Pearl necklace?

Now that you’re wearing your navy blue suit, the next logical question is, “What about accessories?” 

If you can’t express your individuality by wearing that red suit, you want to know whether you can wear that awesome antique broach that your great aunt gave you for booking Torts.  The simple answer is no. 

When it comes to accessorizing, less is more, and less is best.  Guys, you are allowed to wear a watch only if it is professional-looking and unobtrusive; no huge, clunky diving watches, no sleek, sexy Movados, no humongous Rolexes.  A wedding ring is fine, but no other rings.[1]  No earrings, nose rings, tongue rings, bracelets, necklaces, gold chains, or other jewelry at all.  This is not the time to impress folks with your bling – it’s distracting, and you want your interviewer to remember you – not your watch. 

Women, there are so many jewelry pitfalls that it’s best to forego the ornamentation for one day.  Engaged?  Married?  Fine.  Wear your bling.  Other than that, pair of tiny studs in your ears, and you’re good to go.  And, just for the record, do not wear the pearl necklace.     

When you go to an interview, you have one goal — persuading your interviewer that his firm should hire you.  All of your efforts should be calculated to help you reach that goal.  Jewelry is at best neutral, and at harmful at worst, so it’s best to leave it at home.   

[1] The one exception to the ring rule is if you have a class ring from a school that matters; i.e., Harvard, Yale, MIT, Stanford, Vandy, Duke, or other school that impresses your interviewers.  For example, although not an Ivy League school, if you went to University of Florida, and you’re interviewing with a firm that has multiple UF grads, by all means, wear your Florida ring. 

Fabric.  The perfect navy blue lawyer suit is made of wool, has classic details and never goes out of style. 

You know you’ve chosen the right suit if not only is it in style today, but it was also in style when your grandfather practiced law in 1939.  The perfect navy blue lawyer suit for women is made by Austin Reed.  If you don’t believe me, go to any store that carries Austin Reed suits and see for yourself.  I guarantee that when you see it, your first thought will be “lawyer.” 

The best choice is the classic double-breasted jacket with brass buttons, which can be paired with a matching navy blue knee-length skirt.  Once you actually get hired, you can also wear this jacket with the matching ankle-length skirt or slacks that are available.  But you cannot wear the long skirt or the slacks to the interview.[1]  For men, Austin Reed also has fabulous Signature navy blue suit.  I highly recommend it, if you can find one. 

     If you cannot afford or cannot find an Austin Reed suit, that’s fine.  There are plenty of other suits out there that you can purchase for a fraction of the price.  But, I strongly urge you to splurge on one great suit, even if you have to put it on your credit card and pay for it over time.  Like I mentioned above, this is not just a suit – this is a shorthand way of communicating that you’re “the one.”  You’ve already invested thousands of dollars and years of your life acquiring the credentials to get in the door.  The last thing you want, after you’ve invested so much, is to fail to impress your interviewer by wearing a shoddy suit.  Trust me, this is one purchase that even Suze Ormond would sanction.   

[1] Austin Reed also has a fantastic collection of amazing suits.  These folks really know what they’re doing when it comes to dressing women for work.  I highly, highly recommend that you visit their web site, www.austinreed.co.uk and check out the women’s suits.  Breathtaking!  In case you’re wondering, I am not getting any kickback from Austin Reed.  I just personally love that they make work clothes that are classy and stylish.   

The Three Fs: Fit, Fabric, Function

Now that I’ve hammered home the point about the navy blue suit, let’s talk about the specifics. When shopping for a suit, think: Fit, Fabric, Function.

Fit. This seems easy. Your suit should fit you. However, I have seen too many interviewees in ill-fitting suits to let this go. So, let’s review, shall we?

Your suit should fit all of you. Merely because you can get the buttons buttoned and the zipper zipped does not mean the suit fits. Women, if the waistband feels fine, but the rest of the skirt makes your lower body resemble an Italian sausage, or your rear end is making the seams weak, the skirt does not fit. Men, if the sleeves of your jacket get in the way when shaking hands—it just does not fit. When selecting a suit, you have to ensure that the skirt fits not just your waist, but your hips and thighs, too. 

First: The waistband should be just right – not too tight, not too loose. You should be able to fit two fingers into your waistband without causing discomfort. That means there is about one inch of “give” in the waist. One inch: no more, no less. If the waist is too tight, not only will it be uncomfortable, it will look awful. Tight waistbands cut into your mid-section and cause such common ailments as “dunlop,” “sausage syndrome” and “muffintop.” All of these are unnecessary and easily avoidable. 

Second: Try it on. The only way to ensure the right fit is to try the suit on. So grab yourself a couple of suits and head into the dressing room. Do yourself a favor and bring with your, or wear, the shoes that you will be wearing with the suit. Also, women, try the suit on with panty hose and pumps, since you will be wearing those anyway (but, more on foundations later). 

It is best to go suit shopping at a store that has sales associates to will help you. I have found the sales associates at Nordstrom’s to be very helpful. Back in the good ol’ days, the sales associates at Jacobsen’s were also fabulous. Alas, Jacobson’s is now defunct, save the one store in Winter Park. But, I digress. In any event, my point is that a helpful sales associate can save you time and energy – especially when you’re making such an important decision. 

Third: Tailoring. Alas, sometimes, you can only achieve the right fit by tailoring. If you find the perfect suit, and the skirt is too long, or gaps at the waist, get it tailored. Hopefully, your retailer will have an on-site tailor, but if not, take a look in the Yellow Pages and find one. Many dry cleaners have tailors or seamstresses that work with them, on-site or off. It’s not expensive, and getting the right fit will pay off in spades. I promise.

Blue suit or black suit?   Red suit?   Pants or skirt?   So many choices!

Let’s make this simple, folks.

Men: NAVY BLUE SUIT, WHITE SHIRT, RED TIE.

Women: NAVY BLUE SKIRT SUIT, WHITE SHIRT.

Although you might think you have multiple choices for interview attire, unless you have some special knowledge of what is expected at a particular firm, stick to the basics. Lawyers wear navy blue suits. They have always worn navy blue suits. They will always wear navy blue suits. You can never go wrong with wearing a navy blue suit. No one will ever feel the need send an e mail to ASSOC_ALL to describe the absurdity of your attire if you wear a navy blue suit. So just do it.

Before you liberated women start flipping out about having to wear a skirt, just ask yourself whether you want the job or not. If you do, then wear a skirt. If not, then don’t. It doesn’t matter to me. I have a job.

The reality is that because you have such limited time to convey volumes of information about yourself, you must resort to shortcuts. The navy blue suit is a shorthand way of saying:

I am a team player

I am not a maverick

I will not embarrass the firm

I respect the system

I am honest, ethical, hardworking and trustworthy

Believe it or not, a navy blue suit conveys all this, and more.   It has a very real psychological effect on people who see you. And the biggest part of a first impression is visual.   So, merely by wearing a navy blue suit, you have spoken volumes about yourself without ever opening your mouth.

aLAWmode lesson 2: you got the interview.  now what?

Now that you’ve scored an interview at your dream firm, you must understand that this is your one and only chance to demonstrate that you are smart, social, appropriate, fun, energetic but not frenetic, competent, legally astute, practical, a great legal writer, down-to-earth, pragmatic, honest, ethical, hard-working, interesting, committed, loyal, competitive, and just generally a great person – all in about 10 minutes. Easy, right?

You might think I am kidding about this, but I assure I am not. Hiring decisions are made based on first impressions. Why? Because lawyers are busy. Because no one has the time or the interest in really getting to know you. Because lawyers cannot bill for interviewing. You get the point. This is why law firms have created summer associate programs. This is where you really get to know the lawyers in the firm, and they get to know you. It’s a summer-long interview. But you will never even get to be a summer associate if you don’t pass muster in at the first impression stage.

The name of the game in interviewing is manipulation. Shocked? If so, I think you should go back to 1L. The legal profession is built on manipulation – but it’s usually known by its other moniker, “persuasion.” Semantics aside, you have but a few minutes to make such a favorable impression on your interviewer that she recommends that you, not the other 6 candidates she just interviewed, should be sitting in the office next to her.

So, how do you manipulate, err, I mean “persuade” your interviewers to believe that you are everything they dreamed of, and more, in 10 minutes or less?

I thought you’d never ask . . . .

is this really necessary? 

I am sure you are wondering why, oh why, am I wasting my time writing such drivel when surely aspiring lawyers know what to wear on the job.  I wish (well, actually, I don’t wish, but that’s another story).  Alas, even 7 years of higher education cannot impart common fashion sense. 

the big lie

You’re the editor of the Law Review, you’ve booked all your classes, and you’re number one in your class. You’re a shoo-in for an associate position at the top firm of your choice, right? Wrong! I personally know brilliant, personable, high-achieving people who graduated at the top of their law school classes who could not find jobs. Reality check: top law students do not get the top law jobs.

The Big Lie: if you perform in law school, then you will get a top job. This is simply not true. You can win every award your law school has to offer, be editor-in-chief of your Law Review, graduate with a 4.0, and still be left empty handed after graduation. Don’t misunderstand—grades are important; your resume is what gets you in the door. If you have a 4.0, and are editor-in-chief of your Law Review, you WILL get many interviews. Law firms will love you – at least until they meet you. But once you have your foot in the door, you cannot rely on your resume to get you the job.

What you won’t learn in law school is that large law firms receive mountains of resumes each year from highly-qualified applicants, and they interview scores of top-performers. So, although you may be top dog at your school, you’re competing with the top dogs from many other schools. And, in many cases, you’re competing against people from schools at least as good as, and often better, than yours. So, you can forget boring your interviewer with stories about your
experience as editor-in-chief of ABC Law Review, because pretty much every one of your competitors is editor-in-chief of their Law Review, too.