Teaching interview... what to wear?

[ourbabygirl]

Is it necessary to wear a suit for an interview as a teacher?
I have a nice black Ann Taylor one from my teaching interviews in 2001 , and it would still probably look fine (jacket, pants, and pencil skirt). If I should get a different suit, I need to do it tomorrow, as I have an interview on Monday morning. Otherwise, if it's o.k. to wear a nice, simple dress from Banana Republic, I'll do that. (One is navy blue, short sleeved, and the other is a black and cream tweed, sleeveless- I'd wear a little 3/4 length sleeve button-down top over it.). And how about nylons? Shoes? I have some nude patent leather Cole Haan peep-toe wedges (not too high)- would those be o.k.? Jewelry?

It's been so long since I had an interview like this, and the last one I had, the principal said not to worry about being all dressed up. I think I wore a black pencil skirt and a black sleeveless polyester top with buttons down the back. I hate to buy another suit since I won't really wear it as a teacher. I want to look nice and very put-together, though, however I can achieve that.

Thanks for your help!

[smiles33]

You mention a principal, so is this K-12? If so, I'd wear a conservative simple dress with "classic" jewelry as opposed to loud costume jewelry. You don't want their attention on your clothes/accessories. They should be observing your teaching style. Others who are K-12 teachers may chime in with better advice. I'm more familiar with university/law school dress codes. I see faculty who wear business casual attire all the time (e.g., simple top, light sweater, and pants) and "step it up" with a more structured jacket for more formal occasions like when they're interviewing others.

As for your other questions, I think it depends on where you are. In a casual state like CA, I rarely see women wear nylons in most business settings except for the most conservative environments (e.g., a courtroom). So peep toe wedges sound perfectly dressy for a more "relaxed" state. But if you live in a super conservative state, then maybe you should opt for closed toe heels and nylons.

HTH!

[PZMommy]

I’m in So Cali, so we are pretty casual about dress. My school just got done interviewing for 2 open spots. Pretty much anything goes. I only recall a couple that wore a suit. Most females wore a skirt or dress slacks. A casual type dress would be fine too. Males wore khaki pants and button down shirts. A few wore ties. At the end of the day how they dressed wasn’t really important to us. Our biggest focus was on their classroom management and what skills/talents they could add to our school staff. We also were looking for teachers with less seniority than the ones we already have in staff so if we had to displace teachers in the near future, it would not be a teacher who has already been on our staff for awhile. Good luck!!!

[SnuggleBuggles]

Wear the navy blue short sleeve dress. Pantyhose? I’d probably skip but it’s a toss up, I think.


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[KrisM]

DS1 sat in on interviews yesterday and I saw them enter when I dropped him at the school. The man wore dress pants and a dress shirt with a tie. The woman wore a nicer dress with low heels. Dressier than teachers are during the school day but neither were in a suit.

[zukeypur]

I basically wore Outfit #4 from this blog post, except with some black closed toe wedges
https://sheaffertoldmeto.com/tag/conners-closet/

ETA: my interview was for a program director/professor position at a community college, and I got the job

[mom2binsd]

Defintely not on the nylons, the dress sounds fine. Make sure your toes are painted if they are showing, unpolished toenails look funny I think, even a simple pale color if needed. A nice tote bag or simple bag to hold an extra copy of your resume and teaching credentials. Neat hair, a little makeup if you wear it, just be neat and polished.

[gamma]

It may depend on the area. In Northern NJ, I have always seen a suit, mostly with a skirt. A simple button down dressy blouse, simple jewelry, nice heels or pumps and a business laptop/tote kind of bag. However; there is a dress code and teachers are expected to wear business casual type clothing to work each day. No sneakers, sandals, open toe shoes, jeans. Men must always wear a tie.

[ourbabygirl]

Thanks, Everyone!
I got the job!

[gymnbomb]

Thanks, Everyone!
I got the job!

Yay!!!


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