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If your suit is uncomfortable, that means it's badly tailored. An ill-fitting suit looks worse than no suit at all. It makes you look like a bouncer or a limo driver. Spend the extra 500 bucks and get it done right.
That said, and I grant that the basic expectation in the past is that people look nice for interviews, expecting IT guys to look all "business attire" is hopeless. It's not the industry standard. They're going to be coding with pizza crumbs all over them, or crawling under desks in kakis and golf shirts.
$500 bucks? WHAT? I have never spent more than $100 for a suit! If it doesn't fit right I go pay a few dollars to get it made to fit.
Honestly I have bought beautiful interview clothes for jobs and have been told that I dress very professionally. Though I don't tell them at my work that I buy 90% of my clothes at thrift stores lol. Bottom line you don't have to spend a fortune to dress nicely. They are great thrift stores out there.
$500 bucks? WHAT? I have never spent more than $100 for a suit! If it doesn't fit right I go pay a few dollars to get it made to fit.
Honestly I have bought beautiful interview clothes for jobs and have been told that I dress very professionally. Though I don't tell them at my work that I buy 90% of my clothes at thrift stores lol. Bottom line you don't have to spend a fortune to dress nicely. They are great thrift stores out there.
Yeah I hope he meant $50 for tailoring, because I expect more than that for $500. For white collar sales our suits are $200, but most don't even wear suits on appts. biz casual unless a law firm. Prospective customers get their guard up when you show up in a full suit expecting some hard core closing appt.
I remember interviewing someone and they came in wearing a hoodie and jeans. I rejected him outright.
On the flipside, for my current job I had a bunch of phone interviews (I didn't meet my boss face to face for 3 weeks after starting). And I ended up having a coffee meeting/interview with one of the other people. I had no idea what to wear! I ended up dressing business casual (cardigan, slacks, nice tee shirt).
That apparently was a fail! I obviously got the job, but I got some minor feedback about being casual. The hilarious thing is that my then boss, is always Mr. Under-dressed. If I would have interviewed with him, I would have seemed dressed up. I ended up interviewing with one of the only people who is always wearing a suit in the entire company!
Anyway, lesson learned, I'll dress up all the way up no matter how casual the interview situation seems.
I've gotten the opposite feedback, being too dressed up:
I wore a navy made to measure wool 3 piece suit with functional buttonholes, silk tie, Egyptian cotton white shirt, white pocket square, silver lapel pin, silver cufflinks encrusted with rubies, an anodized aluminum pen, silk suspenders, and a wind-up watch with a chrome hidden flash drive. I'm only 23 so maybe they expected me to come in with a basic sack suit with no accessories or something.
I remember interviewing someone and they came in wearing a hoodie and jeans. I rejected him outright.
On the flipside, for my current job I had a bunch of phone interviews (I didn't meet my boss face to face for 3 weeks after starting). And I ended up having a coffee meeting/interview with one of the other people. I had no idea what to wear! I ended up dressing business casual (cardigan, slacks, nice tee shirt).
That apparently was a fail! I obviously got the job, but I got some minor feedback about being casual. The hilarious thing is that my then boss, is always Mr. Under-dressed. If I would have interviewed with him, I would have seemed dressed up. I ended up interviewing with one of the only people who is always wearing a suit in the entire company!
Anyway, lesson learned, I'll dress up all the way up no matter how casual the interview situation seems.
the general rule of thumb is to dress one step up from how you expect you will be dressing at the job. so you really should wear a suit to an interview in a business casual environment. i guess you don't have to wear a tux or an evening gown to a place where they wear suits all the time though! i default to a suit (it's one i cobbled together with a black jacket and skirt i bought separately) for almost every interview. the only exception was a job at a super-hip artsy craftsy company where i wore a vintage dress and a cardigan and let my tattoos show.
also mighty pelican, it sounds like you were dressed like mr moneybags from monopoly or something!
the general rule of thumb is to dress one step up from how you expect you will be dressing at the job. so you really should wear a suit to an interview in a business casual environment. i guess you don't have to wear a tux or an evening gown to a place where they wear suits all the time though! i default to a suit (it's one i cobbled together with a black jacket and skirt i bought separately) for almost every interview. the only exception was a job at a super-hip artsy craftsy company where i wore a vintage dress and a cardigan and let my tattoos show.
Interviews in "Silicon Valley" can be tricky indeed. Especially the faux-interviews that do not take place in an office. It is always a mixed bag. You can be on an "interview" at happy hour!
I get your post, OP, but I do find it obnoxious that jobs paying $8-12 an hour are requiring applicants and workers to dress in suits. At that rate your whole salary practically goes to your clothes. Low paying jobs should allow jeans and polos.
I get your post, OP, but I do find it obnoxious that jobs paying $8-12 an hour are requiring applicants and workers to dress in suits. At that rate your whole salary practically goes to your clothes. Low paying jobs should allow jeans and polos.
I would never wear jeans even for $8 wear khakis and polo shirt.
I've gotten the opposite feedback, being too dressed up:
I wore a navy made to measure wool 3 piece suit with functional buttonholes, silk tie, Egyptian cotton white shirt, white pocket square, silver lapel pin, silver cufflinks encrusted with rubies, an anodized aluminum pen, silk suspenders, and a wind-up watch with a chrome hidden flash drive. I'm only 23 so maybe they expected me to come in with a basic sack suit with no accessories or something.
Sounds a bit like you're dressing to show off rather than to present professionalism. Probably it's too much.
Generally, suit or jacket and tie, white shirt for first interview, use discretion thereafter. Second interviews at business casual I lose the tie. Even if a tie is appropriate I might add a little more color. To dress down a bit I tend to leave off the tie and keep the jacket rather than the other way around. Entry level should be at least nice pants (no jeans) and a polo at a minimum. Always tuck it in!
I don't think I've ever heard of someone not getting a job because they didn't dress casually enough.t
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