What Color to Wear to An Interview: How to Make a Good First Impression

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Black

There’s no doubt that black suits are a staple of the corporate world. The sartorial staple is largely associated with a conservative image—a go-to for business executives who want to project a serious, professional demeanor at all times. However, it’s important to know how to wear your wardrobe effectively in order to make that impression stick.

Black suits are typically worn with white shirts and black dress shoes or loafers; this combination gives off an appearance of strength and sincerity when it comes to business matters. For those looking to make their first impression as a candidate, wearing black suits can be key in taking your interview up another notch. It’s an easy pick-me-up when you’re meeting with someone new who you’d like to make an impression on, so take advantage of the opportunity by wearing your suit as recommended above!

Blue

If you’re in a rush and looking for the easiest way to impress your interviewer, trust the professionals. While there are definitely cases where going against the grain pays off, in this case it’s best to do what’s expected.

What color should you wear? Blue—specifically a blue suit, blouse, or tie. While this may seem too easy of an answer for some of you fashion-forward readers out there, trust us: there’s plenty of science behind it that proves wearing blue is always the best choice when interviewing for a job.

Showing up to an interview in blue tells your interviewer that you’re calm and collected and ready to get down to business. It also tells them that you aren’t arrogant enough to think they’ll be so impressed by your mere presence they forget why they called you on in the first place and hire you right then and there.* This can help put them at ease during your interactions with them as well as future employers who will see that initial interaction on their record of past interviews.

White

When you’re applying for a job, it’s important to make a good first impression. One way to do that is with your choice of clothing. Since you’ll be spending the majority of the day with your interviewer, they will form an impression of you within moments of meeting you. Regardless of how good your resume and cover letter are, if people don’t like you from the start, there’s little chance they’ll be excited about hiring you in the end.

Labels are important too! Although it might not seem like it at the first time, research shows that white is one color worth paying attention to when dressing for an interview—if only because it has so many interpretations and meanings attached to it.

Expert analysis on colors related to interviews reveals that whites correlate strongly with cleanliness and purity (both concepts closely related to our ideas about hospitals). This means that wearing white can send a subconscious signal about being clean living and free from vices—an image we all want associated with us in our professional lives!

In addition, wearing white seems to have a correlation with honesty and innocence; these traits can also be implied by doctors and nurses who wear white as their uniform (for example) on their daily rounds. In addition to being honest in your answers during an interview, keeping yourself looking innocent can help reinforce this image!

On top of all this, wearing white is also effective when interviewing in hot climates; because most whites reflect heat away from the body instead of absorbing it (think about how cool snow feels on bare skin!), this color acts as a sort of cooling mechanism for the body during humid days where temperatures might rise above what we consider comfortable. It’s hard not to feel inspired by someone who looks cool under pressure!

Red

Whatever the reason for your interview, red is a good color to wear. It’s a color of passion, confidence, and aggression that will help you stand out from the other candidates. It expresses leadership and is the most visible color. Red can be used in accessories or on clothing to make an impression. If you are interviewing for a job like graphic design or working on an art project where you want to show that you have passion for it, wearing red will help you achieve this goal.

Gray

If you want to make a good first impression, you can’t go wrong with wearing gray.

There’s a reason why so many people wear it on interview day: it’s professional, timeless, and helps calm you down before the big moment. In fact, in some interviews (particularly for low-level jobs) it can be assumed that all applicants will be dressed in some form of gray. Wearing something else in an interview like this would probably brand you as unprofessional—and if you do get the job and are asked to wear an outfit other than your usual office attire, they’ll probably give you a heads up ahead of time.

That isn’t to say that other colors won’t work just as well! If your style is more bold or out-there (or if there’s another reason why gray wouldn’t fit), don’t worry—another neutral color like black or navy blue will still keep things classy and help you stay cool under pressure during your interview. Plus, unlike with some bright color palettes that would look out of place for this sort of occasion, these shades never go out of style and match with almost any other articles of clothing in your closet.

Every color has its own power so choose wisely.

When you’re trying to make a good first impression on an interviewer, it’s important to know the colors that suit your personality and professional style. If you’re going for calm, confidence, or power, wear red. If you want calm, trust, and confidence in your life and personal style, take blue. Want all of those qualities but at the same time a bit more power? Black might be for you. Whether it’s meeting a prospective employer at a downtown coffee shop with lots of exposed brick or an interview at a high-rise office building in Manhattan filled with glass offices, you’ll want to wear something that matches your look as well as your actions and responses.

When it comes to interviewing for work though, no matter how confident and capable you feel right now there will always be moments when your nerves get the better of you during the interview process—so if you plan on wearing black (or gray or blue), triple checking that your outfit is one where the color won’t clash with your outfit is definitely worth thinking about before heading to any interview.