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The one seems very informal. 34 people, sports management software, I talked to the CTO who opted to fly me out. The other seems more formal. 70 people, teachi

The one seems very informal. 34 people, sports management software, I talked to the CTO who opted to fly me out. The other seems more formal. 70 people, teaching software. The phone screen was with an HR person who was dressed nicely, although she brought up beer a number of times (which was awesome). I guess my biggest fear is "over" dressing? As in, I'm presumed to not be a cultural fit because I overdress. Gameplan was to dress nicely, but not in a full suit. I might even wear a tie, but a full suit to me seems excessive.

EliRivers 12y ago
I'm presumed to not be a cultural fit because I overdress The dress code for someone applying to some kind of professional job is (in the Western world - not everywhere in the world wears English national dress when they want to look smart) a suit, smart shoes, nice tie (or a female equivalent). Doesn't necessarily have to be the same material for trousers and jacket, but smart trousers and a good condition jacket. That is the dress code for a job applicant. The dress code for the workplace at which you are interviewing might be different, but you don't work there so that's not your dress code; you're a job applicant at an interview. Someone dressing smartly has gone to the effort of dressing well, and in doing so has indicated that they have prepared for this interview, and that they recognise the formality of it; they are demonstrating basic good manners, and good manners should be a cultural fit in every workplace. Sadly, I suspect there are workplaces who want you to be psychic and guess how to dress to match them exactly so they think you're "one of them" and mark people down for dressing smartly and not looking just like them, even though you don't even work there. I'd like to say that such workplaces are not worth your time, but sadly it wouldn't be true (although they may well have bought a little bit more into some kind of hipster inspired cargo-cult than you might like). Nonetheless, all you can do is play the probabilities, and on balance dressing smart for a job interview will win you more points than dressing like them. When I interview, if they're not dressing smartly, it goes against them, even though most people around the office do not dress nearly so smartly.
- EliRivers 12y ago
  As an addendum, when I'm the interviewee, and some joker interviewing me is wearing scruffy clothes, it makes me less likely to want the job; I'm not asking for the interviewer to be wearing a suit, but jeans frayed at the cuffs and a faded t-shirt? I'm sorry, have I accidentally wandered into a job interview for flipping burgers? Sure, it's one factor amongst many, but if the interviewer can't be bothered to try to present at least a smart appearance, it makes me wonder what else is going wrong in the company; do they want to hire good people or not? Ironically, these people are often found to heavily support the idea of beautiful interfaces and advocate how important appearance is in UI and so forth; well, a conversation with a person is very much a UI for getting a job.
infomofo 12y ago
I think there are a few considerations based on the type of role. If you're expected to interact with clients, then I think a full suit for an interview is appropriate, basically to demonstrate that you can present yourself in a business environment if necessary. If the role is purely for programming, and your impression is that the other developers at this company do not wear them, I would not wear a tie and jacket- it could come off as an incorrect cultural fit. I don't think you'll feel overdressed in any work environment if you wear a button up shirt, comfortable slacks, and understated dress shoes.
hownottowrite 12y ago
A super casual place that is trying to protect their vibe should tell you that during the phone interview. Sometimes they forget and are usually cool if you just ask prior to going in. If they're not cool with the question (especially when you way you're going to wear a suit otherwise) do you really want to work there?

EliRivers 12y ago

I'm presumed to not be a cultural fit because I overdress The dress code for someone applying to some kind of professional job is (in the Western world - not everywhere in the world wears English national dress when they want to look smart) a suit, smart shoes, nice tie (or a female equivalent). Doesn't necessarily have to be the same material for trousers and jacket, but smart trousers and a good condition jacket. That is the dress code for a job applicant. The dress code for the workplace at which you are interviewing might be different, but you don't work there so that's not your dress code; you're a job applicant at an interview. Someone dressing smartly has gone to the effort of dressing well, and in doing so has indicated that they have prepared for this interview, and that they recognise the formality of it; they are demonstrating basic good manners, and good manners should be a cultural fit in every workplace. Sadly, I suspect there are workplaces who want you to be psychic and guess how to dress to match them exactly so they think you're "one of them" and mark people down for dressing smartly and not looking just like them, even though you don't even work there. I'd like to say that such workplaces are not worth your time, but sadly it wouldn't be true (although they may well have bought a little bit more into some kind of hipster inspired cargo-cult than you might like). Nonetheless, all you can do is play the probabilities, and on balance dressing smart for a job interview will win you more points than dressing like them. When I interview, if they're not dressing smartly, it goes against them, even though most people around the office do not dress nearly so smartly.

EliRivers 12y ago
As an addendum, when I'm the interviewee, and some joker interviewing me is wearing scruffy clothes, it makes me less likely to want the job; I'm not asking for the interviewer to be wearing a suit, but jeans frayed at the cuffs and a faded t-shirt? I'm sorry, have I accidentally wandered into a job interview for flipping burgers? Sure, it's one factor amongst many, but if the interviewer can't be bothered to try to present at least a smart appearance, it makes me wonder what else is going wrong in the company; do they want to hire good people or not? Ironically, these people are often found to heavily support the idea of beautiful interfaces and advocate how important appearance is in UI and so forth; well, a conversation with a person is very much a UI for getting a job.

infomofo 12y ago

I think there are a few considerations based on the type of role. If you're expected to interact with clients, then I think a full suit for an interview is appropriate, basically to demonstrate that you can present yourself in a business environment if necessary. If the role is purely for programming, and your impression is that the other developers at this company do not wear them, I would not wear a tie and jacket- it could come off as an incorrect cultural fit. I don't think you'll feel overdressed in any work environment if you wear a button up shirt, comfortable slacks, and understated dress shoes.

hownottowrite 12y ago

A super casual place that is trying to protect their vibe should tell you that during the phone interview. Sometimes they forget and are usually cool if you just ask prior to going in. If they're not cool with the question (especially when you way you're going to wear a suit otherwise) do you really want to work there?