Interview rules when you know the culture of the office you are interviewing, and the average age-IT

[ThatGuy]



you can never be overdressed

Only a SFer would say that.

OP, you are meeting young guys in IT. Last thing they want to see is an old fart in a suit.



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[pebblegrain]



Thank you for your candor. I own two sport coats, yes, and I bought them based on the color and the fabric texture of the pants I already had. Ive been unemployed for a month, and I don't exactly have money growing out of my a** since my severance after 6 years consisted of 3 days pay for the balance of the week I was let go.I didn't need to own a suit for my job-I 'do' things, I don't sit around and tell others to do them and I don't get paid for my looks, and im happy and well paid to be that.

I said previously that my interview 'style' was overly formal-all the places i've interviewed want to know about me and be touchy feely, and its not the line of questioning i'm used to, I didn't say that my clothes were. That being said, based on the guy I saw coming out of one of the interviews I may has well have have worn a burlap sack and I still would have been more appropriately dressed, even as a security guard from Men's Wearhouse. As it is now I have 2 2nd interviews next week so I must have done *something* right. Thanks for your time, im sorry you won't get it back. Ill buy Brooks Brothers after my kids are fed and my savings is put back. 

This whole way of thinking is the root of your problem. I'm not criticizing you for not owning a suit, I'm criticizing you for wearing a pretend suit. You are like the dude who wears a fake Rolex and then gets mad when people call him out on it "well I'm sorry I'm not a trust funder". And what's wrong with a ******* Timex?

1. Not everyone owns a suit - this is common knowledge. I've interviewed many people and I am fully aware of this, especially because coming out of college I myself did not own a suit.

2. The company you interviewed at is extra-casual. So obviously #1 does not present a problem. You should have worn black slacks, the blue shirt, and that's it. Why wear a fake suit? AND top it off with a pocket square. There are few faux pas I take notice with, such as wearing shorts, having a booger on your face, and trying to piece together a pretend suit.

 

[Alathea]

So, wearing a blazer with slacks is a fake suit? *shrug* I was taught that it was better than nothing, so long as it coordinates and you don't use an orphan jacket. I didn't wear a suit jacket with mismatched pants. The other two places that I interviewed were not ultra casual. 1 was a national insurance company, 1 was an IT consulting firm, and 1 told me not to dress up. I had them in different palaces in town, and almost back to back, so I didnt have time to change. I was taught to wear a jacket to a job interview if you don't own a suit, so I did. If the rules changed, I missed it.


And there is nothing wrong Timex. I own two of them.

 

[Sanguis Mortuum]



I didn't wear a suit jacket with mismatched pants.

You said you wore a black jacket and black trousers which were not a suit. So yes, you did wear mismatched pants.

 

[Alathea]

Then wearing any blazer is wearing mismatched pants.

 

[JubeiSpiegel]

Relax OP, this is the standard SF welcome. Good luck on your next interviews.

Ow, and don't comment on what shoes you wore. Open Pandora's box you would...

 

[Alathea]

*lol* I just cant see how wearing a blazer in the absence of a suit, if you don't have one, and if you match it to your pants is a bad thing. Im not interviewing to be a finance manager, and once I get the in my field I won't likely be wearing a suit again unless I get deposed for something to do with IT Risk Management. Im a middle cog and a tech. I really don't like people that much, so I work from the background.

Shoes-Doc Marten wingtips, polished black ( prior service-I throw a mean polish rag), with black soles and no yellow stitching. I DID get my pair of AE oxblood saddle shoes today, though.

 

[dwntwnjay]

I hire IT guys in consulting all the time. Here's my personal take on the interview dress "rules":

Regardless of your role and regardless of the fact that workers there may wear shorts and flipflops, the most casual you should ever wear is dress pants, dress shoes, a button-up shirt (not a polo). And that is OK only when (1) you're invited to not dress up and also (2) you're not in a customer-facing or management role

Otherwise, sport coat, dress pants, etc. -- that is appropriate dress for (1) customer or management facing role who was invited to not dress up, or (2) any other roles -- server room guys, networking dudes, unseen developers in the cube farm

Anything else - suit.

I can't say that someone being especially well dressed ever mattered all that much when hiring, except maybe for a sales position. Ill fitting, oddly dressed, out of style, not ironed, etc. -- well, yes, negative influence can happen.

Regardless of how dressy is the correct choice, hiring manager is probably wanting someone thorough, attentive and careful with detail, so make sure there's some visual indication of those attributes...

Yes, there is such a thing as overdressed -- if you're showing up in Kiton and Edward Greens and the CEO wouldn't ever have done that, wouldn't have any occasion to do so -- the only image that projects is that you didnt try to find out much about the company beforehand.

None of that varies by age of the person.

Hope that helps - Good luck

 

[pebblegrain]



*lol* I just cant see how wearing a blazer in the absence of a suit, if you don't have one, and if you match it to your pants is a bad thing. Im not interviewing to be a finance manager, and once I get the in my field I won't likely be wearing a suit again unless I get deposed for something to do with IT Risk Management. Im a middle cog and a tech. I really don't like people that much, so I work from the background. 

Shoes-Doc Marten wingtips, polished black ( prior service-I throw a mean polish rag), with black soles and no yellow stitching. I DID get my pair of AE oxblood saddle shoes today, though.

If it doesn't matter what you wear, why don't you wear something simpler and cheaper? Why don't you wear the olive sportcoat with khakis? Why add to the comedy with a pocket square?

Why do you complain about not having enough money to buy a suit on the same day you bought $200-300 shoes? How can you afford 2 sportcoats but not a suit?

So the getup you wore looked pretty suit-ish? I have another tip for you to save some serious dookats: buy womens suits from the thrift store. They are basically the same except the button orientation, and no rear pockets. Not only that, the pants will match the jacket.

 

[Alathea]

Amazon, closeout, and Ebay.

It does matter what I wear, to me-only 1 place told me not to worry about a suit or dressing up. I was always told to dress up no matter what the office culture was like, though that was when I was in college. I hadn't thought that would change, but some of what Ive read in the last few weeks suggests otherwise. I work in IT, but still have to interview first, which means impressing somebody or another.

The jackets were 50.00 each, the shoes not much more. The pants I already had. I didn't want to buy a full suit when I had pieces of separates already.

I wore the olive sportcoat and khakis for interviews the week before, I didnt want to wear it again this last week, that's why I have two.

As for women's suits I really wouldn't know. I'll defer to your greater knowledge on that.

 

[Sanguis Mortuum]



Then wearing any blazer is wearing mismatched pants.

If the trousers are completely different in colour and/or pattern they are not 'mismatched', they are simply odd trousers. Wearing trousers that are the same colour but not identical fabric makes them mismatched.

 

[Alathea]

I was trying to make a point. I took the pants with me when I went looking for the jackets so I could compare that. I know about matching weights and fabrics a bit, I used to work in a theater costume shop. My consternation comes from one above suggesting that I dressed like I was coming in from the clown car for my interviews because I don't have a full on wool suit. In the Midwest you don't often find a full suit at a thrift shop or consignment, even in a larger city (at least in Nebraska), and I when I was laid off from my job I didn't know if I would have 200 or 300 dollars to pull off getting a rack suit at MW or some such, so I improvised. I'm a larger man so getting lucky enough to find my sizes is doing pretty well as it is. I hemmed the pants I have to length, and I adjusted the length of the sleeves of the jackets I found, so I feel that I've done pretty well, so far. Ill buy a suit when my unemployment insurance kicks in. Its only been a month-that usually takes 2 or 3 months to process where I live, so my only income at this point is my wife and some savings.

Back to topic, I got it-despite being told 'not to dress up' by a prospective interviewer, and in spite of knowing that an informal dress code applies at a potential employer, the rule is still to dress up.

Got it. 5x5. Thanks for the differing opinions, they've been helpful and interesting to read.

 

[gort]

I mean no offense to the OP but this thread illustrates why my company christmas party every year makes me hate my industry (I'm not in IT, I'm a software engineer but close enough). I work with some really, really bright engineers but they are absolute trainwrecks in terms of appearance and hygiene. One year we had a guy wearing new balance sneakers with a suit, and he checked his suit jacket at the coat check. He really thought he was supposed to.

 

[JubeiSpiegel]

I suppose It's time we call acridsheep, so he can post his humorous noob evolution graph...

 

[kungapa]



My consternation comes from one above suggesting that I dressed like I was coming in from the clown car for my interviews because I don't have a full on wool suit.

You are misunderstanding him - he didn't mean you looked like a clown for not owning a wool suit, he meant you shouldn't have tried to color-match your odd jacket with your odd trousers. Big difference! It is not the not owning of a suit that he was critiquing, it is the matching of a jacket and pants of the same color but with different fabrics! No matter how well you compared the two while buying them, odds are it looks off. The better thing to do would have been to not match the two - wear very different colored pants with your sports coat.