Today’s reader mail comes with a ton more of questions about interviewing…
I’m a 3L and have an interview next week with a panel of district court judges for a judicial clerkship. I have a few questions with regards to my upcoming interview:
1.) I (and the interview) are in the Midwest, so it’s cold and snowy outside. I am planning on wearing a black skirt suit and am wondering if it’s appropriate to wear black tights with my suit? Or would pantyhose (off-black) be more professional?
2.) What do I do about a coat? Is it ok to wear a wool coat over my suit? I’m not sure if there will be anywhere to hang it or leave it once I get to the courthouse. Or should I just leave it in the car and just suck it up during the walk to the courthouse from my car?
3.) What about a purse? All I’m planning on bringing with me are copies of my resume, writing sample, etc. so I don’t necessarily need a large bag, but I don’t know if it’s unprofessional to bring my purse and carry the paperwork in a leather portfolio.
Good luck on the interview! We’ll go through all of your questions…
First, on tights — this keeps coming up, and so we’re going to run some polls today. Our default answer, previously, was that off-black pantyhose should be worn with a dark skirt suit. However, readers in the past have disagreed with us, saying nude/sheer is more appropriate (check out their suggestions for the best brands in the comments here). We’ve also heard of folks who hate tights with a suit (which we also disagree with — tights, to us, are fine for any day when you’re NOT interviewing or something similar). So, without further ado:
In terms of the wool coat — it always pains us to see women wearing ski jackets or other short jackets over a suit. Maybe we’re old school, but a nice wool or cashmere overcoat — long enough to cover your thighs — will never go out of fashion. And of course you can wear it on top of your suit. For your interview, we would absolutely recommend wearing a coat — your common sense and judgment is a valid subject on the table, and if it’s cold out, common sense dictates you should wear a coat. You’re probably going to have to take the coat off to get through security, though, so we would just carry it, folded neatly, from that point forward. (Furthermore, there’s no real excuse for not having a proper wool coat right now, as tons of places have them on deep discount. Pictured above: Larry Levine Wool Coat with Camel Hair, part of the crazy sale that’s going on at Smart Bargains for today only. Was $279, now marked to $119, with an additional 40% off at checkout — comes to $71.)
Finally, as for the purse/portfolio issue — we’ve seen women do it both ways, and have never thought less of someone we interviewed because she carried a portfolio. (That’s what most of the guys do, isn’t it?) Personally we’re fans of carrying a nylon or leather tote bag, though, to hold both the portfolio or folder as well as the contents of our purse. We would suggest, however, that whatever you carry should be as professional and grown-up as possible — so leave the backpack with reflectors on it at home.
Readers, what say you?
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One more thing, just in case you don’t know this: in many federal courthouses, everyone who goes through security is required to show a government-issued photo I.D.
Does anyone else find hose so unbearably uncomfortably they simply cannot wear it? Even if I wear it for 2 hours it embeds itself in my inner thigh and the chafing is beyond painful. Plus it always, always, always runs, no matter what brand I buy. Hose is just awful
I’ve found that in FL, a lot of women wouldn’t be caught dead in hose. They’re just so unbelievably awful in 80+ degrees with 85%+ humidity, and let’s not get into how awful it is to have to drive home in a 120 degree car with them on. My car interior is black and I often find that I am absolutely drenched after my drive home. If it’s cold and I want to cover my legs, I wear tights or pants.
I am unfortunately quite familiar with the inner-thigh chafing, etc. However, I was told this is because my hose are too small. Not sure though. Being in Florida, I don’t wear hose very often unless it’s court or an interview.
Sounds like you might want to try a larger size. I’m usually in between small and medium and opt for the medium for comfort.
Yes, if there’s chafing, then buy a larger size for sure. I find that buying one size larger also helps to reduce runs. The extra fabric helps you move more comfortably.
But if I buy a size larger they fall off my waist and bag at the ankles. Any other ideas? I don’t think I have abnormally large thighs.
Also, this squeezing and chafing doesn’t happen when I wear things with a thicker fabric, like shapers or tights. Only hose.
In winter, dark tights with skirt suit are always fine and professional. Also, even for an interview, a clean-lined pants suit is also good. Perfect fit for either is very important. Men notice how suits fit. Nude panty hose are dowdy. I haven’t seen anyone wearing them in years.
Tote or leather envelope or portfolio for resumes and purse stuff. Do not carry purse.
Does anyone think this has to do with height and/or leg length? I’m 5’2″, and if I wear tights I look like a child, even though I’m in my 40s. I tend to wear off black or taupe hose, which I think makes my short legs stand out less. Or maybe I’m deluding myself.
And yes, we are overthinking this issue, but it’s a lot more fun than the work I’m supposed to be doing right now.
When I worked in Japan 5 years ago, tights were pretty much the norm as opposed to hose. I was taller than all of my female coworkers sat 5’5″ and didn’t think any of them looked too young just because they wore tights.
I am in the midwest too (downtown Chicago) and here is my 2 cents…
I find a purse at an interview to be very unproffesional. Stash your keys, phone, id and lipstick into your coat pocket or get a briefcase/professional looking shoulder bag to put these things into.
I love the portfolio idea, and generally bring one with me to important meetings and/or interviews. Don’t forget a nice looking pen and some paper to take notes on the position. I have brought these in on their own (like men do) or stashed it into a black briefcase/professional leather shoulder bag.
I recently have noticed women wearing charcol gray nylons with black dresses/suits…and while it looks perhaps a bit more “trendy” as opposed to “classic” I like the combination. I would save the tights for the office and suck it up and wear nylons for the interview.
As far as the coat…I agree with C that your common sense/judgment is being evaluated. While it seems odd to be wearing a coat to an interview, it does make the most sense given the frigid temperatures outside. I’ve wondered about this myself, so good to see others agree. definately get a black wool/cashmere dress coat and skip anything you would wear hiking or skiing!
Good luck!
I just wanted to echo Bonviva that you shouldn’t forget the ID…maybe it’s because I am in a bigger city (chicago) but every office building I go to now adays requires a photo ID to get in, and usually the “airport style” metal detectors – where you have to empty your pockets and put everything onto a belt to be examined. While it may not be this way in smaller cities, I am sure a courthouse would have top security.
Safest bet is neutral and professional – plain, non-logo, professional looking bag with keys, TURNED OFF cell phone, portfolio, etc. etc. etc. I would go with pantyhose that match your skin color.
The thing is, judges are some of the craziest little mini-dictators in the world. I’ve heard of judges who have courtroom dress codes specifying that female attorneys can’t wear pants. Stupid? Yes. But you can’t fight the fight without hurting your client, so you just have to roll with it. In this case, far more than in a firm or government-attorney situation, I really would say that statement items – logo bags, bright colors, etc. – are out.
Can you see if your judges have any crazy local rules (such as no pants on women, etc.?) It will give you an idea how conservative they might be.
I completely agree about the idiosyncratic rules. There’s a judge on my court who has a major issue with women wearing shoes that are “too pointy.” The no pantsuit thing is pretty common, so I think definitely wear a skirt suit. But other more specific dress issues can be difficult to find out ahead of time, and I don’t think the candidate should stress about trying to figure them all out unless she has a close friend who is a former clerk or an attorney who knows the judge well. As long as she follows the basic advice that everyone has offered already, I think (as was pointed out above) that being dinged for something like wearing shoes that are too pointy might just be dodging the bullet of working for an unreasonably rigid judge.
I understand people who find it fun to discuss the issue of whether tights or pantyhose would be appropriate. But ultimately, I think the question would be, whether someone would not get the position solely because she wore a particular type of hose. I can’t imagine that it would make a difference in 99.999999% of the cases.
As a non-lawyer, I’m embarrassed on behalf of all of you that you have to deal with people who are so behind the times that they’re worried about whether women’s shoes are too pointy or whether their pantyhose is nude or sheer black. This is supposed to be the best and the brightest in this field? Are these people still stuck in the 1980′s? Good grief. The world has moved on. Real professionals in the corporate world are well beyond this. Women can and do look authoritative and yet express their individuality through color, cut, accessories, etc.
1980′s? Some of these old federal judges have been on the bench before the civil rights movement. They still can’t figure out why women are in front of the bar!
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