Dressing for Interviews: An Extended Answer

I've been an on-again-off-again contributor to the "Further Questions" series on Hiring Librarians. The "off-again" part is because sometimes I don't have any experience from which to answer or I'm just too busy, so I'm glad I had a moment when the question that was published yesterday showed up in my email.

The question:

"Which outfit is most appropriate to wear to an interview with your organization? Please pick one for women and one for men, and feel free to provide commentary as to why you chose one over the others (or share how you might change an outfit). Bonus question: Can you share any funny stories about horrifying interview outfits?" (There are options from which respondents chose at that link.)

My answer:

"Since gender isn't a binary, I say you wear whatever you feel is appropriate to the level for which you're applying. In general, dress just a little bit nicer than you think you would dress if you got the job. If you feel unsure, check with a friend/contact who already has a job in the kind of library where you are interviewing. Don't know anyone? Feel free to reach out to me and I'll get you in touch with someone who can help."

I feel the need to expand upon what I wrote there, partially because I'm still angry at the assumption of gender as a binary and partially because of the great discussion that happened on Twitter and other places after that Hiring Librarians post was published.

Here are some things that I know are true:

• I've talked before about my privilege (or lack thereof), but it's important to note that since I'm caucasian and mostly cisgendered I can bend or even break some of the so called interview outfit fashion rules with relative impunity. YMMV.
• Performance of gender and performance of race factor into this in a big way.
• I already have a job in a library, so in some ways it's easy for me to talk.
• But I am also fat, and fat prejudice is a problem.

Having explained all that, I still stand by my answer. Wear what feels appropriate. Wear an outfit that makes you feel confident but that is also comfortable. I suggest you avoid high heels unless you are super used to walking around in them all day, because you will be walking much more than you expect to walk. I also suggest you dress appropriate for the weather, for the most part. If you don't think you can dress following my advice and still stand a chance at getting a job offer, please consider turning the interview down. Remember you're going to be at this library a lot, and if you won't feel comfortable dressing the way you normally dress while at work, you will not be happy there.  

One last thing... If I'm ever lucky enough to interview you for employment at my library, please rest assured that "it don't matter what you wear, [we're] checking out your savoir faire" and - of course - your qualifications.

(I hope you'll forgive the light hearted videos that are bookending this post. I needed to find a way to laugh about this and thought you might need a laugh, too.)

"What If You Already Have The Job You Want?": Revisiting Professional Dress

I know I've already written about how I dress at work, but wardrobe has been on my mind again lately. This is partly because of an article from 99u on the topic, but it's also because of my new job.

The new digs haven't changed my own wardrobe as much as I thought they would. Not yet, anyway. Sure, I no longer wear jeans on Fridays, even dark washed ones, as I did in previous jobs. I'll admit that I've been seen twice in my building wearing jeans, but in both cases it was a brief thing - one time was because I dropped by on a Sunday while I was out doing errands, and the other was because I changed into jeans at the end of my day before going to a casual event right after work. Other than that, I still hover in what I think of as the nicer end of "professorial".

So, no, I've not been obsessing about what I wear to the library. Instead, I've been thinking about what the rest of the staff wears. My library is small enough that everyone works with the public, so we're all subject to this. Sure, I have different kinds of people working here - librarians, clerks, student workers (and the students are my main concern) - but members of our community aren't necessarily going to notice the difference. Just like my thinking about gossiping versus community building, I'm hoping to find a balance between approachable and way-too-casual. There are some things that are obviously wrong: ripped jeans, super-tight t-shirts, cleavage (either bosom cleavage for the ladies or plumber's crack cleavage for either gender). However, just like I don't want extremely casual, neither do I want everyone who works for me to come in looking like they're about to walk into a courtroom.

After those clear examples, things get a bit more muddled. For instance, I'm sure most people would agree that ragged, worn out sweatshirts aren't appropriate, but what about brand new ones that are holiday themed or that bear the name of the college where my library is located? There are other examples where the line isn't obvious, so I'm not going to change any policies until my thinking is clearer. The two things I know for sure are that I want members of our community to feel they are dealing with professionals and that I don't want my staff to dress in a way that is off-puttingly formal or informal.

I'm continuing to noodle my way through my ideas, and I've found a few good dress codes that are helping me make decisions, but I'm wondering what you all think. Finally, for the record, in reference to the above picture: if any of my staff came in dressed as Batman, Hellboy, or even Multiple Man, I'd probably be okay with it. I am a proud nerdbrarian, after all.

Which Is It? Clothes Make the (Wo)Man or Don't Judge a Book By Its Cover?

It seems like an odd thing to discuss on a blog about librarianship, but it turns out that how we dress as librarians is very important. Whether we're wearing sparkly, spangly, cute attire (as is appropriate for a children's librarian) or a three piece suit (more de rigueur for a law librarian), how we dress at work is more important than you think.

And I do think about it, probably more than I should. You see, back when I was a baby librarian, I looked much younger than I was. Up until a year after I started working at that college library, faculty and staff would occasionally assume that I was a student upon first meeting me. Further, the situation wasn't helped by the fact that we attracted a lot of non-traditional students. As a result, I dressed excruciatingly professionally everyday. Forget about wearing jeans, I didn't even wear slacks that often. The school was in semi-rural Southern Vermont, but rare was the day that found me wearing anything but high heels. I even dressed more upscale than my director on occasion. I was trying to make a point with my apparel: I wasn't a student and I didn't want anyone mistaking me for one.

I'm no longer mistaken for a student (I think the silvery-grey streaks in my dark brown hair are to blame), but I'm still trying to make a point with what I wear. Things have changed, though. I can't remember the last time I wore high heels. In fact, I practically  live in my Dansko clogs. I wear jeans at least once per week, sometimes more (caveat: I always wear my jeans with a fancy top). Heck, I've even been known to wear t-shirts with graphics to events I run for students. I dress much more casually than I'd ever have considered at my previous institution. The difference is that instead of trying to stand out, as I did back then, here I'm trying to blend in... with the faculty. The combination of jeans with a white, buttoned down shirt is worn so frequently in some academic departments that it could pass for a uniform. Sure, there are some members of the faculty who always come to work wearing suit coats and ties (I'm looking at you, Political Science), but that isn't the norm on my campus. I dress with the campus norm in mind.

The common factor between how I dressed as a brand new librarian and how I dress now is that my work clothes are always a reflection of campus culture. I've never actually liked the adage, "Don't judge a book by its cover," because I do that everyday as a librarian. Instead, I believe that clothes do indeed make the man or woman, and I dress accordingly.

How about you? How do you pick what you wear to work (or school)?