Would you wear stilettos for a job interview?

[Laurieheels]

Despite my lack of svelt body mass these days, I still am so much taller than others. Funny that there are these supposed rules for interviewees, but open toes three inch wedge mules are fine for people already employed. So long as I brush my hair, put my makeup on straight, and smile (and cover up any "neckline issues") who cares?

[High Surprise]

I would guess avarage is 5' 4-5" for women and 5' 9-10" for men. With shoes, I'm taller than most men but all that doesn't matter in the context of the topic. I think some guys have a hang up about women being taller, so yeah, that could affect your chances in some situations, wrong though it may be.

I'm 5 foot 9 without heels. With heels I tend to tower over most men. I love it (and so do they). Somehow I find men respect me more when I am in my heels (not sue if this is simply psycholgical or if there's any truth in it.... That's how I feel though) so that's why I feel great in the office in my 5/6 inchers.

[High Surprise]

Because high heels are a fetish for me, if I were an interviewer, I would find high heels on a job applicant distracting.

Great PJ - you can interview me any day

[High Surprise]

[Carolyn]

I can't believe some people said they would wear stilettos. It's a way not to get the job. 3 inch chunky heels on boots. Dark trouser suit, light blouse. Or light grey trouser suit and white blouse. Interviews are a game and many interviewers expect you to dress and act in a conservative fashion. So humour them for an hour. It's not too diffiucult. ~Caz

[Laurieheels]

I wore them today, and the nice lady who interviewed me did not even notice. They do deserve to see a bit of what they are going to get, right? Besides, I did see the good luck rabbit, which I had not seen for over three years. It's a long story, I will post it in the story section sometime. I think it depends on the job and the person interviewing, really. I mean, for a call centre, I don't think it matters as much.

[Mistress Marina]

I wore them today, and the nice lady who interviewed me did not even notice.

They do deserve to see a bit of what they are going to get, right?

Besides, I did see the good luck rabbit, which I had not seen for over three years.

It's a long story, I will post it in the story section sometime.

I think it depends on the job and the person interviewing, really.

I mean, for a call centre, I don't think it matters as much.

As a woman who runs her own company I wear heels all the time. My heels are a bit outrageous..from 5 inches to 9 inches. I am most comfortable with 6 or 7 inches for everyday. As for other ladies on my staff I let them know just look professional,businesslike. I encourage big heels for interview but please I know some ladies do not walk all that great so practice your walking befor the interview

Mistress Marina

xoxoxo

[Laurieheels]

Now, now, Marina, that's not fair, you run the company, so no one can tell you how to dress! As for walking, well yes, it would be foolish to wear heels one could not walk well in and head off for an interview.

[High Surprise]

Mistress Marina - 9 inch shoes at work? Don't know how you do it. Must be uncomfortable. People always comment on my 5 or 6 inches being high. I dread to think what they say to you?

As a woman who runs her own company I wear heels all the time. My heels are a bit outrageous..from 5 inches to 9 inches. I am most comfortable with 6 or 7 inches for everyday. As for other ladies on my staff I let them know just look professional,businesslike. I encourage big heels for interview but please I know some ladies do not walk all that great so practice your walking befor the interview

Mistress Marina

xoxoxo

[High Surprise]

Good point Bubba. I just assumed (possibly incorrectly!!) that she was involved in 'normal' (office type) work like me.

High Surprise, Mistress Marina didn't reveal what type of business she was in or service she was offering. 9" heels might be appropriate for her vocation.

[High Surprise]

I would imagine that if a new empoyees work depended on apearance, we would count clothing (and within that I include shoes), into consideration when interviewing. Just my own conclusion, that's all.

[Laurieheels]

If a company would judge me on the height of my heels, then that is a company that would hinder me from being myself, and not a company I would wish to work for. Yes, money is important, some sacrifices have to be made for any job, but I wear them and wear them well. Why any company would decide to hire someone else instead of me because of heel height, or style, is foolish. That being said, it looks like I will have a job again. So there. lalalalalalaaaaaaaaaaaaaa (no, it doesn't pay a lot, it will end up being considered part time, but it will keep the car in the parking stall and the insurance company happy, at the very least)

[High Surprise]

Couldn't agree with you more Lauriheels. The height of your heels have no relation to whether or not you are a good worker. Congrats on your job! Happy for you.

[stylettos]

This discussion makes me think about a commercial I saw maybe one year ago on the TV. It was a temporary job company, maybe Manpower or something like that. Somebody was waiting for a job interview. All you could see was that the person was wearing black nylons and a really gorgeous pair of pointy black 5" stiletto pumps. The mature secretary who attended the office was dressed in a conservative way and wearing glasses. She looked quite embarassed when she entered the boss office and said something like: "there is that person for that job outside..."

In the next shot the boss was smiling at this person saying "OK this job is yours!" and at this point you could see that the person wearing 5" heels was A HANDSOME YOUNG GUY. The ad said something like "With us you don't have to bear any compromise". In the final scene the guy was walking away along the corridor in short skirt and high heels. The close up was ground level on this classy fashion pumps and the conservative secretary, staring at them with a dreaming expression, said: "such beautiful shoes..."

The whole scene was quite clever and funny and to me quite sexy too.

The shoes were also really beautiful and classy, something like these:

Maybe there could be a clip of this commercial somewhere.

[stylettos]

By the way I took the Casadei pumps from Saks Fifth Avenue online shop, where they are sold for $395. If they are in higher regard than Choos and Manolos I don't know. They are well and long known in Italy, and only in the last few years reached international audience. Unfortunately they haven't got their own web site yet. The others are Dior Parachute pumps, taken from Neiman Marcus online catalog ($405). All related links are available in STYLETTOS Italy link page.

[katie]

>Other big no-no's for women during interviews include bright / gaudy fingernail polish, >open-toed shoes, skirts above the knees, wild hair, wild glasses... Hmm. Well. I tend to wear bright nail varnish, but at least I co-ordinate it with my top. There is a definite correlation between my wearing a skirt and getting an offer or second interview -- trousers suits seem to lead to rejections. The only time I've worn a miniskirt to an interview was when I already had two offers, and was interviewing at two more places. One was a games company and one was a printing firm both interviews the same day. I decided what the heck, I'd make sure the games company remembered me. Now to put this in context, I'm 5'7 and my legs come a lot more than halfway up that. So I turned up to both interviews in a mini-skirt suit and sheer tights. The printing company forgot to ask me any technical questions (they later said they didn't intend to do a technical interview, but that would be a first for hiring a software engineer) and made me an offer the next day. The games company guys were clearly having trouble thinking about technical questions, but never phoned back... so it's not a no-no, it just doesn't have the expected effect... I haven't been wearing spikes to interviews recently on account of the whole broken knee/arthritis thing. I've worn high chunky heels and that seems OK. I've worn low kitteny heels and that seems OK. The last time I wore spikes was boots/trouser suit and that didn't, but then the trouser suit seems to be a loser anyway. Just once in a while I'd like to be interviewed for my technical skills, but frankly companies don't actually seem to care. It's not a girl thing, it happens to all the guys I know as well.Hirers don't want software engineers to write proper software, they want direct reports to make a better looking org chart. Actual software production is entirely accidental. In this case they might as well hired cute warm bodies instead of just warm bodies. Therefore I've taken to, ahem, enhancing the attributes which do not appear on my CV...

[Linda]

Im with Amy on this one i would wear my 5" or 6" heels as i dont know why but it gives me lots of confidence and they also look great even if i do say so myself. As long as you wear them with a business suit or something similar i think they look very smart yet very sexy

[heidi.bier]

I wouldn't wear stilettos to a job interview. Perhaps after I get the job and discover that I can sit without having to do a lot of walking. I don't want to risk attempting to walk, falling down and looking clumsy on a job interview. First impressions count.

[Leigh]

This is simple. I dont wanna work for a company that dosent let me wear what i want or dont like what i wear.

[kirstiethompson]

I always wear heels for work, including interviews. But I tend towards the conservative with 3 1/2" stilleto courts (pumps) about as high as I go in those circumstances. Like Nata, I've had interviewers steeling glances at my legs and maybe that's helped in getting jobs but usually I don't end up working closely with the people that interview me, so if it creeps me out at the time, what the hey?

[heidi.bier]

The organization I work for was hiring a summer intern to help out around the office with calculations on things such as statistical inference, estimates, confidence intervals, P-value interpretations, etc. A staff member from human resources did the interview. My boss sent me to be our department representative to sit in on the preliminary rounds of the interviews. It was a comfortable July day with cool winds blowing in from the North Sea so that temperatures were about +15C in the morning and reached a high of +20C by mid-afternoon. I wore a white blouse, a long white skirt, white pantyhose and a pair of white knee high leather boots with a 2.5 inch stiletto heel. I was a good girl and didn't wear a black bra underneath white clothes. That is for after work. Since I didn't wear thick padded socks inside my boots, I didn't dare go with a higher heel for fear of tiring myself out that day. The first two summer intern candidates came in wearing business suits with flip flops much to my surprise. The third wore a green dress with a tie and open toe mules with a 1 inch heel. They weren't that much younger then me but I would never dress like that to an interview. Hmmm ......

[sarah may]

I wouldn't think of NOT wearing stilettos to an interview. I practically live in 4 to 5 inch heels, so it's natural for me....and for interviewing, a skirt/suit and stilettos are a MUST!

[barbara]

I agree with you all the way sarah may, thats how Id dress ,skirt suit and stilettos, but not over 4 inch.

[Heel Convert]

I, rather foolishly, wore 4in stillettos to my job interview last year and on the day I regretted it. The shoes I'd bought for the interview were my first ever pair of heels and I'd only had a few days to get used to them. I stumbled into the interview room, looking nothing like the confident woman I was trying to present myself as. Luckily my interviewer was a woman, she understood my situation and I got the job.

[Evenstar]

I would wear heels to a job interview. I agree that 4 inch is about the limit, 4.5-5 when you know the place and have the job- especially as you don't know who you are being interviewed by. Men might like it too much- and I've found some (not all) are threatened by it- esp if they are wearing flats!

[Amanda]

For me it would depend on who I was interviewing.

[PeggyNPumps]

I always wear heels, so I would wear them to an interview. Like others I would dig out a pair of lower heels (4") and wear something professional with them. It amazes me the number of articles I have read about flip flops in the work place and worn during interviews. I know I am older but use some common sense. Wear something a bit professional for the interview. Peggy

[Nienna]

I most definately would wear heels but perhaps not the highest ones something more discreete and not so obvious. But it would depend on the interview of course. The kind of job I'm into I don't think anyone will take any notice if I'm wearing heels or not, hopefully at least

[Sabrina17]

Yes I would wear heels without problem. I think the type of shoe is important. Some stilettos are extremely sexy and even have a sexual connotation. So these shoes are not appropriate for an interview. But other stilettos can make you a working girl, and these is the type of shoes I am wearing at work. Kiss Sab

[heelsrule]

I own a business so don't go to interviews as such for long time. But I had to do something similar recently, business deal with my small company expanding. I wore black woolen pin stripe skirt suit, cut just above the knee and nothing visible under the jacket. Shoes were a pair of black leather Dorsay's with ankle strap (usually only wear heels during day with some sort of ankle support) with a large bright necklace to make me not look so dark and cover any cleavage that might come out. HB said I might have been a bit too sexy, but I dress similar just in company suit with logo on daily basis. All went ok. Love Sussie