When people ask what they should wear for a video interview, our top piece of advice is: Don’t wear anything that’s going to distract people from what you say.
Here are some other tips:
- People get very distracted, so even something as innocuous as wearing a shirt or tie with a pattern can be distracting. Stripes can create a wavy effect on camera. Other examples are a disheveled tie, hair sticking up and loud jewelry.
- Preparation is simple: Think of simple things. If you’re recording a video for your company, take your pens out of your pocket and remove your lanyard – you don’t want a lanyard dangling on your neck the whole time. Take your glasses off to prevent a possible reflection from lighting.
- Some details require additional preparation. Does it make more sense to wear a uniform or everyday clothing? If you decide on a uniform, is it in good shape and does it have current branding such as an updated logo? Branded hats or shirts should also be in good shape.
- Sometimes it helps to bring a co-worker or friend to an interview so they can point out details like whether there’s lipstick on your teeth.
- Conceal the microphone and any cables behind a tie or under a shirt collar.
- Be sure to dress the part. If you’re shooting video outside in a hot environment, it doesn’t make sense to wear a suit or a sports coat. On the other hand, you don’t want to wear an old T-shirt during an interview.
- As far as what colors to wear, darker colors with no patterns are the best. Avoid wearing white if possible, as white creates lighting issues.
- Your environment and your clothing should complement the job. You don’t want your environment or what you’re wearing to distract from your video’s message.
The bottom line: You don’t want clothing or the environment to be so distracting that people are thinking about what you’re wearing rather than what you’re saying. That defeats the purpose of why you’re doing the video in the first place.
