When looking for a full-time job, you will often have to go through interviews. Not many people love interviews, but to secure a job offer, let's talk about what to wear during job hunting in Japan to ace those interviews.

Recruitment Suits for Interviews

In Japan, there are suits that are used almost exclusively suits for interviews. It's not that they can't be used outside of interviews, but they exist primarily for this purpose. Especially when job hunting as a new graduate, wearing a recruitment suit for interviews is a common social norm in Japan.

Why Recruitment Suits Exist

Japan didn't always have black recruitment suits as the standard interview attire. According to Wikipedia:

An article in a 1975 weekly magazine advised students looking for jobs to avoid borrowing student uniforms from cheerleaders.

In a 1980 weekly magazine article, a company recruiter mentioned that one in ten job-hunting students wore student uniforms, while most wore suits.”Over many years, black or dark-colored recruitment suits became the standard.

Reference:Wikipedia

What is a cheerleader’s student uniform?

The cheerleader uniform was a more formal school uniform and so sometimes borrowed and used for job interviews

Why Wear Recruitment Suits?

Recruitment suits in dark colors like black or navy blue are preferred. Preferences can vary by company. For example, casual recruitment suits might be acceptable for izakayas (Japanese pubs/bars) or IT companies, but for sales and administrative jobs, wearing a formal recruitment suit is advisable. Here, we will focus on recruitment suits suitable for sales and administrative roles and also touch on overall attire.

Men

• Single suit in black or dark color
• Sleeves should not be too long, showing about 1 cm of the shirt sleeve
• A white shirt is recommended as it is safe
• Neckties should be in a similar color to the suit or a similar striped pattern, avoiding vivid colors
• The suit jacket length should cover about 60% of the buttocks
• Shoes should be black or dark-colored leather shoes, cleaned
• Bags should also be dark-colored, preferably a black A4 sized  handbags satchel/bag. Examples are included below. 

Uniqlo suits 1

Uniqlo suits 2

Aoki suits

Uniqlo recruitment bag 

Monotaro recruitment bag

Women

• Single suit in black or dark color
• Sleeves should cover the shirt
• Skirt length should be knee-length; pants should be ankle-length
• Under the suit, a white shirt/blouse or a conservative top is recommended
• Shoes should be black or dark-colored pumps with heels under 5 cm
• Bags should be black or dark-colored, either shoulder or handheld

Uniqlo suits

Aoki suits

Bags to Match Recruitment Suits 1

Bags to Match Recruitment Suits 2

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