Harry Rakfeldt ⋅ Belfair, WA AMSOIL Synthetic Lubricants and related products ⋅ 38 years experience

Greetings,

Advice from others regarding 'looking sharp' is my theme also. I became a GA pilot only a few years ago (at age 73). I enjoyed a successful military career and the opportunity to serve on both sides of the desk. My strong feeling is that success in the military is very much related to 'attitude.' Attitude is like a mirror - you get back what you send out. A positive attitude goes a long way to getting attention from others. By dressing 'sharp' you project a strong attitude that working on aircraft requires strict attention to detail and that's what you always deliver. The lives of others depend on your skill. The old razor ad says a lot: "Look sharp, be sharp, feel sharp!" Best wishes to you!

Eugene Watson ⋅ Knoxville, TN Corin Group ⋅ 35 years experience

Sergeant Gummere,

One of my favorite "business" books is "Dress For Success" by John Malloy. One of the many excellent lessons advanced is "Dress for the job you want, not the job you have."

After forty years in the business world, including rising to the Presidency of an International medical device firm I firmly believe you can always "dress down" in certain situations but it is very difficult to "dress up" extemporaneously.

Sergeant dress for success, good luck and may God Bless you. Thank you for your service.

Best regards,

John Watson
Retired

Stevie Ray ⋅ Burnsville, MN Stevie Ray's Improv Company ⋅ 30 years experience

Richard:
I will not only agree with the great advice given thus far, I will encourage you to research the company. Nothing impresses a hiring manager more than someone who is prepared; not just prepared to talk about their own qualifications, but actually knows details about the company. When asked if you have any questions, it makes a good impression to be able to say, "I have been studying about your company. I know that you do X and Y and I wanted to know more about that." (or something to that effect). This could distinguish you from other applicants.

Richard Gummere ⋅ Terre Haute, IN U.S. Army National Guard, Sergeant ⋅ 22 years served

Thanks to all who responded and offered advice. I attended the interview in khaki trousers and a long sleeve dress shirt. I was offered a position a couple of days after the interview and have been at the company for just over two months.

Kathryn Haynes ⋅ Grass Valley, CA Aon ⋅ 23 years experience

Good advice from everyone here, and I agree particularly with Harry Rakfeldt. You can also rely on your recruiter to guide you on dress code. It's ok to simply ask, what is the proper interview attire, and what is your dress code overall? You want to look like this matters to you. You want to fit it and also be viewed as someone they may be able to leverage in higher level roles in the future. A suit doesn't seem appropriate in this scenario and if you don't normally wear suits, it could make you feel uncomfortable and be distracting in the interview.

During the interview remember to have good eye contact, be friendly without being too familiar, and ask insightful questions that indicate you know what you're doing. If you meet with additional people yet have your questions answered already, it's ok to ask your questions again. You'll give the second person an equal chance to see what you're curious about, and it gives you a chance to see if they are all on the same page. Hope this helps!

Jerry Welsh ⋅ Middleville, MI Master Military Transition Advisor/HPS GPO ⋅ 30 years experience

One of the veterans in a recent TAP class, who know works for American, had to actually crawl around in a plane for his interview. He was given a schematic and had to solve a problem. If they told you this will be part of the interview, either new Dickies or a business casual outfit with coveralls that cover! Watch your shoes, you may wish to bring legal shoes, most of the time they have to be steel toed. You never know it may be a little test inside the interview, eye protection etc. You know all the rules, just pack a bag to physically work on the plane. Thanks for your service, good luck and God Bless.

Mary Christian ⋅ Princeton, NJ Bristol-Myers Squibb ⋅ 20 years experience

If not too late, one more POV. Call the HR dept and ask. They'll appreciate your eagerness to do the right thing and meet their expectations for a successful interview. Or call the administrative support person who is scheduling the interview and ask him/her. Remember that these are folks who keep the wheels turning and influence hiring decisions more than we'd like to admit.

Brett Henderson ⋅ Beverly Hills, CA UBS ⋅ 10 years experience

Call the employer and ask them for the appropriate attire. Simple, direct, honest.

Brett

Melinda Long ⋅ West Des Moines, IA Wells Fargo ⋅ 19 years experience

I agree with the comments, better to dress in business casual vs. casual but it's a good idea to research this some.

If a recruiter from the company contacted you about scheduling, ask them as well they should be helpful to let you know what is acceptable as each manager at every company will have different expectations.

As I recruiter myself I have worked in corporate environments as well as placed candidates in environments as to what you are speaking of still expected to dress up you never know who else you may meet while visiting and as others have said if they have a fast track for future sup and mgr. roles you want to have a good first impression. If you feel a suit is over dressed best to at least have slacks, button shirt and tie with a suit coat.

Best wishes for a great interview,

Mindy

Richard Cella ⋅ Califon, NJ Edge Therapeutics, Fleet Laboratories (Consultant) ⋅ 30 years experience

Richard

My advice is to deess in a "smart" casual outfit.e.g. Khakis, shirt, sport jacket. Prepare your self by anticipating the questions that you will be asked. For example, why do you think you ar uniquely qualified for this job. Also, be ready for "gotcha" questions. E.g. What is your weak point? What was yourbiggest mistake? You want to be prepared with a genuine answer, but not get caught off guard with a bad answer. Good luck!

Bob Molluro ⋅ Wilmington, DE Benchmark Consulting Services ltd. ⋅ 30 years experience

Richard, I just helped my grandson who was in a similar situation. He was selected to take an interview for a job that was posted by his company. So were sixteen other people. We did a few practice interviews and I knew he was well prepared. I asked him what he was going to wear and he said he was told casual was appropriate. I asked him this question, "Do you think the top people would be more impressed by a person who is dressed casually versus a person who is dressed in a business suit"? I said, I don't care what you were told -your job is to distinguish your self from the rest of the candidates. I know you can guess that my grandson was selected as he looked like a serious business executive who wanted the position. He has been in his new position for about 4 months and his boss is talking about his next position. Personally I don't believe you can over dress.
Warmly,
Bob

Mike Cottell ⋅ Glen Head, NY Michael T Cottell Consulting ⋅ 42 years experience

Hi Richard, terrific advice from the advisors on your question. I particularly like the advice given to you on dressing to the supervisor level, studying the company and looking your best in terms of overall appearance. The reality is impressions are made very quickly in the first few minutes of an interview, so getting off to a strong start is critical. Practice your opening "pitch" with a friend so that you get comfortable opening up not only about your technical skills, but also those traits that will make you a valuable employee. The time spent with practicing those opening comments, plus the terrific advice the advisors have given to you will ensure you make a solid and lasting great impression. Finally, thank you for your service to this great country. Good Luck to you ! Best Regards, Mike

Brian Stevens ⋅ Idaho Falls, ID City of Idaho Falls ⋅ 16 years experience

I interview several individuals every summer. They will be members of the grounds keeping crew. I am always impressed by those that come in a shirt and tie, that fits, and is pressed. I often look at grooming, also are fingernails clean and properly trimmed, fresh breath, calm. Wild hair and Facial hair can be misleading, also never go in a hat. For me I prefer them to come in slacks but I have hired acceptional candidates in Levi's.

Pat Godfrey ⋅ Saint Louis, MO Oasis Outsourcing ⋅ 30 years experience

Po Wong is on target. Always better to dress a level up if you are in doubt. Also remember that you can ask your recruiter about appropriate dress.

Kristin Garcia ⋅ Norman, OK The University of Oklahoma, Tom Love Innovation Hub ⋅ 15 years experience

My recommendation is to dress at the level of the supervisors. Therefore, is the supervisors are wearing polos and khakis, don't worry about a coat and tie. If the supervisor are wearing a coat and tie, do the same. Best of luck on your interview!

Po Wong ⋅ Orlando, FL Johnson & Johnson (retired) ⋅ 40 years experience

Hi Richard,
Thanks for your service!

As Deborah as stated, study the company you are interviewing well. Most important is to demonstrate assertiveness, confidence and what extra value you can bring to the business (leadership skills beyond being a mechanic??)

Depending on the company, Business casual (Suit, or jacket without a tie) may be very appropriate but definitely not Carhartt or Dickies :-) Never under dress because you may also want to provide an appearance of being future management.

Good luck!
Po

Deborah Meyer ⋅ Columbus, OH Anthem, Inc. ⋅ 35 years experience

Richard,
Lauren has provided some great advice, you may want to also visit Glassdoor.com and view information about the company. This may give you insights into their interviewing style, leadership etc.

Don't be scared off if a negative report. No organization is perfect, and unfortunately negative experiences are reported most often. You can never go wrong dressing your best, but it's the positive can-do attitude that really matters.

Read up anything you can on the company prior to interview, that will help you to relax and also may lead to some interesting questions. Remember you are also interviewing the company to see if it is a good fit for you. Best wishes,
Deborah

Lowell Summers ⋅ Glen Burnie, MD U.S. Air Force, Master Sergeant ⋅ 8 years served

Yes. Dress for the part! Look capable of doing the job.

Lauren Gilmartin ⋅ New York, NY The Mission Continues ⋅ 4 years experience

Hi Richard,

Thank you for your service in the Army National Guard and for posting a question to ACP AdvisorNet.

I encourage you to utilize the "Community" tool to search for Advisors with relevant experience in the Aviation or Manufacturing industries. You can directly message Advisors there in order to get some feedback on the proper interview attire for the position you are applying to.

Please let me know if you have any further questions about utilizing AdvisorNet or the "Community" tool and I would be happy to give you a call to discuss some of the site's most useful features.

Best of luck in the interview!

Best,
Lauren
ACP AdvisorNet Staff