When you interview someone for a job, how important to you is it that they dress at least semi-professionally?

27 comments

1. If you can’t even come to an interview in jeans… Which, IMO, is below the bare minimum… Then good luck on your future endeavours

2. I like to know they care. I’ve never hired someone who didn’t at least attempt to dress professionally.

3. I’d say it accounts for four points out of a possible 10.

   It’s not so much the clothese themselves It’s the appearance of wanting the job and giving a s***. Dressing half decent for an interview tells me you want the job and you’re gonna give a dam if you screw it up. Coming in with an “I don’t give a shit” attitude tells me exactly how you’re gonna handle the job.

   When I’m giving relationship advice I often tell people that first dates are like job interviews but the inverse is completely true. You’re trying to give the person on the other side of the table the best snapshot of you. And if that best snapshot is showing up in basketball shorts and flip flops, I’m going to assume that’s the best you got, whether that’s on a date or at a job interview

   With that said, that assumes you want the job. If the job wants you, it doesn’t matter what you’re f****** wearing. I’m a six if I’m going out on a date, I’m dressing up a little bit. But if Megan Fox is sitting across the table from me she could be wearing a potato sack and is gonna get the job. If I’m a company, and I’m in need of a senior programmer, and the best senior programmer comes in in sweats and a novelty t-shirt, but he’s underbidding his competition by 40,000 a year? I can put up with sweats in a novelty t-shirt for $40,000 a year.

4. I am 31 years old and work in banking for reference. I don’t care if the person I am interviewing is wearing a suit or a nice dress. But they should look like they care about their appearance and dress in nice clean clothes. Anything less just says they don’t actually care about making a good impression. I tend to go against a lot of the old school traditional norms in my business compared to my peers as well. I don’t think this is a big ask

5. 38M, been in IT for the last 13 years. I’ve never shown up to an interview without at least a tie, if not a full suit. Even Zoom interviews during Covid (though being able to rock shorts and birks off-screen is a huge improvement). I also send a thank you note after interviews.

   I thought that was the standard, so doing anything less than that seemed like it would put me at a disadvantage compared to my competition.

   That said, the whole job interview dog-and-pony show is pretty dumb and I do hate it, but I like food and shelter more than I hate interviews, so…

6. My job (all types of railroad work) doesn’t matter at all. Depends on which specific position, obviously. I trust a guy showing up with jeans and a backwards hat more than someone in a dress slacks and a button up. Don’t come with stains and holes everywhere but if you look like you belong, you’re good.

7. Depends for what position and if they can show they’re worthwhile. Then go ahead, take the gamble. If they’re coming in like that and just being “whatever” then ain’t working

8. Jeans and a shirt of any description is pretty typical work attire for office professionals in my country/area, so that would be fine by me. Too underdressed (pajamas) or overdressed (suit) would probably result in me being less likely to recommend hiring.

9. Every job I’ve gotten in the last ten years I got wearing boots and overalls but that’s because I show up ready to work

10. Depends on the job.

    When I worked for a brewery, dudes working on the production line would absolutely interview in jeans, boots, and a t-shirt.

    My friend worked for the parks & rec. district; somebody interviewing for lifeguard duties or to work in the weight room could show up in sweats no problem.

    Now, if it’s an office job, khakis and a polo are probably the minimum.

11. Button up shirt and khakis is the bare minimum. Any more casual than that, and I wouldn’t take the applicant seriously enough to hire them.

    And it’s better to overdress than underdress for a job interview, so really, you should go full suit and tie (I call it “fully armored”), even if the employer’s dress code is casual, unless there’s a specific, context-dependent reason not to.

    Full disclosure: I once went to a job interview dressed ridiculously casual (jeans, t-shirt, sneakers, vintage military coat, and a few days’ worth of facial scruff) and got the job, but it was a special case. I was recommended for the job by an acquaintance who was in a position to put in a good word with the hiring manager. He told me about the job, pulled out his phone, called the hiring manager on the spot, and said something like:

    “Hey, I have a guy I want you to talk to about the job opening. Yeah, I can send him over right now. He’s not dressed for a job interview, though, should I send him home first? Okay, sounds good, I’ll send him over right now.”

    So I went straight there, and got the job.

12. Sweats and ratty t shirts are a no go. At least put on a decent pair of jeans and a nice t-shirt. I work in a quarry, so it would be asanine for me to expect someone to show up in a suit wanting to run a skiddy.

    However they get a pass if they are coming from their other job for not being clean.

    Edit: comment was incomplete

13. Honestly a red flag if the individual is not capable of presenting themselves in a professional manner for an interview…

14. The only jobs where I didn’t wear a suit for an interview were retail jobs. Even then it was still a button down slacks, and shoes. Every other position I’ve always interviewed in a suit, tie, dress shoes….

15. I work in tech AND remotely so when I interview someone I barely even see what they are wearing, much less care.

    But I still have standards. At least jeans and clean shirt, lol.

16. Idk where you’re finding these guys man. I’m 24, I work blue collar jobs, and even for a labour job doing tearouts or something, I’d never go to an interview in anything less professional than slacks and a button up. For a proper trades job, I’d wear a tie, and the one time I interviewed for an office job, I wore a suit

17. I spent some of my last dollars once to buy interview clothes at Walmart. It was a job that paid more than the nothing I was making. Seemed like it was worth an effort.

18. Oddly critical. Show up like this mattered to you.

19. Don’t hire them. That’s how you get a dinosaur park out of control when the dude in shorts and greasy chicken fingers releases all the animals and tried to steal embryos.

20. Interview attire should match the dress code for the job.

    If I’m interviewing you for a mechanic position, you don’t even need to wipe the grease off your hands.

    Gardener / landscaping – grass stains and muddy boots

    Drive through – tee shirt and pants. Try to look clean.

    Engineering and plant design – probably a tie at least.

    My personal man servant – either the bat suit or pink leotards and a tutu. Be prepared for both.

21. Had a guy come into a job fair in sweats and hoodie. Hoodie over his head and drawstrings pulled taught, only exposing a small circle of face.

    Suffice to say he didn’t get the job.

22. If you can’t show up at least business casual, I would have to wonder about your commitment, to ANYTHING

23. It all depends on the type of job you are applying for. As a business owner with mostly laborious jobs, dress is extremely low on my list. The people I hire I want to know they can get down to business and work, that they are loyal, trustworthy, show up on time, keep their word and know how to treat our clients with the utmost respect. If you dress in a 3 piece suit and have a garbage personality what does it profit either of us. Most guys I have hired show up with ripped clothes, might even be without a shower or food due to being homeless. Each and every last one of them make me proud because they can keep their word and they work wonderfully and never complain.

24. If someone walked in to an interview dressed like that I wouldn’t bother. Effort is important and I see no effort there.

25. I’ve interviewed a few people in my life and have always turned down people who didn’t dress the part. If you came in to an interview with me in sweats and a tshirt you are an immediate no. Get it together man.

26. It really depends on the job. Professional office job, you need to dress nice. Retail or restaurant job, doesn’t matter too much. I am a millennial.

27. I can’t even imagine leaving my house on my days off dressed like. Do these people just have no self respect?