Would you wear a suit?

I usually go with a suit as most companies have a business casual dress code. But would you still wear a suit if the company states this:

"Our dress code is casual and the work environment informal. For your interview, business casual is appropriate. Suits and ties are not required"

I know, "not required" doesn't mean banned, but not trying to stand out too much if I don't have to with a suit. I was thinking business casual -- Slacks, Dress Shirt, Tie.

Thoughts?

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Comments

networker050184

If they say business casual then go with business casual. When in doubt go with a suit, but I don't think that is the case here.

nel

Any interview is always a suit imo.

Once in the door, if they have a casual dress code, then im fine to wear either smart or casual.

gosh1976

okplaya wrote: »

. I was thinking business casual -- Slacks, Dress Shirt, Tie.

Thoughts?

That sounds about right to me. Definitely wouldn't go with a suit.

erpadmin

nel wrote: »

Any interview is always a suit imo.

Once in the door, if they have a casual dress code, then im fine to wear either smart or casual.

Exactly!

Honestly, I don't understand you guy's aversions to suits. Yes, really nice ones are expensive, but some decent ones will run you no more than two to three bills.

It's an interview. Even if you're interviewing at McDonald's for a minimum wage position, you have to wear a suit. If for nothing else, it shows that you mean business.

Yes, I did work at a business casual environment at a financial firm. Very relaxed environment. If someone was wearing a suit, we knew he was interviewing, but we were very respectful to them because we understood that they're already nervous. However...there was one time where there were massive layoffs. Part of my duties those days were to pack up the PCs and Cisco VOIP phones (they were first generation...everytime I see those phones at an office somewhere I get very nostalgic...). There was one gentleman in a suit and tie that walked in to the chaos. About a couple minutes later, there seemed to have been an odor coming from his direction...............

In any event, bottom line: wear the suit. It always shows you mean business.

networker050184

erpadmin wrote: »

Exactly!

Honestly, I don't understand you guy's aversions to suits. Yes, really nice ones are expensive, but some decent ones will run you no more than two to three bills.

I don't have anything against a suit, but if they specifically tell you to wear business casual then why wear a suit? Seems to show you can't follow simple directions to me.

Its kind of like if I told you to send your resume on plain white paper but you send it on some fancy paper just because YOU think its better.

advanex1

networker050184 wrote: »

I don't have anything against a suit, but if they specifically tell you to wear business casual then why wear a suit? Seems to show you can't follow simple directions to me.

Its kind of like if I told you to send your resume on plain white paper but you send it on some fancy paper just because YOU think its better.

That doesn't seem the case to me. A suit, does not mean a tie necessarily. Business casual to me means, a suit, minus the tie, with my top button undone. That is my business casual.

In regards to directions, it says they are not required... it does not say DO NOT wear them.

VAHokie56

I like wearing a nice fitting suite makes me feel sharp and professional and hopefully that comes through in my interview. Look good feel good I always say, so if they say business casual and you feel you are at your best in slacks and a button then I would go with that.

erpadmin

networker050184 wrote: »

I don't have anything against a suit, but if they specifically tell you to wear business casual then why wear a suit? Seems to show you can't follow simple directions to me.

Its kind of like if I told you to send your resume on plain white paper but you send it on some fancy paper just because YOU think its better.

That's not the case here...

"Suits and ties are not required" does not explicitly mean "do not wear a suit and tie."

I'm sorry, but my opinion on this matter isn't the issue. The fact is that a suit is your first impression to a prospective employer. How well you wear a suit projects how well you can physically present yourself. You can have all the CCIE knowledge in the world; but ultimately, you have about 5-15 seconds to make a good, lasting good impression....that is, unfortunately, more important to some people who are doing the hiring than someone with high technical knowledge. Wearing a suit will never hurt your chances at a job (provided of course, it's not 3 sizes too big...lmao)

Neither will using bonded paper [the "fancy" paper] on a resume. Though if you don't have explicit instructions to not use bonded paper, it's a good idea to do it.

networker050184

erpadmin wrote: »

That's not the case here...

"Suits and ties are not required" does not explicitly mean "do not wear a suit and tie."

I'm sorry, but my opinion on this matter isn't the issue. The fact is that a suit is your first impression to a prospective employer. How well you wear a suit projects how well you can physically present yourself. You can have all the CCIE knowledge in the world; but ultimately, you have about 5-15 seconds to make a good, lasting good impression....that is, unfortunately, more important to some people who are doing the hiring than someone with high technical knowledge. Wearing a suit will never hurt your chances at a job (provided of course, it's not 3 sizes too big...lmao)

Neither will using bonded paper [the "fancy" paper] on a resume. Though if you don't have explicit instructions to not use bonded paper, it's a good idea to do it.

I agree with everything you are saying, and I always wear a suit myself. The thing is if they tell me business casual, or even suggest it like above, thats what I wear. If I was the hiring manager and sent this to a potential employee and they wore a suit it would be more of a negative than a positive to me.

okplaya

networker050184 wrote: »

I agree with everything you are saying, and I always wear a suit myself. The thing is if they tell me business casual, or even suggest it like above, thats what I wear. If I was the hiring manager and sent this to a potential employee and they wore a suit it would be more of a negative than a positive to me.

I think you and I share the same sentiments on this subject.

For the record, I've always worn suits myself and all of the places have had a business casual dress code while this place is just casual. Also, none of the places have ever stated that business casual would be "appropriate" either, and that suits are "not required". This is a first for me which is why I decided to post just to get some thoughts.

One one hand I'm showing I am about business with a suit, and on the other I am researching the company culture and following recommendations with business casual. That's the way I see it with this particular position. I've never seen the dress code as specific as business casual. It's usually "dress professional" which is very broad.

sieff

i'd wear a suit. if you're over dressed just lose the jacket and tie. but definitely bring a suit and scale down to just slacks and shirt if you're over dressed. i do this all the time. especially when i go to a presales meeting and i'm over dressed than my boss or an account manager at the meeting. another cool look is slacks, polo shirt and a blazer.

erpadmin

networker050184 wrote: »

I agree with everything you are saying, and I always wear a suit myself. The thing is if they tell me business casual, or even suggest it like above, thats what I wear. If I was the hiring manager and sent this to a potential employee and they wore a suit it would be more of a negative than a positive to me.

At the very least, I'd hope it would be a minor negative and you'd still want to hear this person out. Remember, interviewees are generally nervous.

Listen, I'm not trying to sound confrontational. Mostly when people posts these suit threads, they're looking for permission to wear business casual, and then spend so much time worrying about what to wear than how to prepare on an interview.

Another thing to keep in mind too is that a hiring manager might consider an interviewee wearing business casual to be a bit presumptuous. Wearing a suit is pretty much a "better to be safe than sorry" deal. You can never go wrong wearing one. BUT you can go wrong not wearing one....even if they say it's optional.

networker050184

erpadmin wrote: »

You can never go wrong wearing one. BUT you can go wrong not wearing one....even if they say it's optional.

Guess thats where our opinions differ. I think you CAN go wrong wearing a suit in certain circumstances.

But no worries about the confrontation. I'm sure the reason the OP posted this was to get this kind of input.

Pratt2

Interview = Wear a suit and a tie regardless of the office dress. A couple years ago I wore a suit to an interview at a casual dress office, got the job, and was told afterwards that my professional attire had been a plus (I was the only candidate to wear a suit to the interview). You only have one chance to make a first impression.

Akaricloud

To me the fact that it states "business casual is appropriate" infers that anything else is likely not appropriate.

I have a nice suit and I love reasons to wear it but I wouldn't in this case. I went down that path once and ended up being interviewed by 8 people, all jeans and a T-shirt casually dressed. They were worried that I wasn't casual enough to fit into their company and I didn't get the job. There's a balance between looking like you fit in with the company culture and looking professional that a suit won't always achieve.

Follow instructions and don't over dress. They didn't tell you how to dress just to be ignored.

vCole

This is a topic that comes up often. I honestly have never worn a suit to an interview nor do I own one. I've never wore a suit in my life!

But to answer your question - Go with your gut. If you think you'll feel more comfortable in a suit, do that.

networker050184

Akaricloud wrote: »

To me the fact that it states "business casual is appropriate" infers that anything else is likely not appropriate.

I have a nice suit and I love reasons to wear it but I wouldn't in this case. I went down that path once and ended up being interviewed by 8 people, all jeans and a T-shirt casually dressed. They were worried that I wasn't casual enough to fit into their company and I didn't get the job.

Follow instructions and don't over dress. They didn't tell you how to dress just to be ignored.

Well said. My thoughts exactly.

okplaya

erpadmin wrote: »

Mostly when people posts these suit threads, they're looking for permission to wear business casual, and then spend so much time worrying about what to wear than how to prepare on an interview.

By no means am I looking for permission as that is pretty silly. I realize that the company culture for this particular place is different than 95% of organizations (i.e rare). I actually prefer to wear a suit. It's easy and simple. I have 5 suits.

It's interesting that they've gone out of their way to give suggestions on what to wear so that struck me as something to consider. Conventional wisdom (while not always the best) says to wear the suit so I completely understand the point of view from you guys. Thanks everyone for their input.

okplaya

sieff wrote: »

i'd wear a suit. if you're over dressed just lose the jacket and tie. but definitely bring a suit and scale down to just slacks and shirt if you're over dressed. i do this all the time. especially when i go to a presales meeting and i'm over dressed than my boss or an account manager at the meeting. another cool look is slacks, polo shirt and a blazer.

Out of curiosity, how do you do this exactly? If you walk in with a suit, and the interviewer comes to get you to take you to the interview room do you take it off then? Seems like bit of a risky move. Almost like you're getting too comfortable too early.

erpadmin

okplaya wrote: »

By no means am I looking for permission as that is pretty silly. I realize that the company culture for this particular place is different than 95% of organizations (i.e rare). I actually prefer to wear a suit. It's easy and simple. I have 5 suits.

I use facetiousness to drive home a point. I won't always do it with an emoticon.

Every job I ever cared about I had worn a suit. Conventional wisdom (on this issue) has worked out well for me and others. Suits just make you stand out, especially if worn well.

Best of luck to you with whatever you decide to do and hope you nail your interview.

TLeTourneau

Maybe it's a business segment thing? I've been in healthcare IT for many years and it is standard to wear a suite for the interview even if the position allows business casual. I know of prospective employees that have worn business casual to interviews and it was brought up in interview reviews and not in a good way. My current employer is business formal so I didn't have to wonder about it at all.

For the OP, if you're wearing slacks, a button up shirt and a tie the only thing missing is the coat, I'd say wear the coat.

cyberguypr

I love when this topic comes up. Let me go make some popcorn

Since I can't read minds "Our dress code is casual and the work environment informal. For your interview, business casual is appropriate. Suits and ties are not required" can mean one of many things such as "we don't care about suits, up to you" or "suit? ha! you don't belong here". If that quote is verbatim, I wouldn't take it as "suit strictly prohibited". I would give it some thought but more likely than not would still decide for the suit. Thinking about it, maybe asking if they prefer candidates not wear suits would be a good question that could clear their point of view. I've never heard of anyone receiving negative feedback because they showed up wearing a suit. If anyone has such a story please share it.

As TLeTourneau mentioned, healthcare is a more strict (for the lack of a better word) environment and tends to be more on the suit side. I worked for a healthcare company and interviewed dozens of candidate. I immediately deducted points for not showing up with a suit. One guy even showed up in a polo and khakis. That may be acceptable in some circles but if you do your homework you'll find out that some industries (financial, legal) have specific expectations. I don't expect anyone to wear Zegna or Prada, just something that looks professional which any $200 Sears or JC Penney suit can do.

Mishra

networker050184 wrote: »

Guess thats where our opinions differ. I think you CAN go wrong wearing a suit in certain circumstances.

But no worries about the confrontation. I'm sure the reason the OP posted this was to get this kind of input.

Agreed. But those times are very rare.

In this case, it sounds like some silly "Let's see if they follow directions" test. I would just call and ask if you wore a suit, if that would be a problem. It would solve all doubt.

Zartanasaurus

Seems like we just had a thread like this a few months ago. I don't get what's so hard to understand. They are specifically telling you what their environment is like. They are specifically telling you a suit and tie is not required. Why would they bother doing this if they wanted you to wear a suit?

Interviews aren't about being the best technical candidate, they are about meeting their technical requirements and being someone that everyone thinks will fit in to their culture. You are basically snubbing their culture if you come in with a suit and tie.

Zartanasaurus

advanex1 wrote: »

That doesn't seem the case to me. A suit, does not mean a tie necessarily. Business casual to me means, a suit, minus the tie, with my top button undone. That is my business casual.

I mentioned this in the other thread as well. Business casual is region specific. In some regions it means no tie. In other regions it means nice dress shirt or polo and slacks.

In regards to directions, it says they are not required... it does not say DO NOT wear them.

If they wanted you to wear a suit, why would they bother telling you it's not required? They wouldn't say a thing because suits are assumed. They are telling you it's not required for a reason.

Based on this thread and the last thread, if I'm ever in charge of hiring I'm going to add verbage like this on the advertisement to see how well people follow directions and how easily they step outside of their comfort zone. People who say always say wear a suit even if they say don't worry about it seem like they have trouble with the latter.

Akaricloud wrote: »

I have a nice suit and I love reasons to wear it but I wouldn't in this case. I went down that path once and ended up being interviewed by 8 people, all jeans and a T-shirt casually dressed. They were worried that I wasn't casual enough to fit into their company and I didn't get the job. There's a balance between looking like you fit in with the company culture and looking professional that a suit won't always achieve.

Follow instructions and don't over dress. They didn't tell you how to dress just to be ignored.

Bingo. There are going to be other interviewees that are have a similar level of technical ability as you. They make their choice based on who they like best. Who they think would fit in with the team. If the CEO is coming in with jeans and a t-shirt and encourages that kind of environment, you are going to stick out in a sore thumb in a suit just as much as if you wear jeans and a t-shirt to an interview with a big professional company.

Absent any other instructions or inside information, you wear a suit. In this case, they are giving you additional info. Follow their advice.

erpadmin

Zartanasaurus wrote: »

Based on this thread and the last thread, if I'm ever in charge of hiring I'm going to add verbage like this on the advertisement to see how well people follow directions and how easily they step outside of their comfort zone. People who say always say wear a suit even if they say don't worry about it seem like they have trouble with the latter.

LMAO......for real, you make me laugh.

It has nothing to do with being outside of my comfort zone; or not wanting to follow simple directions; it's about doing what I have always done the past 14 years (going on 15 now....)

Believe me...there is no job on the planet that's a "dream job..." (a job I would kill for, or perform hari-kari if I don't get the job) Contrary to what you may think, the interview is a TWO-WAY street....if a company (or a hiring manager like you) is really going to go bonkers over my or anyone else's decision to wear a suit, it's not like I am not going to get hired elsewhere.

Has it ever occured to you that maybe companies write that stuff PRECISELY because there are some people that will wear a rumpled-old suit to an interview, or wears another that's either too tight, or too big? That maybe these companies want to lull you into a false sense of security thinking it's ok to wear that vendor-swag polo shirt you got in the mail the other day?

If you're gonna presume that those in favor of suits are folks who lack the ability to follow instructions, I can presume this. Either one of us could easily be right.

networker050184

erpadmin wrote: »

It has nothing to do with being outside of my comfort zone; or not wanting to follow simple directions; it's about doing what I have always done the past 14 years (going on 15 now....)

Doing what you've done for the past 15 years, regardless of the communication from the employer, sounds like you are staying nice and cozy in that comfort zone to me. Seems you are comfortable in a suit, nothing wrong with that.

Zartanasaurus wrote: »

Absent any other instructions or inside information, you wear a suit. In this case, they are giving you additional info. Follow their advice.

I think thats the biggest thing here the "always suit up" crowd is missing. They are advising you to dress casual. It probably fits in better with their culture. They are helping you oout here with that bit of advice. Take it!

Bl8ckr0uter

I feel like a bum. I don't even own a suit. I always wear a nice tie and slacks (sometimes I pull out my blazer but not often). I have never had an employer mention it.

My current employer is a business casual shop but I do want to move to wearing slacks (not old navy style, like real, adult style) and a shirt and tie everyday.

erpadmin

networker050184 wrote: »

Doing what you've done for the past 15 years, regardless of the communication from the employer, sounds like you are staying nice and cozy in that comfort zone to me. Seems you are comfortable in a suit, nothing wrong with that.

Touche....I do need to rephrase.
It has nothing to do with being outside of my comfort zone; or not wanting to follow simple directions; it's about heeding conventional wisdom about proper interview attire, which has worked for me the past 14 years, going on 15. Being comfortable has nothing to do with it (though when I wear a suit, I'm very comfy...

)

If conventional wisdom changes and says business casual is ok, then I'll adapt. So far, in the interviews I've sat in for as a technical lead, that's just not the case.

Also, I am not of the opinion (and the rest of the " 'always suit up' crowd") that the company is advising one to go business casual. That could very well be a "test" in-and-of-itself. Which is why a suit is ALWAYS safe.

Man, I do love these threads.....they bring a smile to my face. We should have a basketball game.....polos vs. suits! (My money will be on the latter.)

vCole

Bl8ckr0uter wrote: »

I feel like a bum. I don't even own a suit. I always wear a nice tie and slacks (sometimes I pull out my blazer but not often). I have never had an employer mention it.

My current employer is a business casual shop but I do want to move to wearing slacks (not old navy style, like real, adult style) and a shirt and tie everyday.

Don't feel like too much of a bum, I don't have a suit either. I don't even have a blazer. I have one black tie and a few nice pairs of slacks and shirts.