4 ms·

undershirt and gym shorts, maybe? Pajamas?

by MBlume 14y ago

ghshephard 14y ago
The thing is, if we're interviewing, and the person who shows up in Pajamas rocks out on the whiteboard, and just blows us away with their humility, ability to communicate, domain knowledge, and mental agility - I don't think we'd hold the Pajamas against them. Also - Pajamas are kind of a hipster startup wear on occasion. I recall our VP of HR showing up in pajamas at Loudcloud. And, I saw people wearing Pajamas at Lily's Crepery in San Mateo this weekend. Maybe they would lose marks on the Gym Short/undershirt thing - but they wouldn't automatically flunk out the interview.
triggit 14y ago
You could show up straight from the gym, and, if you could code, we would hire you. You might not make an optimal first impression, but good developers are hard to come by.
- MBlume 14y ago
  Thank you for reminding me of one of the reasons I love being a developer =)
whatusername 14y ago
In The bay Area? Show up for a Programming Role in a nice Suit with a tie. Not quite underdressing -- but you'll likely be judged as less capable solely on the way your are dressed.
- stephencanon 14y ago
  I might give you extra points for a nice suit.
- oblique63 14y ago
  I've actually found that I've been penalized more for 'over-dressing' than for underdressing over here. I worked a small marketing job for a while a couple years back, and I picked up on wearing suits as an effective way to 'hack' most people into giving you more credibility than you would otherwise initially get (which works great with the whole 'fake-it-til-you-make-it' program an introvert like me needed). So I experimented with this idea and wore a suit pretty much everywhere for about a year (not like traditional white-collar + boring tie suits mind you, think more 'Jonny Cash with a flashy tie'), and while most normal people were receptive to this style (as I expected), I noticed that a fair share of programmers/techies were generally put off/uncomfortable with it. I found it a bit ironic, since I felt I was just doing the same anti-status-quo thing programmers initially did by owning the 'underdressed' style; but I guess it's just too soon for techies to be comfortable with that kind of 180.
  - whimsy 14y ago
    But didn't programmers do it because they didn't trust "the suits"? Is it really ironic that they STILL don't trust them?
    - michaelcampbell 14y ago
      Has something happened in the past few years that would give programmers a reason to trust them that I've missed?
6ren 14y ago
tangent: an oddity about pajamas is they are actually quite formal, being a shirt and pants. The top has a collar, cuffs and a front pocket - more formal than a T-shirt. It's odd that people should dress for sleep as if attending an important occasion - perhaps in case they should die before they wake, they are prepared for a funeral, and to meet their maker.

undershirt and gym shorts, maybe? Pajamas?

by MBlume 14y ago

undershirt and gym shorts, maybe? Pajamas?

The thing is, if we're interviewing, and the person who shows up in Pajamas rocks out on the whiteboard, and just blows us away with their humility, ability to communicate, domain knowledge, and mental agility - I don't think we'd hold the Pajamas against them. Also - Pajamas are kind of a hipster startup wear on occasion. I recall our VP of HR showing up in pajamas at Loudcloud. And, I saw people wearing Pajamas at Lily's Crepery in San Mateo this weekend. Maybe they would lose marks on the Gym Short/undershirt thing - but they wouldn't automatically flunk out the interview.

triggit 14y ago

You could show up straight from the gym, and, if you could code, we would hire you. You might not make an optimal first impression, but good developers are hard to come by.

MBlume 14y ago
Thank you for reminding me of one of the reasons I love being a developer =)

whatusername 14y ago

In The bay Area? Show up for a Programming Role in a nice Suit with a tie. Not quite underdressing -- but you'll likely be judged as less capable solely on the way your are dressed.

stephencanon 14y ago
I might give you extra points for a nice suit.
oblique63 14y ago
I've actually found that I've been penalized more for 'over-dressing' than for underdressing over here. I worked a small marketing job for a while a couple years back, and I picked up on wearing suits as an effective way to 'hack' most people into giving you more credibility than you would otherwise initially get (which works great with the whole 'fake-it-til-you-make-it' program an introvert like me needed). So I experimented with this idea and wore a suit pretty much everywhere for about a year (not like traditional white-collar + boring tie suits mind you, think more 'Jonny Cash with a flashy tie'), and while most normal people were receptive to this style (as I expected), I noticed that a fair share of programmers/techies were generally put off/uncomfortable with it. I found it a bit ironic, since I felt I was just doing the same anti-status-quo thing programmers initially did by owning the 'underdressed' style; but I guess it's just too soon for techies to be comfortable with that kind of 180.
- whimsy 14y ago
  But didn't programmers do it because they didn't trust "the suits"? Is it really ironic that they STILL don't trust them?
  - michaelcampbell 14y ago
    Has something happened in the past few years that would give programmers a reason to trust them that I've missed?

6ren 14y ago

tangent: an oddity about pajamas is they are actually quite formal, being a shirt and pants. The top has a collar, cuffs and a front pocket - more formal than a T-shirt. It's odd that people should dress for sleep as if attending an important occasion - perhaps in case they should die before they wake, they are prepared for a funeral, and to meet their maker.