The new forums will be named Coin Return (based on the most recent vote)! You can check on the status and timeline of the transition to the new forums here.
The Guiding Principles and New Rules document is now in effect.
Asking what attire is appropriate for a job interview
tofu
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Is it appropriate to ask a company's HR department what level of attire is fitting for an interview? Got into a debate about it earlier
tofu on
0
Posts
This.
Not the image you want to create for yourself right before an interview.
We agree!
hi5
Let 'em eat fucking pineapples!
Don't start this argument again. It's not true.
Yes, it's weird to ask. You should kind of already know.
Well, there are different levels of professional dress wear
This is all academic since I already know what to wear :P
Unless the job is McDonalds or AutoZone, a suit & tie/blazer & skirt is the way to go.
If your pay is negotiated in dollars per year instead of dollars per hour, wear *at least* a dress shirt and pants. Figure out the rest with common sense.
we also talk about other random shit and clown upon each other
I wore a suit and tie to every job interview I ever had since senior year in high school, including crappy summer college jobs and the pizza delivery job post-graduation while waiting for a teaching position.
I know for a fact the suit is what separated me from the other candidates in at least two interviews and helped get me the jobs. One boss said that it showed that I took the potential job - crappy, low status job that it was (his words) - seriously.
Now, I've been on the other side as a member of interview panels. And we expect suits/professional attire. Not coming dressed appropriately can kill your chances. And a suit is never inappropriate.
EDIT: Ah, misread your question. And fuck, no, it's not. It displays a remarkable lack of, well, any sort of common sense. If in doubt, suit up! Seriously, who needs to call and ask?
The last part of this is the only part that's true. A step above the daily work attire at my company would be shoes (rather than sandals) and clothes that fit and don't have witty slogans printed on them; but anyone who showed up to an interview dressed merely like that would pretty much be summarily rejected.
On rare occasions, I've had companies specifically tell me that casual dress was accepted/expected for interviews, but other than that you should always wear a suit.
It's kinda a niche field, but i've had a couple small company IT manager bosses who pretty much instantly rejected anyone who showed up for an interview in a suit. Suits are still king for big corporations but my experience has been a boss who shows up for work in a t-shirt every day doesn't necessarily approve of employees outdressing him, even at interviews
I'm in software development, though, so your mileage may vary.
Don't ask HR what to wear. Very inappropriate. Tell us more about the position/company if you're still unsure.
Unless of course they have uniforms, then just go for a suit.
STEAM
Dress one level higher than the office attire you observe.
If everyone is in overalls and covered in grease, then a nice pair of jeans and collared button up shirt would be acceptable (dont forget a belt). If everyone is in casual business you go in a full business suit. Everyone in business suits? Bust out the three piece.
Professional shoes no matter what - no sneakers ever.
There's nothing wrong with asking, but you should be more tactful than "How should I come dressed".
Do you want to work for a company that comes down on a prospective employee for asking something simple like if you should wear a tie to an interview?
As a general rule I always wear a shirt and tie with some nice pants. Unless you're going for something very high profile you shouldn't need to wear a suit. By the time you need to start wearing a suit to interviews you'll have enough of a professional career established that you will know when to wear a suit.
I just interviewed at an insurance company on Wednesday a shirt and tie and I was the one who was over dressed. I wanted to wear my suit because I don't really have any other reasons to wear it unless a family member dies, but I didn't have time to get it all set up.
Also, whether it's appropriate to ask probably depends on the industry -- like whether there's any variation between companies. In banking, it would be weird to ask. In software development, less so.
It's not that the company would be "coming down on a prospective employee". By asking the question, the prospective employee is signaling "I don't belong here. I am not from your tribe. Please tell me the unspoken rules".
It's not a big deal by any means, but many times there are multiple similarly skilled applicants for the same position. When this happens, hire/reject can come down subconsciously to unimportant trivial bullshit.
That said, wear a suit.
Also..
There's no such thing as Overkill.
(i.e If you are interviewing for construction work... Don't worry about coming in with Jeans and Steel Toe Boots, If you are interviewing to work in Walmart... Wear White shirt with Blue vest so you look like a worker there already.)
unless the official uniform for the job you are applying for is "suit and tie"
maybe i'm streaming terrible dj right now if i am its here
unless you are going to video tape it and put it on the internet.
Which you won't be able to afford, because you're unemployed.
Don't do this.
A suit/tie can be overdressed even for office jobs, but that's pretty rare. Like at the two coffee roasters I visited where a Timbuk2/Crumple bag apparently comes standard-issue.
If you're interviewing at a young and hipster small business, you really need to look like you belong there. But you should still dress nice. Maybe wear your Five Fingers instead of loafers, but still some nice khakis and a polo.
Im glad someone said this already so i dont have to type it. I literally laughed, i thought it was a joke until i realised that was the last line.
Also, dont ask what to wear. Seriously. Unless its for a followup interview or something, and the interviewer specifically mentioned your dress in the first interview (like, "hahaha youre way overdressed for this! Anyway, down to business...").
Check out my band, click the banner.
I've never met anyone interviewing people for any job who didn't appreciate the fact you went to the effort to put on a clean, pressed suit.
If you were applying to be a stripper I'd tell you to wear a suit.
Asking them if you should wear a suit would be pretty much a horrible misstep.
Wear a suit, like you belong in it, not like you can't wait to get out of it.
Riddle me this - if a company specifically tells you a dress code during an interview (smart casual, as I would expect) and you don't get the job, and apply for a similar position in a different branch of the same company a year later and they don't mention it, how do you dress?
I'm expecting the same, but as they didn't explicitly say it, I'm concerned.
This kind of thing is unconscionable, fortunately it only ever seems to happen at weird IT/software companies so it's easily avoided
But in those cases you're usually fine wearing a suit and tie.
Though it doesn't hurt to just ask HR what's appropriate. That's the kind of thing a proactive interviewee asks.
black oxford round toe (polish and apply dressing to those heels),
white shirt,
red tie,
black belt,
black socks.
That outfit should be in every guys wardrobe.
a few examples.