WIW for a trial run to the recruiters office. - YouLookFab Forum

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WIW for a trial run to the recruiters office.

Stagiaire Fash

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That title is an active attempt not to throttle a certain someone…. By the time I made it to the headhunters’ office, they had gone for the day. Submitting more apps online tonight, & I’ll try going again tomorrow. I might wear an undershirt with a higher neckline than the cami I have on here.

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by Stagiaire Fash

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by Stagiaire Fash

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Stretch-Hose mit satinierter Oberfläche

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Latest reply was from rachylou

rachylou

Veteran

You know, the neckline seems fine until seen under the parka.

Stagiaire Fash

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Maybe I should wear a scarf to take off with the coat. An anthracite cami would deaden my face & cream could look like a “wifebeater” showing through—oops.

rachylou

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I think that’s a good idea. It would also give some finish to the whole ensemble.

Bijou

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This is a nice casual and warm outfit and the addition of a scarf is a great idea just to finish the look off. If it were me, I would dress in the style of whatever job I was going for. In my case, being an office worker, I would wear a suit to meet with a recruitment specialist. I know we have some HR specialists on the forum, so I am sure that they can help with what is appropriate attire to make a great first impression.

Stagiaire Fash

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Bijou, thanks for your comment. In this time of work-at-home casualization, it’s hard to know what to wear when actually meeting people. Taking your comment to heart, I believe I may step it up a notch today.

Staysfit

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SF, I’m not sure what type of job you’re looking for however my thoughts are similar with Bijou. I suspect it may be wise to wear the clothes for the position to which you aspire even when you meet with recruiters. They are the ones matching you with possible positions.

Appropriate job interview attire seems very dependent upon the profession. For example, DS insisted he could wear logo tees and torn jeans for job interviews. I thought it would be too casual, however, it was fine and he is employed. DD wore a solid colored dress (green) and added a solid color cardigan (orange). It toned down her typical very colorful attire but still reflected her artistic personality. (Plus her hair had a magenta streak which she styled in a way so as to minimize its impact). Every year I interview candidates for the local medical school. They all wear some iteration of a dark neutral suit.

Stagiaire Fash

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Thanks Staysfit! Part of my confusion is related to the whole “dress for the role you want” thing—I want to get back to an academic or other research position, but know I can’t get there without taking a lower-paying, less-interesting job first—I’ve simply been away too long, so my applications don’t get a second glance. So the jobs I’m looking for now are not the ones I ultimately want. The other half of getting back to the kind of job I really want is the project I’m doing with my friend. Once it’s out there and I have a track record of showing up for work again, then I’ll be in position to apply for what I really want.

There’s also some confusion stemming from the conversation when I bought these pants a couple years ago—I was considering classic office attire, and a chorus of ylf voices told me no, offices are much more casual now, and praised these as more appropriate.

For today, I’ve applied for some jobs online and also contacted the recruiter for an appointment instead of just showing up when they are open. So I’m still making progress, but also bought myself a little time.

Helena

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SF I think the pants are appropriate, and agreeing that a 'third piece' of some sort (a black cami, scarf, necklace, or jacket) might just add that bit of polish to finish it off nicely. Good luck with the job hunt!

Stagiaire Fash

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Thanks Helena. I’m running through my jackets in my head now, think I have a black one.

My bag still hasn’t been shipped yet (my sister broke her tailbone, so they’re understandably slowed down). When it gets here, I think the Pendleton watch plaid pants I got for Christmas will be my answer. They are classic and somewhat formal, but I hope the plaid is just unusual enough to look fresh. I’ll probably pair them with a navy sweater that has a collar. https://www.pendleton-usa.com/.....sale-women

by Stagiaire Fash

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Anonymous

Do you use LinkedIn? It's an efficient and effective tool used by recruiters and job placement specialists for many kinds of work. Linkedin has been very useful for me over the years and I've been recruited/approached quite a few times that way.

I've worked with recruiters a few times over the years, and it's always appointment-only ...keeping in mind they work for the employer , not the employee. If this is old news, just disregard. I agree with the others who suggest that it's still about dressing up for meeting with recruiters or employers : I know it's tough in winter when heavy parkas are involved, but a dark or neutral column of colour with classic accessories always presents as professional ..

Stagiaire Fash

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Lisa P, thanks for chiming in! LinkedIn is one more place the confusion shows through—the profile and tag line are set to the profession I once had and wish to return to, as that’s who my contacts are, but the search agents there (& on other sites) are set for things like translator, editor, call center, or customer service jobs. Is your mention of a column of color in confirmation of or in contrast to the watch plaid pants with navy top?

CarolS

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Stag, is your dark navy fittted coat warm enough for current weather conditions? I think it could look fabulous paired with the black watch pants (or even the black ones). I would pair it with a dark turtleneck to fill the neckline. Then, to my mind, anyway, you will look a bit more polished both coat on and coat off, even if you don't decide to wear a third piece.

Black watch pants, dark tneck, fittted navy coat, and the white boots for a bit of whimsy?

Ignore if not an appropriate suggestion, and best of luck with the renewed job hunt!

Helena

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Those plaid pants with a navy sweater would be a lovely column of color

Stagiaire Fash

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CarolS, thanks for remembering—and reminding me of—the long blue coat!

Helena, thanks for clarifying that plaid can indeed be part of a column of color even though it has other colors in it.

Whenever the plaid pants get here, I’m thinking of them, the navy sweater, red boots and a T-neck that is the very same shade as the boots. Not as much sassy contrast as the white, but red has a little sass, doesn’t it? I’ll try to avoid the giant steps, lol.

In the meantime, what about these wool pants I unearthed sometime over the past year? I can’t remember when I got them, recall putting them on for something my third year of college and they were entirely wrong. Any chance they’d work now for this? They are kinda colorful up close. There’s also this cord skir. Its colors are mostly adjacent to the ones I wear, but I could make it work.

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Minaminu

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SF, I an understand the frustration quite well and can relate to the feeling of being out of date. Job hunting during a pandemic was not fun and it was difficult to maintain the confidence to apply for jobs and quite challenging to understand what to wear for video interviews.

I do believe there is something true in dressing for the role that one wants - personally, I think that recruiters have a challenging job and seldom come back / liaise if they are not convinced that I am a suitable candidate and for this reason I make sure that I have an outfit that is confortable but gives me the confidence to apply to senior office based roles - not sure how it is for academia.

Stagiaire Fash

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Minaminu, thanks for the wishes! When I’m ready to apply for “thinky” jobs again, I’ll have no question or concern. If my friend and I do anything together to promote whatever arts thing he puts together from my research, I expect he & I can work it out (as long as he doesn’t wear those horrible long blazers of his!!). It’s these other positions—assistant, translator, call center—that I’m unsure about.

Anonymous

I’m always of the opinion that simple and polished is best . Even plain dark jeans with polished boots. a sweater and overcoat present better than a mix of colours and pattern ……unless the job is in a creative field . As to LinkedIn , is there not a way to edit your profile based on what you are looking for right now ? I’ve changed mine in the last couple of years and it seems to be fine - although I’m not currently looking for another job . Call centres here are plentiful and easy to get employment with - hope it’s the same for you there.

Angie

(website)

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Rotten luck with the recruiter. I'm sorry

That's a comfy, casual and cosy Winter look! I echo the suggestion of a scarf that works with the palette to fill the gap.

As for an outfit that is "recruiter-appropriate", I think that if you show up polished, neat and tidy, calm, composed, organized, dressier than is necessary for the particular job, but practical and "ready for action" - you are fine. During these COVID times, people are a lot more casual, especially when working from home. And expectations are tempered. New normals.

Best of luck at the recruiters office tomorrow!

rachylou

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Am of course stateside—and worse, in casual California—so YMMV—but I agree with what Angie says. I want to add tho, that to me dressier means not formal traditional but rather, more buttoned-up. California has rules now for what cannot be imposed dresscode-wise and that frankly allows for a lot of variety. l worry about anyone who shows up to anything but a bank job in traditional suiting now and my experiences interviewing even a decade ago lead me to believe others do too here. Even my lawyer doesn’t go to court fully dressed up like that. The gloss level has been way lowered. There’s a danger of overshooting, that is. I’ve seen some bad advice given by job training programs in that direction…

Sloper

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Good points from Rachylou. I'm in California too AND was in finance - and even that went biz casual in many offices several years ago.

I'd be at a loss for appropriate interview wear now - have been out of the workplace for several years.

Sorry you missed the recruiter - hope your upcoming meeting is fruitful.

Sally

Veteran

I used to temp a lot when younger and I would wear smart casual normally. I think your outfit is good and I would wear for a teaching job as you don’t want to look like you can’t get your hands dirty. For more dressed up just change shoes and wear a blazer.

Synne

Veteran

Best of luck! Agree with Angie that your demeanor matters more than clothes in this setting. Calm and composed is the thing.

I know situations like this can be very stressful. I remember meeting a recruiter, and I treated our conversation like a talk between friends, lol. I was way too personal, and was too honest about what I wanted and didn't want, and that I didn't plan on keeping a "lesser" job for long. Needless to say, I didn't get any offers.....

Stagiaire Fash

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Synne, thanks for that anecdote—you know I could very easily fall into just that mistake. I think I need to keep the focus on “I’m just so glad to be getting back to work” after pandemic and years of family stuff.

Sally, Sloper, Rachylou, I’ve never thought about the difference between formal and dressy, but suddenly it seems salient. I like dressy looks, but somehow being overly formal, as in the hypothetical suit (hypothetical because I don’t own one) could make me feel like an imposter. I’m not applying for teaching jobs, but similarly don’t want to look like I’m gunning for the boss’s job.

LisaP, thanks for the LinkedIn ideas.

Angie, thanks for the suggestions/encouragement on outfit and approach.

I will not wear those wool pants I posted pix of upthread—that seems pretty clear.

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

Because of you guys, I didn’t put off returning the recruiters call, and did it before they closed. Thanks for keeping me accountable! One more app to write after the gym tonight.

rachylou

Veteran

I’m back to say I actually love suits and have worn them to interviews, even when I’ve been told not to — and still got the job. But I’m super careful about my suits. They are distinctly non-traditional with ‘fashion elements’, like pushed up sleeves or contrast stitching or not wool or some such.