subject: Putting Together An Interview Outfit After Accountant Courses [print this page] Admit it. You wore jeans and sneakers throughout your schooling. Now you need to shift gears and learn how to look professional. Here are some tips for how to dress for an interview once you finally have that accounting diploma in hand.
Study your teachers
In your accountant courses, you may have learned about inventory control and accounts receivable. Your bookkeeping courses taught you how to keep a general ledger. But did your professors show you how to put together a polished interview outfit? The fact is they may have, although not in so many words. The best teachers teach by example.
Proper attire for the working world may not have been on the curriculum for your accounting diploma, but the people who taught your accountant courses may have given you some clues as to how to dress for your interview by their own choices.
In any case, it doesnt hurt to ask. Before your accountant courses end, ask your teachers for advice on interviewing outfits.
Opt for conservative
The kinds of jobs that are open to graduates of accountant courses are likely to require business attire.
For female graduates of accountant courses, this can mean:
-nylons, even in summer
-a skirt suit rather than a pant suit
-mid-length skirts (too long can be frumpy; too short, inappropriate)
-neutral colours (navy blue is more conservative than black)
For men and women graduates of accountant courses:
-no wrinkles (use an iron, have clothes dry cleaned or buy a new outfit)
-wear deodorant
-turn off your phone
Buying new? Stick to a budget
You may have learned in your accountant courses how to prepare a budget for an organization. Why not apply these skills to your personal life, starting with your interview outfit.
Some tips:
-start putting a little money aside each month to go towards your interview budget at the beginning of your accounting diploma program
-choose one interview outfit and reuse as necessary
As someone with an accounting diploma, how you spend your own money can affect your professional reputation.
Remember though that this is just one outfit. After your accounting diploma, you will have years to fine-tune your professional style.