What should I wear for an engineering interview (for women)?

This may be quite helpful.

Just dress smart and don’t use cleavage to win any points.

Business casual, would be my guess. On this page, the woman on the right is probably what you should aim for. The shirt doesn’t have to be white. Add a belt, maybe a jacket or cardigan, and minimal jewelry.

I’m guessing you’re getting mixed answers because “engineering” is so broad and appropriate attire can vary dramatically depending on where you live. For example, I know of a multi-state engr company where people in one city wear suits and ties, while people in another wear jeans and polos. If you live in a city like Chicago or New York, wearing a suit might be appropriate. Where I live, people new to the area are specifically warned in advance NOT to wear a suit because they will feel out of place amongst all the more casual dressers. If we were to generalize based on my limited experience, I’d say khakis, collared shirts, and leather shoes (men) constitute the classic engineer. One spin on this for women would be khakis, a nice blouse (a la Ann Taylor, J Crew, Banana Republic, e.g.), blazer, and flats (a sign of practicality?). Skirts of appropriate dimensions would be fine for work if you’re a sales engineer and stay mostly indoors, but if you need to climb a ladder or inspect a sewer you’ll probably want at least a change of clothes at the office.

If you think a suit would be too dressy, I’d probably either do slacks, nice blouse, flats, and cardigan or more casual sweater OR khakis, nice blouse, blazer, flats. Because slacks and a blazer would essentially be a suit, removing one or the other from an outfit I think takes it down a notch but having one element dresses it up a bit for an interview.

Is there any way to scope out the place? Best way to figure this out is probably to see what other women in the office are wearing.

Good luck with your interview!

I was always taught that for interviews, if you weren’t sure how dressed up to look, you went for more dressed up over less. A tattoo parlor might not need you in a suit, but it still makes a much better impression than assuming it’d be fine to show up in more casual clothes and find out that it makes you look like a slacker who doesn’t care about the job. So I’m guessing same rules apply.

A suit. Best to overdress for an interview. You can specifically ask the dress code, ane then still be at least one step more conservative than they recommend. If they say business casual, slacks/skirt and a blouse would be fine, but don’t go khakis and polo shirt yet.

This sounds sexist, but women’s fashion is so all over the map, and women can easily look unprofessional. I have no idea your fashion sense of course, so don’t take that sentence personally in any way. Men are taken more seriosly no matter what they wear, and usually can easily look neat and have an easier time pulling it together. It sucks, but it tends to be true.

I think that for the first interview it won’t make a great deal of difference what you wear as long as it is “businesslike”. That means that “business casual” would probably be okay, and so would a suit – or skirt. Whatever you feel comfortable and confident in is fine. The interviewer isn’t going to make note of your apparel unless it’s wildly unsuitable. If you wore a pair of blue jeans to the interview (even if it was “casual Friday” at the office and half of the other workers there were wearing jeans), or if you wore a cocktail dress or something else “unsuitable” for business, then that would be a mark against you, just because it was so noticeably out of place.

It wouldn’t hurt in the least – and it would be pretty resourceful on your part – if you could contact one of the (still mostly female) administrative assistants or receptionists at the office where you’ll interview and ask, “What do you think I should wear?” You should get good advice there.

PS: Good luck on the interview! We need more engineers, gender be damned.

I have never turned someone down for a job for being overdressed. If that is what loses you the job you shouldn’t want to work for that party anyways…. what else might they nit-pick you about later on?

Id wear some nice slacks, dress shoes, a button up blouse and maybe even a blazer. Tie your hair up neatly and wear your glasses. Do not wear a ton of makeup- be yourself! More importantly what are you bringing with you to the interview- that’s what you should be spending your time on.

@CWOTUS It is about first impressions, and in an interview you are expected to put your best foot forward.

@JLeslie in general I agree with “best foot forward”, but I’d modify that slightly to “best FIT forward”. If you overdress for a place that’s not at all formal, then that might be perceived as a certain lack of informality that could weigh against you. (And if I were to “dress up” for an interview I would already feel like I was in foreign territory.)

If you can find the way everyone else dresses on a normal day and match that, then you’ll look like you already belong there. That counts for something.

Drive to the company and check out how the other employees are dressed as they leave. Watch the visitors entrance for a few minutes. Where I worked, vendors and interviewees all wore suits or sport jackets. Do not show boobs or any bra straps. This is engineering. Be prepared to talk techie.

I agree with @abysmalbeauty. Wear a suit and make sure the fit is excellent. Not tight. Just well enough fit that it looks tailored. Avoid colors that look too bright or girly. People say that they want women to look like women, but in a field where you would be competeing with guys, I would aim to still look soft but firm, like a guy. They no doubt would look to see first if you look like a no nonsense person.
If you have long hair, a french braid would be nice. Its neat and won’t make you look like a kid like a pony tail would or an old maid like a bun would.
Clean, fresh looking day make up. Something that plays up your features but doesn’t look like you spent hours in front of the mirror in the morning.
Same for your nails. Well trimmed, natural looking and short.
I always did well in interviews whenever I wore a light blue blouse.
I would see about finding a necklace that looks a bit complicated yet easy on the eyes.
Simply put you want to wear stuff that makes look different from other applicants but doesn’t deter away from you. (no really high heels) Medium and comfortable.
I would assume that engineers like clean lines and sensible clothing.
In the end its more about what you say and how you say it that leaves the biggest impression. So keep that in mind. Its more important that you appear practical and unrattled. They certainly wouldn’t want someone who isn’t confident in themself. I’ve known a few ship engineers and they were all very serious people who didn’t rattle easy and are creative.
I think this kind of outfit may work in a different color.

@CWOTUS Maybe I had not quite understood your first answer. I agree, the OP should find out the dress code, as I said above, although I think she should be as “dressed” as possible within the code. When in doubt, or when someone does not know the code, I still say suit.

Why guess? I work in software development where the type of clothes people wear varies a lot. I’ve found it best to call ahead: “I would like to dress appropriately for my interview, what is your dress code?” I think it shows planning and initiative.