Interview / Work Shoes

ANSWER

Dear Gabriella,

What an exciting and stressful time for you. The thought of returning to work and then the stress of what do I wear to the interview and then what if I get a second interview.

You sound like a very determined, hard working lady and I wish you every luck with the job trail - I am sure you will be successful. Now onto the answer for you!

First I'd like to address your question about the shoes in general. It's great that you have a budget as it's always a good idea to think about how much you are going to spend. I actually believe that you can get a great pair of shoes for around the $70 mark - you just need to be persistent, patient and willing to shop around.

First of all I think you need to decide on a style of shoe, you already have two must haves on your checklist which include close toed and a heel. Might I suggest that you add to this list color. Not knowing what you suit is like I would suggest black as a generic color that should go with pretty much everything. Also, remember that if you have a black suit you can add color as you gradually build your wardrobe with shirts, stretchy tops and accessories. But for now it's shoes!

May I suggest a trip into town this weekend with a focus on visiting the following places – keeping in mind the type of shoes you are after.

TIP: Click on the underlined words to visit those websites

Department Stores
Myers: they quite often have a sale table where things are marked half price
David Jones: for the same reason

Stores in General
Wittner: usually have good, comfy shoes at a reasonable price at sale time, visit their website and scroll through their selection to start thinking about what you would like, they are also have a 70% sale at the moment so there may be something there that will work for you.

Low Priced Shoe Shops
Shoe Box (in most Westfields)
Kumfs
Payless Shoes
Sheriton Shoes
Williams the Shoeman
Palm Beach Shoes: located at 370 Oxford Street, Paddington,

Visit the Sydney Pink Pages for addresses on the shops you decide to visit in your area.

Orthotics
Peter Shepherd Shoes have comfy work shoes and also offer Orthotic shoes, however they are pricey and I would suggest that you should have a look at what is available here for future purchases.  Once you have snaggled the job, then you can start saving again for that next pair of shoes, you might also like to keep abreast of when they are having sales so that you can take advantage of buying shoes at that time. The Peter Shepherd website actually gives you some excellent information on buying shoes, so definitely have a surf around there.

With regards to particular brands that are podiatry friendly why don’t you visit the Podiatry Association of Australia website as starting point. This would at least give a guideline in what you are looking for podiatry wise.

You may like to look specifically for Hush Puppies which are a brand of shoe that is reknowned as being comfortable and podiatry friendly.

Remember when shopping to keep in mind the style of shoe you are after:

Tick List
- Black Shoe
- Comfortable
- Heel
- $70 budget

Now you also mention that you won’t be sure what to do if you get a second round interview. Can I suggest that if this is the case that it will simply be a case of how you accessorise your suit that makes it look completely different.

You don’t have to spend a lot of money to do this. There are excellent OpShops and Sacred Heart Mission stores that have fabulous shirts and accessories for a low price.

In fact one such shirt I wear to work that I always get complimented on I got for $4 at the local Sacred Heart Mission! Add a different shirt, different accessories to your suit and you’ll find that you will actually look like you are wearing a whole different outfit.

Good luck with this phase of the job interview process and remember, confidence says far more about a person that what they are wearing – a strong handshake, look people in the eyes when answering questions, listen to questions carefully and respond thoughtfully. 

I’m sure you will be a winner and have that fabulous job in a matter of weeks.

Love
Bronny
xxxx