Obssessingwithdetails
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Post by Obssessingwithdetails on Jul 26, 2010 21:38:56 GMT -5
Ok, getting WAY ahead of myself here/obsessing over details as a way of coping with uncertainty, but a question for the guys out there (which may also be relevant to the gals): can you get by with just one suit for job interviews? I ask because a) I don't have a second suit; and b) packing a second suit for air travel is a pain in the a$$; and c) must act soon on this because ASA is coming up.
In the business world, wearing the same suit back to back is a big faux-pas, but I'm hoping we academics get a pass on this (provided, of course, that you sub in a different shirt/tie). If folks do in fact bring two suits to job interviews, how do you get the second suit there? Carrying a garment bag without wheels is tough and often difficult to find space in plane closets, but packing a suit will wrinkle it no? Obviously you could wear one suit on the plane and carry the other...
I will laugh hard at myself (or cry) when all this becomes irrelevant when I don't get a single interview.
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Post by flex on Jul 26, 2010 21:56:36 GMT -5
You do not need a suit, jacket, or tie, but many will wear those things. My impression is that one's dress is essentially irrelevant to faculty. However, I will say that presentational skills are extremely important. Both dress and presentational skills are important to administrators. Just my 2 cents as I wade into the job market for the second time.
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Post by suit on Jul 27, 2010 7:15:44 GMT -5
I'm a woman, so I'm not sure how much this applies. For women you can't wear the same suit two days in a row. But I do think there are different standards for men and women.
If the suit is very neutral, then I think you can get away with it. But two suits would be better - or even better, a jacket and nice pants for the second day.
You can get two suits into a suitcase. But yeah, you'll need to do some touch-up ironing in the hotel room.
I do disagree with the last poster that clothes don't matter. They totally matter. A woman came in to interview at my top 10 program and it was hot in the room where she was presenting, so she took off her jacket before most of the faculty got there. So they thought she had come to her job talk in a just a shirt and pants. And people thought it was disrespectful and too casual. I know - craziness. But there were lots of comments about it. And she did not get the job. Though I surely hope it wasn't over the jacket.
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Post by Depressing on Jul 27, 2010 8:10:01 GMT -5
Wow-- that story about the candidate who took her jacket off is truly depressing. Even though that story is probably an anomaly, it's the type of thing that makes me feel like not all of our freaking out on this blog is totally ridiculous.
So the consensus is same suit different shirt/ties for guys, different suits for women? Probably wouldn't be a bad idea to stuff a sport coat in the carryon in case the baby sitting next to you on the plane decides to use your suit as his snot blanket (or something like that) though.
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Post by roundx on Jul 27, 2010 16:44:27 GMT -5
Um, the ASA interviews are 15 minutes long. I don't think changing your clothes between them matters, or is really even practical. For other interviews, as a woman, I've often brought several different blouses/scarves to wear under one suit - so it 'looks' different, even if it is not. And I do think a dressy blouse with a pair of slacks or a skirt can be 'enough' - if someone doesn't want to hire me because I wasn't wearing a jacket in a 90 degree room, that's their loss . hope this helps.
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Post by flex on Jul 27, 2010 16:57:13 GMT -5
Obsessing about theses details is typical and nothing to be embarrassed about. The story by suit is obviously disappointing, but I have never witnessed these issues at my top 5 grad program and my current r1 position. Of course, I have never experienced the counterfactual: I have never seen a job talk done in T-shirt (tempted though!).
I would say that potential colleagues are not sticklers. Hell, most of them are, shall we say, fashion wrecks themselves. The administrators that one will meet, however, probably care.
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Post by ssss on Jul 28, 2010 11:04:20 GMT -5
Just a tip that I've picked up in the past: no need to take an iron on your on campus interviews, just hang the suit inside the bathroom as you take a shower and the steam will get rid of most of the wrinkles.
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Post by wrinkly on Jul 30, 2010 19:16:58 GMT -5
Bring an iron, or at least inquire in advance at the hotel whether one is available. You don't want to just get rid of most wrinkles, you want to look sharp. Obviously, standards in this respect are not too high in academia, but you should try to look your best. That means ironing your clothes.
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Post by anonyms on Jul 30, 2010 22:10:52 GMT -5
I'm a woman, and I wore the same (nice but not very distinctive black pants) suit on the two main days of my 3 day interview. The first day (When I flew in in the afternoon and went to dinner with the prof who picked me up from the airport) I wore a nice pair of slacks and a blazer. I wore very different looking shirts with the same suit on the two main interview days (one light green with stripes, one solid red), and had no problems at all- and I got the job. As long as it's not some unusual looking suit that's very distinctive, I doubt anyone will notice. Just bring the suit that makes you feel the most confident.
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Post by docanonymous on Aug 2, 2010 10:03:16 GMT -5
So is the consensus that for ASA a proper suit (for women) is not necessary? I have two pair of dress slacks and three tops I was planning to interchange. These items definitely count as "business casual," and would be appropriate for a corporate office. I could add on a blazer if need be, although I'm anticipating extreme heat in Atlanta. Although there's likely going to be extreme air conditioning as well...
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Post by Ruby on Aug 2, 2010 10:31:44 GMT -5
I was planning on wearing slacks and a twinset--that way I can wear the cardigan if it gets too cool. I also have a black blazer that I may bring. Basically I'm expecting that looking presentable/tidy is sufficient. I do plan on making use of the hotel's iron.
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Post by Becki Chandra on Aug 8, 2010 16:38:33 GMT -5
In general for interviews, you can never be overdressed. You *will* be judged on every aspect - at least by someone - on your research, on your teaching presentation if one is expected, on your dining habits (don't double-dip or talk with your mouth open!), and on your appearance. On a two-day interview, men can probably get away with wearing the same suit, as someone mentioned, provided you change your shirt and tie, but women cannot. But hotels always have irons, so it should be a non-issue.
For the ASA employment service, why make a lesser impression on what may be the first of several meetings, should you get an interview later? And yes, it will be over-air-conditioned in the hotels! But no, you don't need to change suits between the speed-dating interviews.
Chandra
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Post by cold on Feb 6, 2011 11:53:59 GMT -5
Just thought I'd update this thread with a question about what people (specifically women) have been wearing to on-campus interviews in cold places, like those that have been getting all this snow and ice dumped on them.
Specifically, are you wearing an overcoat over your suit jacket? Or switching them when you are outside/inside? What about managing the nice dress shoes vs. cold/snow/ice, especially for those of us who do not often wear heels? Even my 'comfortable' dress boots are certainly not meant for ice, and I don't feel all that comfortable interviewing at a fairly conservative institution wearing a skirt with knee high boots. I feel like I know the standards of dress for the interview itself but that it's hard to know what to wear outside that is dressy AND warm AND shows that I'm prepared to live in the (relative) arctic if I was so lucky to get an offer.
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Post by shoes matter on Feb 6, 2011 12:48:45 GMT -5
while I don't have a specific answer to the shoe question, I thought I would share a story from a campus interview I had in December. I am from the south and the interview was in one of those colder and snowier locales. I wore a pant suit (couldn't stand the thought of a skirt in 10 degree temps and also didn't want to wear knee high boots) and one of the faculty members there told me I was smart in doing so. She said they had another candidate from the south a few years back who wore a skirt and "cute" dress shoes - like ballet flats. They decided it was a sign she was not interested enough in the position to do a check on the weather conditions and therefore was not taken as seriously. Of course this was one story and there might have been other shortcomings -- or other candidates were stronger -- but either way, they cared about what she wore enough to mention it during the discussions.
I wore my coat over my suit jacket and I wore shoes that had a very small heel that I was comfortable wearing and walking in for the visit. I did very little walking. My hosts were wonderful and drove me most of the places we went. Then again, there was only an inch of snow on the ground - nothing like what places are experiencing right now.
Good luck on the interview!
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Post by cold on Feb 6, 2011 13:00:12 GMT -5
That's extremely helpful, thanks! I, too, am coming from the south (as well as from a very casual department), so it's just adding another layer of 'things I need to prepare for' to the already overwhelming interview process.
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