egrek Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 Hi all - just joined here! I'm currently in Vietnam and hope to be in Auz within a month! Myself and my girlfriend are looking for work - what sort of clothes should we be wearing for work and for interviews? (She's a teacher - I'm an Accountant/office worker) I ask, as in the UK I would wear a suit for an interview and normally a suit in the day, depending on the place. But having met a couple of people from Auz going the other way - they were shocked the UK wore suits! (One guy said he'd never worn one!) They also said it would be too hot in a suit. The other reason to ask is as we're backpacking we need to buy clothes before we get there - and as Vietnam can have cheap tailor made suits, shoudl I get one, or two? Or is a handful of shirts and trousers a better option? PS. We're going to be based in Melbourne Thanks in advance for all your replies! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Scotinaus Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 Hi, you will definitely need a suit for interviews and I would definitely get or tailored over in Asia as they are stupidly expensive here! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest siamsusie Posted June 16, 2011 Share Posted June 16, 2011 Hi all - just joined here! I'm currently in Vietnam and hope to be in Auz within a month! Myself and my girlfriend are looking for work - what sort of clothes should we be wearing for work and for interviews? (She's a teacher - I'm an Accountant/office worker) I ask, as in the UK I would wear a suit for an interview and normally a suit in the day, depending on the place. But having met a couple of people from Auz going the other way - they were shocked the UK wore suits! (One guy said he'd never worn one!) They also said it would be too hot in a suit. The other reason to ask is as we're backpacking we need to buy clothes before we get there - and as Vietnam can have cheap tailor made suits, shoudl I get one, or two? Or is a handful of shirts and trousers a better option? PS. We're going to be based in Melbourne Thanks in advance for all your replies! Welcome to Poms In Oz. If you find an excellent well recommended tailor in Nam then go for it, but from my experience Singapore would be the way to go and they can always post them onto you in Australia if you so wish and imo the quality is far superior. Shirts etc are not a problem in Vietnam but I would rather have a good pair of jeans then a badly cut suit:biggrin:. Good luck with your trip. Susie x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul1Perth Posted June 16, 2011 Share Posted June 16, 2011 I would wear a suite for an interview and then, once you're in, you'll probably find that most workmates dress down a bit here. Go with the flow. May as well make a good impression at the interview stage though. You might get a few strange questions as a new emigrant. Do you like it here, do you intend to stay....things like that. Don't be put off, pretty standard. I've found people here very friendly and like a laugh. Get used to a bit of pommie bashing and give a bit back. Sounds like a good plan if you can get a cheap decent suit whilst in Asia. I have only one suit (the same one I got married in) and wear casual clothing to work, just stopped wearing shorts and T shirts as it's gone a bit cooler. Jeans and T-shirts for the winter. I work in IT though so it's pretty laid back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirsty M Posted June 16, 2011 Share Posted June 16, 2011 Absolutely wear a suit. Especially if it's corporate CBD based prospective employers. Speaking as an ex-recruiter, I would never put forward a "scruffy" candidate to a client. I would ask candidates turn up to register with the agency as they would for an interview to save any confusion. I would sometimes give a bit of advice in this area if they weren't quite smart enough. I know it sounds a bit shallow but that's the corporate world. Usually, you can tone it down a bit when you start with the company and find out what their normal work attire is. You can't go wrong with a suit especially in accounting/prof services. Good luck with the job hunting! Kirsty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boganbear Posted June 16, 2011 Share Posted June 16, 2011 I find that the working culture is more stuffy here than in the UK. I get strange looks because I never wear a tie with my suit, even though it was quite normal not to wear one in the UK in many places. Also get some good shoes and polish them. I've been to 2 interviews and was commended on how shiny mine were so people do notice these things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurls Posted June 16, 2011 Share Posted June 16, 2011 But having met a couple of people from Auz going the other way - they were shocked the UK wore suits! (One guy said he'd never worn one!) They also said it would be too hot in a suit. Where were these guys from then? I think you'll find most people wear suits. My hubby picked up a couple of lovely tailormade suits in Vietnam a couple of years ago and I think you'll find it worth it price wise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayBone Posted June 16, 2011 Share Posted June 16, 2011 I went for an interview in Brisbane CBD with a big gas company and I wore trousers, shoes and a short sleeved shirt with no tie, nobody on the office had a tie on, in fact I don't recall seeing a tie in Brisbane at all when everyone was on lunch? Well, I got the job, it's a senior engineering position. I wouldn't want to work for a company who employed on grounds of appearance to be honest, would you? I also have seriously scruffy hair as I have been on the road living in a van for 6 months! I had to buy the clothes especially for the interview! Got them from a proper cheap shop too, forget the name, $70 for the job lot! Good luck with the interview/job search guys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul1Perth Posted June 16, 2011 Share Posted June 16, 2011 I went for an interview in Brisbane CBD with a big gas company and I wore trousers, shoes and a short sleeved shirt with no tie, nobody on the office had a tie on, in fact I don't recall seeing a tie in Brisbane at all when everyone was on lunch? Well, I got the job, it's a senior engineering position. I wouldn't want to work for a company who employed on grounds of appearance to be honest, would you? I also have seriously scruffy hair as I have been on the road living in a van for 6 months! I had to buy the clothes especially for the interview! Got them from a proper cheap shop too, forget the name, $70 for the job lot! Good luck with the interview/job search guys In the perfect world Jay no-one would give a stuff about appearance but in the real world we all know that turning up to a job interview in jeans and trainers wouldn't be a sensible thing to do, if we really wanted the job. You knew you had to be at least half decent for the interview or you wouldn't have bothered buying clothes. Well done on getting the job though, great feeling isn't it. Might be a bit different in the accountancy/office work field too. Engineers can generally get away with being a bit laid back. If you're in front of customers though, even as an Engineer I think you will be expected to make an effort on the dress front.:cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skani Posted June 16, 2011 Share Posted June 16, 2011 Hi all - just joined here! But having met a couple of people from Auz going the other way - they were shocked the UK wore suits! (One guy said he'd never worn one!) They also said it would be too hot in a suit. PS. We're going to be based in Melbourne Too hot in a suit? They obviously weren't from Melbourne :biggrin: Maybe from Darwin? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest wateraild Posted June 24, 2011 Share Posted June 24, 2011 Hi all - just joined here! I'm currently in Vietnam and hope to be in Auz within a month! Myself and my girlfriend are looking for work - what sort of clothes should we be wearing for work and for interviews? (She's a teacher - I'm an Accountant/office worker) I ask, as in the UK I would wear a suit for an interview and normally a suit in the day, depending on the place. But having met a couple of people from Auz going the other way - they were shocked the UK wore suits! (One guy said he'd never worn one!) They also said it would be too hot in a suit. The other reason to ask is as we're backpacking we need to buy clothes before we get there - and as Vietnam can have cheap tailor made suits, shoudl I get one, or two? Or is a handful of shirts and trousers a better option? PS. We're going to be based in Melbourne Thanks in advance for all your replies! Now, I'm living in Viet Nam and my advice is find an excellent well recommend male tailor. It's easy to have suitable, cheap and nice clothes. Viet Nam is the best country for you to do it. For interview, I think it's nescessary to wear somethings nice and polite. It's important that you feel comfortable. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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