Interview Outfits & Casual Date Nights

Today I had a professional interview, which...even after all of the interviews I've done up to this point, still scare me to death. So much of it for me is that I want to impress people and I want to make people happy, and so I think I have this ingrained fear of letting people down. I then come home an overanalyze all of the things that I think I did wrong, and fret and fret (every single time). Which is all terrible advice and I hope that as interviewees, you all are absolutely nothing like me. I hope you have confidence in how much you bring to the table, how bright your future is, and that an interview is a two-way street in every respect.

Along those lines, here is my most recent interview ensemble. I was a part of a professional sorority as an undergraduate student, and we took professional dress very seriously (for good reason--it's so helpful to go into a room with your head high knowing that you have the proper attire to take control and lead). For our sorority professional dress, we had black/gray/navy suits (pants/long skirts) and long sleeve muted color button downs and closed toed shoes. I still follow a lot of those same reference points, but I like to tone down the look with a slightly softer blouse and a patterned blazer or professional looking cardigan.

For my outfit, I am wearing a blazer that came as part of an ensemble suit at Ross-- I seriously can't say enough good things about the professional wear at Ross. I've gotten so many formal, beautiful professional suits (especially in their sale section) for less than $40. One of my favorite suits that I used back in my graduate school interviews was $16! The skirt I wear for most professional functions is the black high waisted pencil skirt from Express. I really like the cut and length of this skirt, but I do have a complaint that it always seems to twist around a little bit. At one point today it went from being a back-slit skirt to a side-slit skirt...if that moves around to the front, there is definite potential for embarrassment! I'm also wearing a white crepe zip front blouse that I got from the Burlington Coat Factory. I have the same blouse in different colors that I got from other stores too, it's one of my favorites because I think the zipper adds just a hint of professional bling! Lastly, I've got my trusty old Payless heels...they're short, comfortable, easy to walk in, no frills, etc. but add just a little bit of heel to add in some confidence.

I'd love to see some of your interview looks too! And any special nerve-calming interview tips you might have. :)

 

My interview outfit:

Then, I came home from my interview, kicked off my high heels and had some puppy playtime with Stella!

 

Lastly, I swapped out my pencil skirt for a cute little Sonoma Style Cargo skirt I just picked up from Express and tossed on some Charlotte Russe nude faux snakeskin heels for a date night with my hubby!:

 

Date Night Look

 

xo,

Shannon