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Looking for a job, honey? Well then, let`s get serious about it. People need to know you mean business. Have you got your portfolio in hand? Good. Ready to field the tough questions they throw you? Excellent.

Now have you decided on what you`re going to wear? It had better be just right. Because you will be judged by your cover too.

Nothing too short.

Nothing too bright.

Nothing too low.

Nothing too tight.

Pants    Although pants may be appropriate for work at many companies, they can be perceived by interviewers in different ways    as overly casual, sexy, masculine or even rebellious. In any case, they dont reflect the image you want to present rightaway.

A cotton shirt    The cotton shirt is now seen as something that only entry-level women, coached by college placement counsellors, would think of wearing. Select shirts with silky cotton or a cotton-and-wool blend.

Short skirt    Test your skirt sitting down as well as standing up. Its unprofessional to sit with four inches of thigh showing; equally uncomfortable is tugging at your hem while trying to enumerate your qualifications.

Glitzy shoes    The theory is that in an interview, you want the interviewer to focus on your head (brains); patterned shoes draw attention to the opposite end of your body. This is not to say that you must only wear standard shoes to job interviews. Just be sure that your legs and feet are not distracting.

Anything brand-new    Brand-new means something you are wearing for the first time in the morning of your interview. Interviews sometimes demand new clothes, but if youve bought something new, try to wear it for at least an hour    even around the house    before the big day. Why? Because in an interview, you dont want to be conscious of your clothes. And you certainly dont want to find out too late that the buttons tend to pop, that the skirt waistband can be itchy, or that the back of the skirt has a tendency to slip around to the front. The best interview clothes are those youve worn before, things that make you feel terrific.

Anything sloppy    No woman would show up for a job interview with shoes that are scuffed, a shirt with worn cuffs and shoulder pads that tend to slide towards the back.

Anything sexy    Whats sexy in a subtle way is, of course, subjective, but its the safest to play to the most conservative opinion: a neutral colour is better than, say, red; long sleeves are better than short; a skirt with no slit is better than one with it.

Lastly, the best advice is to wear what suits your style and makes you feel confident. Dont wear a salwaar-kameez or a sari for an interview if you are always wearing a western attire. And vice versa.