3 ms·

You'd do well to wear a suit to any job interview. Programmer or not, startup or not, walking into an interview in a suit conveys a sense of professionalism. Fi

You'd do well to wear a suit to any job interview. Programmer or not, startup or not, walking into an interview in a suit conveys a sense of professionalism. First impressions are hard to change. So start off well. Also, I'd take the advice of those who who say "Wear sandals and a t-shirt" with a grain of salt - I suspect that the majority of people who give that advice are not (and haven't ever been) in a position to hire.

timr 18y ago
You're assuming that a suit always provides a good impression. That's not automatic, especially if you're interviewing at a small, casual company that is trying to maintain a specific kind of casual, fun work culture. Like, say...a startup.
- hunterjrj 18y ago
  Work for a startup. Second startup actually, both successful. Wore a suit to both interviews. Results paint a pretty clear picture. Even companies looking to maintain a casual, fun work culture should appreciate their candidates attempting to present themselves in a professional way. If an interviewer casts someone in a negative light because they wore a suit... I'll go out on a limb and risk getting flamed by saying that this person probably shouldn't be responsible for hiring in the first place.
  - emmett 18y ago
    We haven't had many people show up in suits to interviews at Justin.tv, but it's a reasonably accurate indicator of failure. I try not to prejudge, but there's only so many times you can see a correlation and not start to stereotype.
pjackson 18y ago
I agree. I think a lot of the advice that I see above is: "come as you are, and if they won't take you, you didn't want to work there anyway." This is wrong. I work for a startup (my third one). I wore a suit to the interview. My now-boss said to me, "We should have told you that you didn't have to wear a tie to the interview. Sorry!". I would have worn the tie anyway. I have personally hired 16 people since starting work at my current startup. They all dressed professionally for the interview, and subsequently changed into shorts and t-shirts. The issue is: while the startup is casual dress, I might need to take you with me to pitch Fidelity Investments for the B-round of funding. If I'm taking you with me to my investment bank, you better wear a suit and be comfortable in it.

timr 18y ago

You're assuming that a suit always provides a good impression. That's not automatic, especially if you're interviewing at a small, casual company that is trying to maintain a specific kind of casual, fun work culture. Like, say...a startup.

hunterjrj 18y ago
Work for a startup. Second startup actually, both successful. Wore a suit to both interviews. Results paint a pretty clear picture. Even companies looking to maintain a casual, fun work culture should appreciate their candidates attempting to present themselves in a professional way. If an interviewer casts someone in a negative light because they wore a suit... I'll go out on a limb and risk getting flamed by saying that this person probably shouldn't be responsible for hiring in the first place.
- emmett 18y ago
  We haven't had many people show up in suits to interviews at Justin.tv, but it's a reasonably accurate indicator of failure. I try not to prejudge, but there's only so many times you can see a correlation and not start to stereotype.

pjackson 18y ago

I agree. I think a lot of the advice that I see above is: "come as you are, and if they won't take you, you didn't want to work there anyway." This is wrong. I work for a startup (my third one). I wore a suit to the interview. My now-boss said to me, "We should have told you that you didn't have to wear a tie to the interview. Sorry!". I would have worn the tie anyway. I have personally hired 16 people since starting work at my current startup. They all dressed professionally for the interview, and subsequently changed into shorts and t-shirts. The issue is: while the startup is casual dress, I might need to take you with me to pitch Fidelity Investments for the B-round of funding. If I'm taking you with me to my investment bank, you better wear a suit and be comfortable in it.