You landed the interview. Fantastic! You’ve done all your prep and the big day is coming up. The only hurdle now is what you’ll wear. Even if you have the ideal outfit picked out, you might want to add a bit of personalization to it with some jewelry. When it comes to jewelry, though, how much is too much?
What To Keep In Mind
Is It Okay To Wear Jewelry To A Job Interview?
Really, you have to answer this question first before deciding what jewelry to wear. In short, yes, it’s fine to wear jewelry to your job interview. The general rule is that earrings, rings and watches are fine. Necklaces, if simple and tasteful, tend to usually be fine as well.
Unless you’re interviewing with a company that has a very conservative dress code, a bit of jewelry is perfectly fine. Even the most conservative dress code isn’t going to frown on watches and rings, though, so you shouldn’t have anything to worry about.
Source: shutterstock.com/Zivica Kerkez
What Job Are You Interviewing For?
This is the biggest question you need to answer. Various fields and levels of seniority in those fields are going to dictate different approaches to your jewelry (and outfits in general).
If you’re in a more casual environment, like a startup, for example, you may be just fine wearing more casual everyday jewelry. If you’re interviewing in a more traditional environment like finance, you’ll want to keep your jewelry more refined and neutral.
Do your homework ahead of time to understand the dress code and expectations in the job you’re interviewing for and use that to inform your decision.
What’s Your Style?
Job interviews can already be nerve-racking enough. Yes, you want to put your best foot forward, and maybe that means upping the formality of your clothing and jewelry. At the same time, you don’t want to force yourself to wear something entirely out of your comfort zone.
Ideally, if you need to up the formality, you aim for a look that takes things you wear regularly and elevates them. For most scenarios, this is the only principle to consider. However, if your regular outfit consists of jeans and a hoodie and you’re interviewing to be an investment banker, you may have to push yourself just a bit further out of your style comfort zone.
Source: shutterstock.com/nampix
Should You Buy New Jewelry For A Job Interview?
Well, there’s no rule that says you can’t. If you want to prep for an exciting job interview with a little retail therapy, have at it. However, if you’re on the fence, make sure it’s something you could wear even if you don’t get the job.
What Jewelry To Wear To A Job Interview
Unless you’re interviewing for a job in the fashion industry, less tends to be more in both quantity and boldness. Unless you need to strategically use your jewelry to make a splash, you’re better off erring on the side of simpler, more classic styles.
Rings
If you wear a ring, you don’t need to leave it at home for your interview. You could, of course, but that’s your call. A minimalist engagement ring adds depth to any outfit, and an interview outfit is no exception. That being said, there’s a law of diminishing returns on the number of rings, so limit yourself to no more than three (though fewer than three is usually better).
Source: shutterstock.com/Jsnow my wolrd
Watches
You’re more than welcome to wear a watch, though it’s far from a requirement. A watch is often a good accessory if you’re wearing a suit to the interview. If you’re going more business casual, dress the watch down as well. Whatever you do, keep the watch minimal and simple. As much as it might pain you, this is not the time to bust out the G Shock that you’ve had since 2009.
Necklaces
The same general rule applies to necklaces as it does to watches. You can wear them as long as they’re simple. You can even wear them both at once in certain scenarios, though do so at your discretion.
Earrings
This is really going to depend on what environment you’re interviewing in. In most scenarios, some type of earring is fine. You just have to decide which style to go with. If you’re in a corporate environment, simple stud earrings are likely to be better received than anything that dangles or has a lot of flash. If your environment is more laid-back, feel free to have fun with it.
What jewelry you wear to your job interview ultimately comes down to a judgment call. You know the environment you’re walking into, so, ya know, when in Rome and all that. If you’re ever on the fence, you’re better off going simple on your jewelry and letting your qualifications be the star of the show.