress appropriately but in a relaxed manner."

No, do what they say to do. Since this is for your wife , then she should wear a nice blouse and EITHER dress pants (dark, not necessarily black) or a knee/close to knee length skirt.

Honestly, I'm puzzled by why they care, but since they do, you (your wife) should do what they say.

 

[AttyHubby]

No, do what they say to do. Since this is for your wife , then she should wear a nice blouse and EITHER dress pants (dark, not necessarily black) or a knee/close to knee length skirt.

Honestly, I'm puzzled by why they care, but since they do, you (your wife) should do what they say.

OBP, always paying attention ! Thanks for the advice. Since I'm already working in [your city here], we're hoping to hear something from your neck of the woods soon!

 

[twilightdoc]

Remember that this is a job interview, and your choice of attire may be construed as reflecting on your judgment and professionalism. You want to be remembered more for what you say and who you are, not for what you wear. For women, I don't think that it matters whether it is a suit (with a dress) or a suit with pants. It needs to be tasteful and convey a professional appearance. The "tasteful and professional" part holds for men as well. While some people may break with convention and wear something quite flashy, I think that the risk is greater than the potential reward. I suspect that the med students reading this thread have all seen the groups of dark-suited interviewees walking around your hospital. This has been going on since long before my time, and there may be some rationale behind the "play it safe" unofficial interview dress code.

 

[rotatores]

Very odd that they would state that...in any case...definitely go with the suit AND 3 inch heels!