Job interview: Men must wear suits?

[nyforlove]

MUST MALE RNs wear suits to hospital interviews for a Staff Nurse position? Or is that too much? What about a nice pair of pleated pants, a nice button-down, long-sleeved business shirt and a tie, with a suit jacket? Is a SUIT needed, i.e., the matching pants and jacket? Thanks for your thoughts.

[vashtee, RN]

Where do you live? If in California, I think the button down shirt might be okay, but if you are in NYC, it is possibly a different story. The east coast tends to be less casual than California.

Do you OWN a suit? You could always wear it, and take the jacket off and carry it.

It's probably best to check with males in your area who have the job you want.

[WhichWayIsUp?]

The formal suit is overkill. I have a closet full of suits since I just left corporate America. I wore business casual, dress slacks, dress shirt and tie but sports jacket. It was a job fair and I got hired on the spot. However, I think if I had on a full suit I would have felt very out of place. Some of the ladies had on jeans. But I don't think any of them were thinking that they would be interviewed and hired on the spot.

Of course this hospital had its act together and made us all feel special. Rare I think from what I have seen here in the big city.

Go with business casul, you will be comfortable and so will the people you meet.

[Flare, ASN, BSN]

I think the key is the jacket and tie. However i agree with Vashtoo. I live on the east coast where it's more expected that you will wear more formal clothing to an interview.

[nyforlove]

Thanks for the great tips!

[John20]

I always wear a suit. HR will never hold being over-dressed against you. Some will feel being underdressed shows a lack of professionalism or a lack of taking the interview serious. I don't feel that way, but HR can be a pretty stuffy place.

[BeeJayCeeYa]

I agree with John20. It is almost impossible to be overdressed in an interview and you will never get a second chance to make a first impression. If you are the outstanding candidate for a position, as long as you don't show up in something offensive you'll get the job. However, do you want to take the chance that TWO excellent candidates showed up - one dressed casually and one in a suit? Honestly, all things being the same, which candidate would you likely choose to represent your business? It's the same with resumes and CVs: if HR is getting a lot, they are looking for excuses to whittle the list down to a manageable few (so no colored paper, difficult-to-read fonts, etc.). Just my from when I use to participate in job fairs.