# How to dress for an academic interview article



## TweedyDon (Aug 31, 2007)

From the Chronicle:

https://chronicle.com/jobs/news/2009/02/2009022601c.htm


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## jackmccullough (May 10, 2006)

This is handy. My son is interviewing for a tenure-track job right now, so I forwarded it to him.


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## Pentheos (Jun 30, 2008)

*re: Chronicle be damned*

I always wear suits to interviews, with nice shoes, and a pocket square. If someone won't hire me because I am overdressed, then that is their loss. I'm pretty sure that whatever does or does not come out of my mouth is what lands me the job or prevents me from getting it (as is usually the case).


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## TweedyDon (Aug 31, 2007)

Yes, the anti-suit advice was odd; I've never heard of a suit being a problem. In fact, in my discipline suits are standard interview attire.


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## Joe Beamish (Mar 21, 2008)

_Remember, the objective isn't to draw attention to what you're wearing but rather to draw attention away from your appearance and toward the substance of you candidacy. _

Usually the rule, professionally. I abide by this most the time at work. This, to me, is a large part of the "trad" aesthetic. To care, but not toooo much.

Exceptions are special occasions, of course -- work holiday parties, etc


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## Quay (Mar 29, 2008)

Seems spot-on. My favorite bit of advice from the article:

"_Wash and comb your hair (length doesn't matter as long as it's neat), clip your fingernails, brush your teeth, trim your facial hair, and shine your shoes._"

I just wish this was also part of the student handbook at more universities. :icon_smile:


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## Joe Beamish (Mar 21, 2008)

In the past couple years, several times I've been asked NOT to wear a suit to a job interview beforehand. But it's advertising, which ranges from insanely casual to very sharply dressed in short order depending on what agency and what meeting. 

But I've been told several times by an executive recruiter (or by the key contact within the company) "Hey, don't bother with the suit thing. Just be comfortable."

Clear as mud, right? Hmmm. Comfortable. 

Actually I love wearing a suit because it's probably more comfortable than anything else I own. My shirts fit (not too snug around the neck), and the light wool is soooo smooth. And I feel polished and professional.

Whatever you're doing? Dress the part. Usually you can do it in your own way, but I think it's important to keep yourself relatable. People hire you largely based on whether they would mind getting stuck in an airport with you for 12 hours, or whether you can handle it when everything goes haywire.


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## TDI GUY (Oct 26, 2008)

Thanks for the post TD.

I, too, wouldn't be so dismissive of wearing a suit to an academic interview. I think the trick, as the author notes, is to look professional but not corporate. This is often a fine line to walk in a suit, particularly if you don't know where to shop. This is where a trad take on things is particularly helpful, I think. The 3/2 natural-shouldered sack in a basic/conservative color or pattern; a white (or possibly blue) ocbd; repp tie; argyle socks; a pair of longwings or split toe oxfords, possibly even loafers (though I know this is a sin for many) - taken together they present a very professional (and academic) look without appearing corporate (as you would with say an italian cut suit in a bold pinstripe; square-toed shoes; a non-iron broadcloth point collar shirt; thick, bright tie; etc.). I would probably even forego a pocket square, unless I knew the department was sartorially inclined. And even then....

There is another interesting article about academic dress in the Chronicle archives. A professor chronicles his experience dressing well for a year (IIRC, Flusser was his guide....). He tells a funny anecdote about inadvertently out-dressing a dean at a meeting, for which he took some good-natured heat. Interestingly, he also notes how his classes seemed to go better as his own style improved.

One final note: I once interviewed at a university with a very casual dress code. I wore a suit. After my interview, the search committee chair told me explicitly to change clothes before dinner, and was openly relieved to see me later that evening in jeans and a sweater. I didn't get the job. This is probably worth keeping in mind when reading what I said above.


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## JayJay (Oct 8, 2007)

Dress codes may vary by discipline. For example, I'd think it's more likely that business schools would expect men to be in suits. Regardless of discipline however, I don't think one would be hurt by wearing a suit.


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## Quay (Mar 29, 2008)

JayJay said:


> Dress codes may vary by discipline. For example, I'd think it's more likely that business schools would expect men to be in suits. Regardless of discipline however, I don't think one would be hurt by wearing a suit.


It really does vary by school and department, but yes, one can be "hurt" by wearing a suit in some places and in some departments. I've seen it happen. However, wearing a traditional sack suit seems less harmful in the same situations than getting gussied up in Armani or other such designer fashions of the moment.

Years ago I witnessed the recounting of who was waiting in the reception room of a history department. The department dean came out and asked the department secretary who all was waiting. Her response?

"Two tweeds, a member of the 'great unwashed' and a pimp."

That broke down as follows: two men in tweed jackets, wool trousers, one with a repp and one with an emblematic tie and both with OCBDs (what one might consider traditional academic garb); an ABD grad student who appeared to have crawled, in the dark, into his mouldering laundry pile to dress that morning, and lastly a guy who was so hip, slick and trying to be cool that he even polished the silver chains around his wrists to a terrifying shine to compliment the designer suit and designer shoes, all of which shone and gleamed like he was desperately eager to sell someone else's treasures.

As I recall the tweed with the repp got the job.


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## TweedyDon (Aug 31, 2007)

^^ Wonderful!

(Please note that my screenname is _*not*_ "UnwashedDon", or "PimpDon"! :icon_smile_wink


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## Pentheos (Jun 30, 2008)

Quay said:


> The department dean came out and asked the department secretary who all was waiting. Her response?
> 
> "Two tweeds, a member of the 'great unwashed' and a pimp."


She should have been fired, or at least reprimanded. To call someone a "pimp" is highly offensive. And besides, who is an academic secretary to turn her nose up at anyone?

As one of the sartorially-concerned, I am deeply bothered by academia's antipathy towards those who are nicely dressed. How I dress has absolutely no bearing on how I teach or my research; if anything, I believe students respond favorably to professors who take time to arrange themselves. That has been my experience at Ivy and para-Ivy teaching posts.

Perhaps I'd relax how I dressed if I was hired at Lost Swamp Community College.


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## Quay (Mar 29, 2008)

Pentheos said:


> She should have been fired, or at least reprimanded.


What for? Exercising some humor in a history department is perhaps unusual but not illegal. Besides, the gentle lady in question was not in the same room as the candidates.



> To call someone a "pimp" is highly offensive.


Not if they are a pimp or work hard to dress like one.



> And besides, who is an academic secretary to turn her nose up at anyone?


Such snobbery has the potential to offend many in our democratic republic.



> As one of the sartorially-concerned, I am deeply bothered by academia's antipathy towards those who are nicely dressed.


If you're referring to my post, you willfully misread. I was talking about someone, clearly, not dressed to be taken seriously in a university setting. Most academic places I've known have been respectful of those who chose to dress well, some even going out of their way to praise professors in bow ties. I have not noted this general antipathy of which you seem to refer, but then again, I cannot claim direct experience in all departments.



> How I dress has absolutely no bearing on how I teach or my research


Really? I don't understand then why you immediately contradict this assertion by saying:



> ... I believe students respond favorably to professors who take time to arrange themselves. That has been my experience at Ivy and para-Ivy teaching posts.


If students are responding favorably then that does indeed affect your teaching and quite possibly your research. You just said it: they way you dress produces a particular response. Which is back to the article in the OP: the way academic job candidates dress does indeed affect their potential hiring.

It's silly, in the largest sense, but it's still true: those who _dress appropriately for the occasion_ usually get more out of it.


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## Pentheos (Jun 30, 2008)

Quay said:


> What for? Exercising some humor in a history department is perhaps unusual but not illegal. Besides, the gentle lady in question was not in the same room as the candidates.
> 
> Not if they are a pimp or work hard to dress like one.
> 
> ...


What a commentary! Are you sure you're not a philologist? Sure reads like one. (Crede experto.)

If you think it's ok to call someone a "pimp", then surely you also approve of the word "whore". It is, after all, the the same profession. I'd try to be a little more classy if I were you, Quay.

If a student says to me at the end of a term, "I like your bowties" or "You are always nicely dressed", that is responding favorably, and that's all I meant. I don't then go and rewrite my lectures or add more footnotes to my articles. Perhaps you do.


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## Quay (Mar 29, 2008)

Pentheos said:


> What a commentary! Are you sure you're not a philologist? Sure reads like one. (Crede experto.)


Quite sure and there is no need to insult philologists by putting me in with them. :icon_smile_wink: Trust me.



> If you think it's ok to call someone a "pimp", then surely you also approve of the word "whore". It is, after all, the the same profession.


Well, no exactly, as they are parts of a profession but have different roles to play in it. However, both words are appropriate in the right context. Now of course, this presupposes one knows the context and is using it correctly. Both words used casually are probably meant to be insulting rather than merely descriptive. The aforementioned department secretary was being blatantly descriptive.



> I'd try to be a little more classy if I were you, Quay.


Fortunately you are not, unless you're one of the voices I hear. In any case, as Florence King said, "Class is a word with not a lot of it."



> If a student says to me at the end of a term, "I like your bowties" or "You are always nicely dressed", that is responding favorably, and that's all I meant. I don't then go and rewrite my lectures or add more footnotes to my articles. Perhaps you do.


Thanks for clarifying and closing your meaning. I understand what you said and apparently went overboard in response to something not intended. Please excuse me. (Couldn't resist an attempt at a gratuitous insult, though, could you?  )

And to close this run-on, runaway post, how you dress matters. Everywhere.


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## TweedyDon (Aug 31, 2007)

Quay said:


> how you dress matters. Everywhere.


What about at a nudist colony?


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## TweedyDon (Aug 31, 2007)

Pentheos said:


> ..if anything, I believe students respond favorably to professors who take time to arrange themselves.


Mine too, actually. Of course, I look like Hollywood's idea of a professor (at least sartorially! ), and since I teach at somewhere that looks like Hollywood's idea of an academically elite college I think the students respond very favorably to my complementing what they no doubt describe as their "college experience".


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## Quay (Mar 29, 2008)

TweedyDon said:


> What about at a nudist colony?


Well, then, Mark Twain's famous quote about naked people having little or no influence in society applies. :icon_smile: But within such a colony I'm sure the drape of one's skin matters quite a bit. For instance, this is definitely a place to have no darts in one's "suit"!


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## AldenPyle (Oct 8, 2006)

JayJay said:


> Dress codes may vary by discipline. For example, I'd think it's more likely that business schools would expect men to be in suits. Regardless of discipline however, I don't think one would be hurt by wearing a suit.


I also thought the advice in the article was too humanities oriented (par for the course for Chronicle of Higher Education, I think). My advice to an applicant is to remember that your profession is not teacher. Your profession is as a psychologist or a financial analyst or an electrical engineer or a literary critic or whatever. Dress accordingly. If their is any sort of non-academic demand for your profession, then looking like you could get a job in government or the private sector will be to your benefit. Which usually means a suit.


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## 32rollandrock (May 1, 2008)

Pentheos said:


> I always wear suits to interviews, with nice shoes, and a pocket square. If someone won't hire me because I am overdressed, then that is their loss. I'm pretty sure that whatever does or does not come out of my mouth is what lands me the job or prevents me from getting it (as is usually the case).


Being unemployed is not their loss, it's yours. When I interviewed for the job I have now, I showed up in jeans and ill-fitting Calvin Klein alleged dress shirt. On a motorcycle. I got the gig. Now, I wear Pressidential suits, Harris Tweed, seersucker from O'Connell's, bow ties, Royal Stetson fedoras--pretty much whatever the proverbial F I want. The point is, once you're in the door and prove your worth, you can give casual Friday the finger. Otherwise, play it safe. There are plenty of idiot bosses/gatekeepers, often with inferiority complexes, that'll keep you on the outside otherwise.


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## sleepyinsanfran (Oct 24, 2013)

32rollandrock said:


> Being unemployed is not their loss, it's yours. When I interviewed for the job I have now, I showed up in jeans and ill-fitting Calvin Klein alleged dress shirt. On a motorcycle. I got the gig. Now, I wear Pressidential suits, Harris Tweed, seersucker from O'Connell's, bow ties, Royal Stetson fedoras--pretty much whatever the proverbial F I want. The point is, once you're in the door and prove your worth, you can give casual Friday the finger. Otherwise, play it safe. There are plenty of idiot bosses/gatekeepers, often with inferiority complexes, that'll keep you on the outside otherwise.


Bumping this ancient thread: Based on recent experience, this thread had some great advice. read it too late though...


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## Pentheos (Jun 30, 2008)

It's weird to re-read what I wrote five years ago.


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## thegovteach (Dec 2, 2012)

I was surprised how many people at the high school job level don't understand the concept of dressing for a job interview. You would be amazed at the number of college age kids who show up to interview for their first teaching job wearing cut-off jeans, a t-shirt that advertises a bar, and are in flip-flops....most high schools only expect a pair of khakis, a polo shirt and some sort of casual or even tennis shoes...


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## rsgordon (Dec 6, 2012)

Thanks for the bump. Great information and entertainment once lost to history.


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