Proper Interview Attire: Are Jeans Acceptable?

Last week, FlyGirl made the case for how to dress for an interview using two fashion icons, Magnum PI and Don Draper, to illustrate the point. The take home message is that – yes, even in academia – selecting proper interview attire is important. Whether we like it or not, our outfit is busy communicating with our potential employer long before we open our mouth – so let’s make sure it’s not sabotaging our interview.

Of course, figuring out where exactly to draw the line when defining proper interview attire gets a bit trickier. Although you will see a range of outfits in laboratories on any given day, it’s safe to assume that in the US, jeans are a common choice for most scientists. On Friday Jorge asked FlyGirl whether it’s acceptable to wear jeans on his interview for a postdoctoral position and we tossed the question out on Twitter. Given the strong opinions on both sides of the discussion, we want to see if there is a consensus among scientists.

When answering this question, keep in mind that this is not a discussion about whether or not your fashion choices should affect an interview–that’s a separate topic–it’s about whether they do. The goal here is to provide graduate students with information that will help them succeed in upcoming interviews. The recommendation may sound like “We realize you may not agree, and this information may change in the future, but for now the consensus is that it [is/isn’t] acceptable to wear jeans to your postdoctoral interview.”

So in the interest of helping a scientist out, what do you think – is it acceptable to wear jeans to an interview?

Do you think it's ok to wear jeans to a postdoctoral interview?

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2 comments so far. Join The Discussion

  1. Yevgeniy

    wrote on July 23, 2012 at 5:20 pm

    I think it is not even a question of if it OK to wear jeans because it is JUST a postdoctoral interview. An interview is the facetime between you and your potential employer. In fact, any time there is an occasion where you get to face and interact with an audience, you should make an effort to look professional and appropriate, and currently such standards include professional attire.
    There is a huge difference in the appearance of scientists who work in labs and their clinical MD counterparts that spent a significant amount of time with patients. I perfectly understand why I would not wear my best clothes while I work in the lab: chemicals, smells, bleach, fluids can easily destroy your favorite garb. However, it does not mean that you should always project that " I don't give two cents" attitude. An interview is a chance for you to find that overpaid and underused suit you have, put on a polished pair of dress shoes and project that "yea, I wear jeans and a lab coat, but here I am wearing my power suit" attitude.

  2. Hannah

    wrote on September 14, 2012 at 5:28 am

    It does depend on the type of atmosphere in the work place, but I believe if you are unsure you should always dress up a bit more! It's far better to be overdressed than underdressed and it gives a much better impression. It also depends on the type of jeans, black jeans for example, give a far more refined look than light blue jeans and can often be mistaken for trousers. If it was me, I would never wear jeans to an interview, but it largely depends on your body language, how you communicate and your interest in the position as well as your clothes.

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