Ask HN: What clothing do you wear to a tech interview? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: What clothing do you wear to a tech interview?

11 pointsa3voices28 comments

I used to think it was a suit and tie, but apparently that's frowned upon now? If so what should I wear? I also don't want to wear something too casual, so I'm confused.

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These days people may not often dress in suits or even business casual but I would think that you would want to make a good impression when you first meet someone, I've always been taught it's better to be over dressed than under dressed, and as tptacek said if a company rejects you because you choose to err on the side of caution then you've probably dodged a bullet.

I always thought that wearing a suit or at least a coat and tie with oxford + slacks and dress shoes and belt was a standard. It says I am serious about interviewing even if the interviewers will be wearing a hawaiian t-shirt and flipflops. Unless told by the interviewers before hand that they prefer to have casual dress for interviewers.

If you can't get a sense of someone's culture fit from talking to them how is looking at what they wear going to help in an interview? [Sure you can see if they come in wearing jnco's or look to see if the indie music/game/movie shirt is "cool" enough.] The only thing I think is reasonable to assume from clothing is how interested they initially are in working for the company.

Maybe someone with a lot of startup experience can enlighten me.

Wear a suit, tell them you came from another interview if it's the afternoon, or you have another interview later that day.

Then if they say you can take off the jacket, tell them you're holding in the pit stains. I always like to get the interviewers laughing.

The rule is "1 level up" from what you would guess to be the dress code. So where I work the dress code for engineers is jeans (or shorts) and a t-shirt. 1 level up would be a shirt (polo or button up) and pants.

For interviews I usually like to clothe myself "casual chic". I don't wear a suit ever. I like to wear clothing that I intend to use daily on the job. Clothing that fits comfortably and still have a professional look.

Something like this (without the tie) is what I would wear: http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/14/7f/10/147f1019bf4b...

You could find inspiration on Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/sandybeyer/casual-chic-man-outfits/

Alternatively, the "Put This On" weblog often has nice tips on how to clothe like a man: http://putthison.com

I agree with this. But only if you can pull it off. As in, you've worn that style before and can confidently rock it. There's nothing more unappealing than somebody wearing clothes that he clearly pulled from /r/mensfashion without having the slightest clue of self-awareness.

In short -- just dress in something that makes you look professional and attractive.

Yeah, it seems like a suit would make you stick out like a sore thumb at most startups (ie, not a "culture fit"). Unless it's a fashion startup, in which case go for the suit, as long as it's well tailored. And maybe also for a big company that's not tech-oriented.

For most startup interviews I'd think you should go with the startup uniform: slacks, button up shirt with no tie, and dress shoes.

Edit: my apologies for only answering for men. No idea what a woman should wear to a job interview.

It's almost worth wearing a suit just as a sanity check; if that's the reason you get rejected, you didn't want to work there anyways.

Interesting. Is there a reason beyond the obvious (that it shouldn't matter what you wear, at least above a certain threshold)?

Good new for me. I love wearing a suit.

Yes, there is! The fallacious belief in a company "culture" that is signified by what candidates wear isn't benign, but it isn't the worst implication of "culture fit". Intolerance of normal work/life balance, of different mentalities about software development, of comfort levels with intoxication, of different management styles, or just of meaningful diversity --- those "culture fit" pathologies are much worse. And if the company you're thinking about working for filters based on candidates wearing suits, it's more likely than not that some of the more malignant pathologies are also there.

As a woman working in startups, this is another reason why I always wear a suit to job interviews. I don't care about having to dodge nerf footballs or beer funnel-whatsits or whatever while I'm coding, but if you're only looking for people who fit into your "culture," down to lifestyle, hobbies, and dress it's probably not going to work out.

shakes cane

I'm being a little glib, but I think it's always best to stick with your guns, especially in a job-seeker's market :)

Would you say there are any dimensions on which it's important to enforce uniformity through hiring? If so, which ones?

I agree with the slacks + button up for men unless you're going for a senior management position, then go suit.

FWIW, when I interviewed at Intel and wore a suit, the security guard commented when I walked in that I was overdressed.

I took off my jacket but I was still in a tie at a job interview at a place that hit hot on all start-up stereotypes. (Simple example: someone blasted the theme to Indiana Jones over the speaker system during my code-pairing session.)

I 100% stuck out as a sore thumb, but that was okay. I considered the three cases:

1. I should dress up and they will ding me if I don't

2. they don't care

3. I should not dress up and they will ding me if I do

I'd be right in 2 out of 3 cases. And in the third: well, flushing people for doing what is expected of them by a large fraction of the community is crazy, so it's good to find out.

(No, I didn't get the position.)

You do realize that odds would be exactly the same if you do the opposite? :)

Only if you assume that that three point list is evenly weighted. In my experience in 2014 it isn't. The number of companies which expect men in particular to wear a suit and tie to a job interview far exceeds those that do not.

A lot of companies dress smart casual but most also won't think of someone negatively if they "over-dress" for an interview (since, frankly, we all know that's the game that is played).

Just ask. The interviewer will probably be happy to tell you the dress code. I do.

I'm not a developer but I'm an IT/Technical Project Manager. I typically wear business casual.

I interviewed at one place where the owner was in flip flops. So I felt dress up in slacks and a polo shirt.

I interviewed at a very big financial institution so I wore a suit and I had one of my interviewers tell me, twice, that they DO NOT wear suit and ties to work.

Completely depends on the company. Don't go jeans and t-shirt, but for most startup/tech companies suit and tie is too far the other direction.

Long-sleeve button-down and slacks probably works in most cases, but again for startups/tech companies you probably want them to be more cool than corporate. No pleated khakis or high-starch polyester shirts.

It shouldn't really matter that much since the whole reason developers don't dress up to work is because it's not the dress that matters, it's the work. In reality it matters anyway, at least at many companies. Try to find photos of their team at work on their website, dress a bit nicer than that.

Nice shirt, nice pants, nice shoes. Not too fancy, but don't come in looking like a slob. I'd avoid t-shirts. Suit and Tie is usually what sales guys wear because they are the "front of the house".

I just interviewed a few days ago and was agonizing over the same thing. The place I interviewed at had a casual dress code - jeans, t shirts, shorts etc. It's a software company, not a company that has in house software.

I didn't want to over or under dress so I wore dockers, dress belt, dress shirt tucked in and a tie. I think the best idea is to hit business casual - not full suit but not casual.

The founder was wearing shorts and a t-shirt. He didn't say I was over dressed and I got the job. I would have been really uncomfortable in a suit.

Depneds on the company - best to do some research. Are there any clues from photos on the company website/at events? If you know someone (who knows someone etc) who works there, ask what the informal dress code is, but probably go a little smarter.

I used to wear navy blue sports jacket, blue trousers, white/light blue shirt and tie for tech interviews. But recently I stopped wearing tie for interview. A navy blue sports jacket if cooler weather else just a blue shirt and khaki trousers.

White or light-colored ironed professional looking shirt, jeans and black shoes.

my last interview was 2 days.

Day 1: Tan Dockers, nice shoes, a low-key long sleeve button up Tommy Bahama shirt I got on clearance, a belt. The Dockers were on sale too. I already owned the shoes and belt.

Day 2: Black Dockers, same shoes as day 1, a long sleeve blue patterned shirt that was also on clearance, same belt as day 1.

I had to bring stuff to the interview. I carried in my orange Marmot backpack.

I wear what I wore to work that day.

Whatever I have on. But I'm a senior level developer with 20+ yrs experience.

nice jeans + button-down shirt + sweater + decent shoes

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