Why You Should Dress Up For Your Phone Interview

Should you dress up for your phone interview? Yes! Most definitely. It sounds crazy, but hear me out. During law school and after during your job hunt, depending on if it is a law firm or a company, you will at some point be invited for a phone interview. Oftentimes, in the legal field, I have found that if the job is local and at a law firm the first interview is usually in person (based on my own personal experience and that of my classmates). If the firm job is not local, you will usually be invited for a phone interview first, and if all goes well you will be invited for an in-person interview. Companies work a little differently. Normally when you interview for a company, the initial interview is via the phone and sometimes you can even get an offer for employment after only a phone interview! The culture is different, so each will have different hiring practices. Keep this in mind during your application process. Law firms and companies are two different beasts, but this big tip is transferable no matter where you are applying. Getting dressed for your phone interview puts you in the right mental headspace, and it allows you to treat it with the same significance as an in-person interview.

It Puts You in the Mindset

Beyonce tells you to go in the back of your closet and pull out that “freakum” dress. In this scenario, you aren’t going to the club. Believe me, there is a time and place for a “freakum” dress. This is not that time. In this scenario, you need to put on your best power ensemble. Go into your closet and pull out that outfit that makes you feel like an absolute boss. The suit or dress that makes you feel like Anna Wintour, Michele Obama, Jackie O, David Beckham, Taye Diggs – insert any other boss bish or queen here. When you dress like you own the company it can give you a level of confidence when talking to the person on the other end of the phone. You will sit up straighter, speak clearer. You will act as if you were sitting right in front of the person. Craft your power ensemble the day/night before your interview so you can change into it at least 30 minutes prior.

You’ll Take It Seriously

It can be easy to take a phone interview less seriously. You aren’t face-to-face with your interviewer, and that does take some of the pressure off. But the problem arises when people think that the medium of the interview takes off more pressure than it really does. My rule of thumb: treat every interview with the same level of gravity. So if you dress for it like you are going to be sitting across from your interviewer, it will force you to be in a certain mental headspace even though you might be in at your desk in your apartment praying to the interview gods that your dog won’t bark, a super loud ambulance won’t pass by, or that your roommate who forgot you had an interview won’t burst through the door trying to find you. There are already so many external factors about an interview that you can’t control. Consider wearing your power ensemble as one small way you can take control of the unknown in a nervewracking process.

Final Thoughts

Let me be real for a second. You will not always have the opportunity to put on your power ensemble for a phone interview. Off the top of my head, I can name two phone interviews where I didn’t have the time to change beforehand due to scheduling. Both went well. Just because you are not dressed up does not mean you will bomb your interview, nor is it a guarantee that it will go amazing. This is simply one tool that you can utilize to help boost your confidence during the interview.

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There you have it. One of my go-to tips for phone interviews that I find super helpful. I hope you found this post helpful. What’s your go-to power ensemble?