I know right now you're thinking either, A) Holy shit is he fucking crazy! or B) Holy shit what the fuck is he talking about?!?
And in either case it is perfectly understandable, but let me digress. Yesterday I went out and picked me up a spiffy suit for the interviews. I have since begun the process of attempting to pick out what precisely to wear with the suit.
Now herein lies the dilemma I have tons of dress shirts and ties as I generally wear those to work. Many of them, however, are not in consideration for the interview. Together they all sob and drink Jack Daniels in my closet. Why is this you ask? Because, from everything I have read, most pharmacy schools prefer that you dress conservatively for your interview.
That is a problem for my dress clothes because they are not conservative. I like bold colors which is why my shirts are colored Fuchsia and Copper and True Blue and Hunter Green and Blood Red and Chocolate Brown and etc etc with ties to go with. I do not like wearing pastel like colors and I will not wear a white shirt.
Therein lies the problem. I am left with two options in my closet and I went to the store today and picked up a 'conservative' shirt and tie. I know ask for honest and constructive criticism as to which to wear.
Now let's start with the 'conservative' shirt and tie. Of course all pictures are click-able to scale to a large size... if for some god awful reason you want to do that.
I will admit this does not look near as bad as I thought with the suit. The tie seems very Harry Potter-esq, but its decent. Now I could go with a pink tie, which I have and the wife loves to torture me about, but I figured that my scare the admissions people. Because, as well all know, pink is EXTREMELY threatening.
Let's carry on to my personal favorite.
This is probably my favorite shirt/tie combo I have at the moment. It helps that the shirt is like wearing the skin of a baby sheep against your body... ya know without all the blood and such. I have the fear that it is too fancy for the admissions folk. Not sure if that is the best way to phrase that, but I am genuinely not sure if this would be the correct way to go. The flash made the tie look quite a bit more shiny and silver than it actually is.
And last, but certainly not least;
This is actually the very first shirt/tie combo I ever bought (although this is a 2nd gen shirt) and I always thought I looked pretty snazzy in it. My problem is I think I look a bit like mint chocolate chip ice cream, but without the ice cream. And really, I don't need the admissions people salivating while they look at me. Well, salivating from hunger at least.
So there are your choices oh loyal blog readers. For those of you who are of the quiet type, I have placed a poll on the top right side for your clicking pleasure.
Now... lay it on me!
8 comments:
Bold colors aren't necessarily bad - you just want to make sure that they don't overshadow who you are. The problem that many people have is that they spend all this time on an outfit that makes them stand out, and they aren't comfortable, so the interviewers remember the outfit but nothing else memorable.
That said (and bear with me, I tend to be fairly critical with suits), I honestly think your suit is a little bit too large. Your suit sleeve should end dead at your wrist, and the seam for your shoulders should go straight up. I know how much pressure it is to pick out a new suit, and if you're happy with what you're wearing, then that's what's important, but just my two cents.
As far as colors go, I'm inclined to say that the third is the most comfortable. Your "conservative choice" has no real color flow with the suit, and I personally hate matching red with blue.
The second outfit would look wonderful without the jacket, and is the kind of combo that I wear at work pretty regularly - The problem with wearing it with a suit is that you now have a bright white diamond on your chest that is going to naturally draw attention to itself. In an interview, you don't want people to be paying attention to your chest, you want them making eye contact with you.
The third one looks good as a thumbnail. The green on green is a good pattern (I wish the tie would be green and black instead of green and blue, but it works from a distance). The only detraction I can see is the button down collar, which can indicate casual to people. I'm not sure what your budget is, or your area, but if there's an Express nearby, you can get a replacement shirt that looks a lot sharper for $35 or so, cheaper if it's on sale.
Good luck, and I'm cheering for you. Your application is almost identical to mine, so I know exactly how nerve-wracking it is. If it helps you any, three weeks before the first day of class, I was still on the waitlist, and I wrote an awesome letter to the admissions council that I was later told made a significant difference in my chances. It doubles as an extension to my personal statement, and I can forward you a copy to help you look at how to approach your transcript. It's an uphill battle when your GPA isn't competitive, but it can be done.
-TCI
I don't think it's a bad idea to go conservative for your interviews. You can always step out later. I like the green combo the best of the ones you've shown. Good luck!
The GREEN looks amazing but not over powering....go with the GREEN cause it's the color of MONEY
Having gone thru the admissions process and worried about just this exact thing, let me just say this....it won't matter. They will see the suit, notice that you have on a tie and move on. All of the choices you posted are wonderful selections. I absolutely know what it is like to agonize over every little detail, hoping to get an edge over the next person. Your admission profile will do that, not your suit. Relax, and let your record speak for you. Good Luck!!
Do NOT wear that shirt in the first photo.. sleeves are WAY too long.. the problem with the other 2 shirts is that they are both button-down collars.. fine for work, not good enough for an interview.. break down and get a white shirt goddamnit!! Make sure you get the right size, and wear the red tie with it.. feel free to pick the brains of the sales people at the store too.. they will LOVE to help if you tell them why you need their help!! Good luck.
I should say the sleeves on the first one are not really that long, the jacket was just bunched up a bit. Realized that after the pics.
I'm going to take the suit to a tailor on Monday and fix a couple areas. I went, size wise, with what the guy at the store told me to go. He and I both agreed there needed to be a few tweeks here and there.
I can easily swap out the tie and get a different shirt for that. I was actually eyeballing one because of the button down collar anyways.
The original plan was to have a suit made, but I really really wasn't expecting to get an interview this soon. I need a decent suit for a wedding in May, so I figured this would get a bit of use out of it.
I like the green. Agree with the other commenter, definitely get the sleeve length right otherwise it looks like someone else's suit. It's certainly not going to make or break the interview, though. I know someone who's on a pharmacy faculty and has done some of these interviews (you wouldn't believe some of the train wrecks). Just be professional, DON'T regale them with stories of your personal life and definitely highlight your business background -- that will make you stand out.
Definitely not the first one. Either of the other two are fine, though, whatever you feel more comfortable wearing. Someone else already said it: so long as you show up in a suit and tie (and they're not wrinkled and/or messy) it doesn't really matter what your color choice is.
Stay informed about recent pharmacy news just in case they ask your opinion on some topic, and don't let an oddball question stump you. (I got asked what book I had read most recently that wasn't for school. Truth was, I hadn't had time for pleasure reading in months and couldn't remember, but came up with a title anyway.)
Good luck!
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