Can Women Wear Pants to a Job Interview?

by Kerry Scott on February 12, 2009

In response to an earlier post about what to wear to an interview, a reader writes:

Is it okay for women to wear pants to a job interview?

Absolutely.  I deliberately wear pants to every interview, even in the summer.  I use to weed out the weenies (it’s part of my larger weenie-avoidance strategy…because who wants to work for a weenie?).  If the boss is the sort of person who doesn’t think women should wear pants, we are not going to work well together.  I feel that it’s best to save time and eliminate those people from consideration as potential employers right off the bat.

That said, the last time I heard a hiring manager even mention the fact that a female candidate was wearing pants was, like, 1993, and he was about 107 years old then.  I’m pretty sure he’s dead now.

I do have to say, though, that we’re talking about full-length, regular two-legged pants.  I do not recommend Capri pants for an interview.  Also, you should not be wearing gaucho pants to interviews or anywhere else.  You laugh, but I recently heard of someone who showed up for an interview wearing gaucho pants, a matching jacket with brass buttons and shoulder pads the size of Montana, colored pleather pumps, and a scrunchie.

I apologize to my male readers for this entire post.  You’re probably bored, because you (hopefully) already know you have to wear pants to a job interview.  To make it up to you, tomorrow’s post will feature boobs (well, just one boob, but still).

Other stuff you might like:

  1. How to Dress for an Interview
  2. 4 Dumb Job Interview Questions (and 3 Possible Answers)
  3. 3 Reasons Company Culture Matters in Choosing an Employer
  4. 3 Things to Do Before Your Job Interview
  5. How to Make Sure You Don’t Take a Job That Sucks

{ 4 comments }

1 HR Minion 02.12.09 at 8:06 am

Drawing them in with some T&A, huh? :) Scandalous!

HR Minion’s last blog post..It starts with one

2 Kerry 02.12.09 at 8:46 am

I’m inspired by all the scandalous stuff on TV. Must be sweeps month.

3 Ask a Manager 02.12.09 at 8:52 am

Hell yeah, women can wear pants. I almost prefer it. Pants say “no screwing around.”

Ask a Manager’s last blog post..how to deal with a coworker being fired

4 Sadistic Manager 02.12.09 at 6:24 pm

Bwahaha. I couldn’t put my finger on why, but I agree with Ask a Manager up there. Somehow, if a woman shows up to an interview in pants, I perceive her as no-nonsense, get-things-done, and powerful.

I can’t say I’ve had a negative reaction to women who interview in other attire, but pants make me think “she could be the person I need for this.”

Sadistic Manager’s last blog post..Group Therapy in the Office

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