Suit to interview or not?

I'm interviewing for a network engineer position on Tuesday and am in 2 minds if I should wear a suit and tie or not.

Usually I would wear one, but looking at pictures of the workplace on Glassdoor it seems a bit more relaxed than my current outfit, with all visible pictures showing staff in jeans and T-shirt

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stryder144

You could split the difference and go with a button-down shirt (ironed), dress pants, belt, and matching shoes.

LeBroke

stryder144 wrote: »

You could split the difference and go with a button-down shirt (ironed), dress pants, belt, and matching shoes.

Please don't.

Unless you're in great shape, this never looks anything but horrible and "I want to look business without putting in the effort." ESPECIALLY if you wear a tie but no sport coat/jacket.

Honestly, here's how you should generally break it down:

Is it a?

1. Hip young startup? Doesn't matter. You could wear socks and sandals for all anyone cares. But generally try to go for at least jeans + a polo or casual dress shirt.

2. Stuffy bank? Suit and tie.

3. Something inbetween? Can't really go wrong with suit + dress shirt with an undone button. Casual enough that you don't seem stuffy, but formal enough that no-one can really complain. If the place is more on the casual side, jeans and a blazer instead.

Granted, this is West Coast sensibilities. Things can be very different in NYC or Boston.

scaredoftests

Wear a suit.

alias454

Email the HR rep and ask about the expectations. For my last interview, the info was right in the email and said no coat or tie was required. I had another interview a few months ago where I wore a tie and button up collared shirt, which was fine. I don't think it is a bad idea to wear a suit as you can always remove the tie and jacket if you find yourself way overdressed.

TechGuru80

stryder144 wrote: »

You could split the difference and go with a button-down shirt (ironed), dress pants, belt, and matching shoes.

If the company says they are business casual or appears to be very casual in pictures, this is fine. This also makes the statement that you don’t want to be in a tie everyday.

Generally you want to be dressed a step up from the normal for the company. If they are casual, do the above or better...if business casual at least do above.

Saying don’t be business casual is such a joke. This type of attire is the baseline for most companies today (some more relaxed, some more strict). Now if you are interviewing for a manager position (maybe lead) or higher, I probably would go with at least a suit and maybe a tie if it’s a strict environment (or large company).

packetphilter

Purple Nike Track Suit with Air Jordans.

EANx

My rule is to aim for 1-2 levels higher than the people wear to work every day but never more than two levels. If I didn't have a clue, I'd wear a button-down shirt, tie and sport-coat and adjust as necessary the day of the interview.

LeBroke

packetphilter wrote: »

Purple Nike Track Suit with Air Jordans.

Make that Adidas and it's an instahire with any Eastern Europeans.

tedjames

I've always just asked them how I should dress. Works every time!

NetworkNewb

EANx wrote: »

My rule is to aim for 1-2 levels higher than the people wear to work every day but never more than two levels.

Exactly, if I see people in suits. I'm breaking out the tux and bowtie!

dontstop

I used to be in the camp of "If you have the skills you don't need to dress for it" but in reality I've realized it's a sign of respect and no one has ever lost a job because of over dressing.

the_Grinch

Unless explicitly stated, suit. This really should never be a question because when you are getting a ton of applicants something small like "the guy who dressed down" could be the difference.

Welly_59

I think I'll go with my suit on and if I'm feeling a bit out of place once I arrive and have a chance to scout people going in/out I will leave the jacket in the car

JoJoCal19

LeBroke wrote: »

Please don't.

Unless you're in great shape, this never looks anything but horrible and "I want to look business without putting in the effort." ESPECIALLY if you wear a tie but no sport coat/jacket.

Not sure how our neighbors north of the border dress for work, but button up shirt, dress pants, and matching color belt and shoes is pretty standard office dress down here lol.

I just had an interview Friday and went in rockin the suit and everyone was wearing jeans and tshirts, including the manager and director I met with. Felt a little out of place but still felt like they appreciated the effort. The only thing I have to say with suits, is get a nice fitted suit. Suits that don't fit well, too large, etc, don't look particularly great.

H-bomb

Wear a suit.

Paulieb81

I vote suit, but make sure that it fits you. Nothing looks worse than a suit that fit you 5 or 10 years ago but now is too loose or too tight. A suit should always fit properly or it looks sloppy.

You really can't go wrong with a suit, if the place you are looking at working has any respect a suit will be well received. If you walk in and they looked down on you for wearing a suit then think to yourself, do you really want to work at a place like that?

I tell you this coming from a VP of IT position, I interview candidates for desktop support / system admin positions for our company. They all wear suits, if they don't then I will tell you this, I look down on them. If you are applying to any professional level company, most people expect to see a suit. To give perspective of how our typical dress during the week at work is business casual which constitutes anywhere from cotton dress pants and polo to button down pressed shirt and wool slacks.

Ertaz

Just call me “Ranch.” Because when it comes to interviews, I be dressing....

gkca

LeBroke wrote: »

Make that Adidas and it's an instahire with any Eastern Europeans.

Munching on some sunflower seeds, spitting and smoking on top of that would instantly make you a VP level candidate lol

AlwaysStudying

Absolutely - Chap came for an interview today - No jacket, already negative impression, before starting...Even if you don't respect the place you are applying to work at, at least pretend you do!!!!!

logisticalstyles

Paulieb81 wrote: »

If you walk in and they looked down on you for wearing a suit then think to yourself, do you really want to work at a place like that?

Yes, I would! One of my favorite perks from my last employer was the lack of a dress code. If I wore anything fancier than jeans and a nice Polo then people would start to wonder if I was job hunting.

Legacy User

Wear a suit, some managers feel you are more serious about the job when showing up in a suit. For example at my current place we get so casual at time thats we have polo shirts with jeans on with sneakers. But when a candidate comes in with a suit on the managers get excited he's a smart guy and came in sharp with a suit on. So they definitely do notice.

Paulieb81

logisticalstyles wrote: »

Yes, I would! One of my favorite perks from my last employer was the lack of a dress code. If I wore anything fancier than jeans and a nice Polo then people would start to wonder if I was job hunting.

I can understand this particular situation where you had a really relaxed environment and those places are probably growing in number over the last 10 years. I know the company I work for is trying to better understand the newer millennial generation as they are becoming a larger force in the overall workforce and trying to figure out what they look forward to in a workplace. However, it stands that most major companies and institutions such as colleges and government will want to see you dressed up in a suit in an interview. Smaller "new tech" type start ups are really relaxed with dress but they are not the society "norm" yet. Don't get me wrong, I'm not putting them down, I'd love to show up in jeans and a tee shirt everyday, but understand that is the exception not the rule.

techie2018

Take this advice for what's it worth. My last several jobs have all been six figures jobs so you can decide if you want to follow this advice or not.

1) Try to find out the expectations. If it's a perm position contact HR, if it's a contract position ask the recruiting agency
2) In the unlikely case you can't verify wear a suit. Personally I'd also rather be overdressed than underdressed
3) As someone else said assuming you are decent shape you could split the difference and go with a button-down shirt (ironed), dress pants, belt, and matching shoes. But if you are badly out of shape this probably isn't the way to go, lol.
4) Don't ever wear jeans/shorts and tennis shoes/flip flops to an interview unless you were specifically told to...otherwise you may give off the impression you aren't all that serious or couldn't be bothered to make an effort for the interview so why would I hire you?

For me I've done number 2 most of the time and number 3 a few times. I've never done number 4 and advise others against it as well. You don't want to give off an unprofessional vibe.

Paulieb81

techie2018 wrote: »

Take this advice for what's it worth. My last several jobs have all been six figures jobs so you can decide if you want to follow this advice or not.

1) Try to find out the expectations. If it's a perm position contact HR, if it's a contract position ask the recruiting agency
2) In the unlikely case you can't verify wear a suit. Personally I'd also rather be overdressed than underdressed
3) As someone else said assuming you are decent shape you could split the difference and go with a button-down shirt (ironed), dress pants, belt, and matching shoes. But if you are badly out of shape this probably isn't the way to go, lol.
4) Don't ever wear jeans/shorts and tennis shoes/flip flops to an interview unless you were specifically told to...otherwise you may give off the impression you aren't all that serious or couldn't be bothered to make an effort for the interview so why would I hire you?

For me I've done number 2 most of the time and number 3 a few times. I've never done number 4 and advise others against it as well. You don't want to give off an unprofessional vibe.

Well put.

RoyalRaven

Your competition may always be Barney Stinson. Suit up!

NOC-Ninja

Ive wear suits on all my interview. 2 interviews!!!!
On my 3rd interview, I got pissed and stopped caring about suits! renting is not cheap! Guess what? I got hired on the interview that I was not wearing a suit!

networker050184

I haven't put on a suit for an interview in over 10 years. It's pretty outdated in the tech industry outside of sales. Some industries I'm sure it's still relevant, but if you showed up in a suit to my company you probably wouldn't fit in too well.

cknapp78

Standard for me is button down shirt, slacks, matching shoes and a sport coat. Almost no one wears full suit anymore. Although I have seen it and dressed appropriately when I had to. Current example...just got a new position in Raleigh. Asked the HR guy when i was interviewing what the dress code was. He said everyday attire is jeans and either polo or button down shirt. If clients are in the office or you visit a client, wear slacks. Wore my standard for the interview and got the job.

Of course, after I get the job, I am a little surprised about how things are in the office. I'm only 40 but god I feel old having working remotely for the past 8 years. Everyone in my age bracket dresses the same, jeans and a presentable shirt. Everyone from 21-35 wears whatever is clean that day. And the coders in the that age bracket just seem lucky to get dressed at all.

Not to mention all the "frills" in the office. Nap rooms, participating trophies for a "good job" every two weeks. Happy hour ever Wednesday in the office at 3 PM. Hell there were two kegs and the fridge was fully stocked with beer, wine, etc... A gaming room with every console imaginable. Also got asked if I wanted neon yellow, blue, or green theme for my cube. All I can say is thank god I am only in the office 2 days a week.

When did offices start catering to this stuff? Not blaming millenials but damn...

My 2 cents.

scaredoftests

But for an interview, dressing well is not irrelevant!

Nyblizzard

Suit.... why is this a question?