The SO was another example. was referencing this old tin painting:
that’s the one that I removed. It’s OKish in person and the only thing I have that’s even remotely of that taste, but in the zoom background, definitely not.
that’s the one that I removed. It’s OKish in person and the only thing I have that’s even remotely of that taste, but in the zoom background, definitely not.
I did not mean to imply that dress or looks is a primary criteria, or even any criteria really, for a position. I do recognize the psychological effect that being well dressed has on me. I’m immediately more comfortable with a candidate because my mind isn’t trying to determine the reason why they have a stain on their shirt and it makes me feel like they will be engaged in the interview. Hair color, tattoos, and piercings I understand so my mind isn’t focused on them. And once the first question or two starts, I’m able to tell for certain if they are engaged regardless of how they are dressed.
That stained shirt really threw me though. To make it worse, the guy wouldn’t give a response that was longer than two or three sentences. It was a painful interview. We ended up bringing him in for an in person interview against my recommendation. His uncle was a senior VP in the company so there were some phone calls when he wasn’t extended an offer but he was way underqualified when compared to the other applicants.
lol.
I was referring to John’s comment about the fat guy, not your comment about the coffee stain. I would judge someone for showing up to an interview with a stained shirt. Did he not look at a mirror? Surely he owns an unstained shirt.
But you can’t really change your weight for an interview. Showing up with a visible characteristic that’s hard to change is acceptable, and doesn’t speak to your interest in the job, etc.
it’s fine to be overweight. but I’ve seen overweight people completely given up, completely wrinkled shirt. untucked shirt. etc.
I understand it’s hard to find shirts that fit you, but tailor that shit. I’ve seen plus size people that look dapper.
Eh, the fat guy with a rumpled shirt will probably be happier working for me than for you anyway. 
well, you’re forgetting that I hate dress codes to begin with.
I’m saying IF dressing up is required…
I don’t even own a single dress shirt anymore.
This is my day today. Ugh. I was really hoping for in person interviews but I guess we’re not open for interviews.
As the interviewer, I’m wearing jeans (which won’t be seen) a comfy top and a sort of shapeless jacket thingie. No makeup bc that’s just who I am.
I’m hoping for people to have a clean and neat appearance. If they wear a t-shirt I might think they don’t care much about the job. But we’ll see.
I mean, I would buy one for an interview.
1 Like
Huh. I wouldn’t actually have paid any attention if they were wearing a tshirt.
I may have been wearing a shirt myself. I do most days, and didn’t do anything different for the interview.
Mind you were not very corporate here.
I just wear polo. But I’ve seen senior interviewers wear t shirts on webcam. I really don’t think anyone gives a crap nowadays what you wear.
I guess I am kind of old fashioned in thinking that
- Dressing up (at least a little) makes it look like you care about the job, and
- Everyone should have a dress up outfit in his or her closet.
If you were the absolute best candidate for the job, it probably wouldn’t matter that you wore a polo.
If it were a tight race between the candidates, dress could be a tie breaker.
3 Likes
I think this is valid for in person. Not so much for zoom
Well, the same could be said of the interviewers and their interest in the candidate…
I always found it odd that the interview expectations always fell on the candidate – they’re expected to dress up, some folks still get bent out of shape if they don’t send thank-you notes, etc.
I mean, the hiring company isn’t interviewing out of the goodness of their hearts – they have a need to fill, and presumably are hiring because they expect to get more out of the employee than they cost. The interviewers are getting paid to do the hiring; the candidate is donating their time (and in most cases burning FTO to do it).
But when the HR machine lacks even basic courtesy everyone just shrugs.
I really do not think this is the case as more and more millennials assume senior management positions. And yes, also, virtual interviews.
If anything, dressing up is now looked down upon as being try-hards. And millennials hate try-hards.
Actually I hate that! I have to really stay on top of my HR person for the follow up. I don’t really care about a thank you for an interview, but that may just be me. But I do care about communicating with the candidates and not leaving them hanging. It’s just common courtesy.
Interesting. I’m going to have to ask the millennials here what they think. My team is all millennials (maybe one Gen Z kind of near the cut off) so I might ask them too.
My first interview today was a guy and he wore a button up shirt. Not super dressy but that’s ok. The collar was a little crumpled. I probably wouldn’t have noticed it being crumpled if not for this discussion. So some attention to appearance but not overly much.
1 down, 3 to go.
I think it would be considerate of the hiring manager to tell the candidate ahead of time what the dress code is for the interview. My current company did just that and told me business casual was fine.
why should the candidate have to guess here?
So you’re judging them negatively as “try-hards” for wearing a suit, but don’t actually tell them not to wear a suit? nice.
25 years ago, a suit was the norm and not much deviation here. now, it varies so much that hiring managers need to tell candidates ahead of time. there is no common sense answer here for candidates.
This assumes the hiring manager actually speaks to the candidate before the interview, as opposed to the HR dept handling these things. I wonder if our HR dept provides such instruction? My guess is, only if asked.
then the HR department should tell the candidate this information.
1 Like