You’ve been shortlisted, and an interview time has been set. But what should you wear? Something casual like jeans and a shirt, or super smart like a tailored suit? We’ve asked two New Zealand personal stylists for their best tips, plus included a few of our own in this handy guide on what to wear to an interview.

My favourite type of job interviews are the ones that feel like you’re having a friendly conversation with a new person you’ve just met at the pub.  They’re relaxed, informal, yet still focused on finding out more about the candidate, what they have to offer and how they would fit the role and the company culture.

It’s certainly a better approach than quizzing the candidate with a list of ill-conceived questions, in a manner better suited to a police interrogation.  Having been on the receiving end of one of those, I can tell you it was no fun.  The recruiter rushed from one question to the next before I’d finished answering, made next to no eye contact, never smiled and berated me for not giving her the answers she wanted to hear.

The problem with the more informal approach however is when candidates feel too comfortable with their interviewer, they tend to say really dumb stuff!  

If you’re applying for jobs there’s every chance that at some stage you’ll be expected to take part in a phone interview.  A common part of the recruitment process, it’s a way for the recruiter or hiring manager to cut down on the interview time and weed out candidates they don’t want to meet with face-to-face.

Now, because you can take part in a phone interview anywhere and you don’t need to dress up, it can be tempting to dismiss it as a less important part of the process.   That’s a big mistake.  An interview is an interview and how you perform will determine whether or not you get asked to interview in person, so you need to take it seriously.  Here are our tips on what you can do to help nail the interview.