Dealing calmly and systematically with a nursing interview is essential for candidates to secure their job. Since there is fierce competition in the field, every aspect of the candidate matters in determining if they will get the job or not. Let’s know What To Wear To A Nursing Interview?
If you have a nursing interview coming up, then you might be worried about how you could ace it. Besides preparing for the questions and speaking confidently, you could also pay attention to your attire for the interview day. If you wear the right clothes, you can help add to your appeal as an employee and may even get selected.
How Does Your Attire Impact Your Nursing Interviewer?
The attire of a candidate at a nursing interview matters more than you would imagine it would. The clothes to a nursing interview candidate are essential since their first impression depends entirely on it.
No matter how skilled or experienced you may be in your work, your work attitude would be visible in your attire and way of styling yourself. Your attire would display how much you care about the job and wear appropriate attire for it.
It might seem like a small effort, but it makes all the difference in the nursing interview itself. So you must prepare beforehand, just like you would for your interview questions, to wear the best attire for your interview.
What Attire Is Considered Bad To Wear At A Nursing Interview?
If you do not style yourself appropriately in your interview, you might end up looking shabby. It won’t lessen your skills as a nurse but it would get noticed by the employer. And they would think that you do not put enough effort into your work.
You see, your work as a nurse is one where you have to remain neat and calm at all times, so having crisp attire is essential. So if you wear something like jeans and graphic tees to your interview, it won’t exactly make a lasting impact.
It sure would make an impact on the employer, but not the good one for sure. So you must wear formal or semiformal clothes when you are going to attend your nursing interview in front of interviewers.
What Are The Clothes You Could Wear To A Nursing Interview For Males?
The clothing items for every gender differ and thus, we have divided the clothing items into two categories. For males, there are a few clothing options that they can choose from to wear in their nursing interview.
The general essence of your outfit should be to wear neat and ironed clothes. Make sure that the outfit you wear has no creases or stains in it either. And opt for slightly neutral or tone-down shades.
Also, as mentioned above, try to wear either formal or semi-formal clothing to your nursing interview. It must be clothes that you would wear to an office or any other interviews, so you can buy clothes if you don’t own them already.
Here are a few clothing combinations you can wear for your nursing interview:
- Trousers And Shirt– Trousers with a shirt would be the perfect outfit for your nursing interview. Make sure that you choose the outfit the night before and iron or steam it too.
If you do not have a full suit with the blazer, then you can just go for the simpler option, which is trousers and a shirt. Make sure that you do not wear feisty prints or bright colors even if you wear a shirt. Black trousers with a white or pastel shade shirt would be the best combination.
- Suite And Tie– A suit is undoubtedly the best option for you as an outfit for your nursing interview. Since the suit has trousers, a blazer, and a shirt, you would look the most presentable.
Again, you can iron or steam all the components of the outfit the night before and store it safely. Try to go for classy colors like black, blue, or other colors and avoid brighter shades. You can also add in a tie of your choice to complete the outfit and look professional.
What Are The Clothes You Could Wear To A Nursing Interview For Females?
For females, the clothing items would change to wear in the nursing. Although you might think that you could wear your uniform to the interview, that would not be the right outfit choice for the interview.
Females do have a bit of a broader choice in outfits as compared to males for interviews. But the general guidelines for the outfit would remain the same as they are for the males. You must try to wear neutral shades and not go for too bright colors.
Also, you must choose and iron your outfit well ahead of time so that you can use it on the day of the interview. You must not run late or wear a creased outfit on the day of the interview itself.
Here are some of the outfit combinations that females can opt to wear to their nursing interview:
- Shirt And Skirt– Wearing a regular button-down shirt along with a skirt would be the ideal choice for the interview. You can iron or steam your shirt and skirt on the night before the interview and store it on a hanger to wear the next day.
Make sure that you go for neutral or darker colors for a classier look. You could also wear a blazer over this outfit that matches the color of the skirt. It would look perfect for your look and you would look professional.
- Shirt And Slacks Or Trousers– If you are not comfortable with wearing a skirt or do not have one, you could always go for slacks. Dress slacks can pair very well with a button-down shirt so you can wear dark-colored slacks with it.
You could also wear trousers with a button-down shirt for a similar look to the shirt and slacks. Undoubtedly, you can also add a blazer that matches the color of the trousers to this look to make it look even more professional.
- Suit– Wearing a suit is the best outfit for all genders so you must try to opt for it. The suite would include all the above components like a shirt, skirt or trousers and a blazer.
You could also add a tie to the entire outfit to make it look even more complete. Again, darker colors would be the way to go for suits and you can also try out neutral shades if you want. Make sure that you look out for any creases and stains on the outfit and get rid of them.
How To Keep Your Overall Look During The Interview
Apart from just the clothes you wear to your interview, the other aspects of your look also matter. Your hair, accessories, shoes, and more also matter and can make or break the whole look. All these components altogether make the outfit and can help you look very neat.
Again, these aspects would differ with different people, but we can give you a general idea of how to keep yourself for the interview. You must be groomed when you enter the interviewing location and make an impact.
So here are some care tips that you could follow for other aspects of your overall look. These tips will help you look presentable and manage your hair, accessories, and more before your interview.
Hair
Keeping your hair in the appropriate hairstyle is also as necessary as wearing the correct clothes. If your hair looks messy or out of place, then your clothes would also not look ideal overall. You must keep your hair set and well-combed to look presentable in your interview.
So you must avoid a shabby look by paying attention to your hair. People who have shorter hair can style it using some water and push it back. Make sure that you have combed it well and no stray strands are sticking out.
For people with longer hair, they can tie the hair using a regular hair tie. You could make a ponytail of your hair or also make a neat bun. Similarly, you can push back all stray hair strands to look neater.
Shoes
The shoes you wear to go along with your entire attire can add to your outfit or make it look weird too. So you must select the appropriate shoes that go well with the clothes that you will be wearing for the interview.
If you have selected a dark-colored outfit, then you can opt for black or similar colored shoes. Dress shoes would be the best choice to go with a suit for males, in colors that match or contrast with the outfit.
And females can wear low heels or flat shoes to the interview, opting for too high heels would not be ideal either. Again, you must coordinate the color of the shoes with that of the outfit. Remember not to wear casual shoes like sneakers or very high heels to the interview.
Accessories
Accessorising is another essential aspect you need to pay attention to while deciding your outfit. The point would be to have accessories enough so your outfit doesn’t look plain. But at the same time, you must not wear too many accessories.
You need to strike a balance of the accessories you choose to go with your outfit for the interview. You could wear watches, earrings, bracelets, or rings, but make sure to not overdo it. Try to keep the accessories minimalistic and opt for one or two accessories only.
You may also need to remove excess accessories like piercings for your interview. You might also need to cover up your tattoos with some foundation for the interview. If you do wear makeup to the interview, ensure that you go for light makeup.
Grooming
Although grooming is not necessary before you interview, it is ideal to look even better. You might think that don’t need a haircut or a manicure before your interview, but your look could improve because of it.
Getting a haircut can be beneficial for all candidates as you can look neater on your interview. If you don’t want to get a full-fledged haircut, you could even get your hair styled or washed professionally.
You can also get a manicure or cut and file them yourself. You could apply some nail polish with neutral tones to make them look better. Be sure to take a bath and wash your face well to look fresh on your interview.
Conclusion
Your first impression at an interview matters the most as it would remain in the minds of the interviewer. Hence, you must make sure that you make an impactful first impression before you start your interview.
Some outfits fit the situation of the nursing interview best. If you wear these outfits, you would seem professional and neat even before you get a chance to speak. It would help you become a likely candidate for selection for the job and help you look organized and professional.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Do you have to wear formal clothes to your nursing interview?
You could wear formal clothes to your nursing interview, but you could also go for semi-formal clothes. You must only stay away from casual clothes as they are inappropriate for the interview.
- What would happen if you wear informal or untidy clothes to a nursing interview?
If you wear the informal clothes you have or casual ones, you would come off as unprofessional. It would mean that you have not put in the time and effort to look like a diligent employee at your interview.
- Do your clothes matter even if your skills are excellent?
Yes, your clothes still make an impact even though you might overtake all candidates in terms of your skills. If you do not put time into deciding your clothes, your first impression would not be that of a professional individual, ultimately affecting your impact through your skills.
