Anecdote: My son had a job interview locally, and the next step was getting flown to another state. He bought new clothes for the venture (any excuse), and they were in the bag that…the airline lost.
He went to the interview in jeans and a black t-shirt that said “It sucks to be me” and he got the job. He even got a sign-on bonus! Probably so that he could buy some better clothes to wear to work.
The luggage showed up eventually. Too late for the interview, though.
The moral of this story is, put your toothpaste in your checked baggage but take the interview clothes in your carry-on.
One other thing to consider is that if you’re working in media, your employers may expect you to be able to dress up according to social expectations if necessary. Maybe. The game journalists I know typically dress in t-shirt and jeans. But all the PR and marketing people I know dress “business casual” and are capable of being glossy Beautiful People. Your interviewers might think you’re more likely to get good info out of the pretty PR chickies if you are able to look professional and blend in with that crowd as well as being able to hang out with your typical gamer nerds.
I must defer to Pochacco’s years of experience–however, he works in development, as far as I know, which is quite a different side of the business from the marketing machine. There are different expectations of the interview dress code depending on the duties inherent in your job. If you’re being interviewed by a lead designer for a job where you sit around and level design all day in your cubicle, you’ll probably get away with much more casual attire than if you’re being interviewed by a PR manager or editor-in-chief for a job where you have to go out and talk to people in different companies for a living. They want you to be able to project a professional image so you represent their company in a positive light.
I wouldn’t go below button-down shirt and slacks as far as level of formality goes. And in my opinion, although I’m not necessarily recommending a full-on suit, you *can *still pull off the classic interview suit without coming across as a tool, *as long as you don’t act like a tool. *
I agree. You may never wear a tie there again, but wearing one for the interview shows your serious about the job. If you show up and everyone’s wearing jeans and t-shirts, you can smile and make a comment about feeling overdressed.
Exactly my experience I interviewed in a very nice suit for a job where the dress codeis very casual. I got the job and have worn jeans every day since. Occasionally, one of my co-workers will remark how “I sure had them all fooled with that suit!” I just smile and say “yep!”
I agree. The ad agency I work for now is extremely casual, but for the interview I wore a jacket and tie (and made exactly the same comment that Larry suggests).
And by the way, if the company dress code is extra-casual, be sure that you’re polite to everyone you meet, since you won’t be able to tell who’s the big boss by how he dresses. The first person I met here was a skinny guy in a T-shirt and jeans who I thought was an intern. Turned out he was the president.
My suggestion is nice black pants (pinstriped or not - but if you wear pinstripes wear a solid colored shirt) and a dress shirt that is not white. Nice shoes - the square toed ones for men are pretty stylish and nice looking. If you go for a tie, wear a cool striped one (there are a lot of really neat but not corny ties out there for men now - stripes in fun colors that actually look nice).
Never ever dress down for an interview. No jeans. No matter what the job. It’s kind of disrespectful, IMO.
Just posting to chime in that very few people will ding you for over-dressing for an interview, but many will ding you for under-dressing. Would you rather be the applicant who tried to hard, or the one who didn’t try hard enough?
Just posting to chime in that very few people will ding you for over-dressing for an interview, but many will ding you for under-dressing. Would you rather be the applicant who tried too hard, or the one who didn’t try hard enough?
Wear a suit. Always wear a suit to an interview. If it’s a more creative position, wear a colored shirt and bold pattern tie. Interesting patterns and colors without wearing a joke tie or crazy-ass patterns. You know, something stylish but not ultra conservative.
Unless your Vincent Chase, you can’t get away with wearing a T-shirt and jeans to an interview.
Thanks for all the great replies guys. I didn’t realize there would be so many differing perspectives on this issue. I’ve opted to lean towards a more professional look; a nice dress-up shirt with coat, slacks, leather shoes, slacks, and I’m still deciding on the tie…
Also, as it turns out, this may be a meeting over lunch. The only problem? I’m a slob. Not in the sense that I lack manners, but if there’s something that can be spilled, spread crumbs, or otherwise end up someplace other than my mouth, rest assured it’ll end up on my shirt (okay, so maybe I’m not that bad, but you know what I mean).
Any suggestions as to a “safe meal” that should prevent me from being a walking social faux pas?
But if you wear something like that, tuck in the t-shirt (and pick one that doesn’t show at the neck). It looks sloppy.
I’ll chime in with the ones who say it’s better to overdress than underdress. If you don’t want to wear a suit, at least wear nice slacks, a contrasting blazer, and a button-down shirt with a tie. If you’re going to be in media relations, you’ll need to show them that you can dress for “outsiders.”
How many pairs of slacks do you think you need? :eek:
I’m right there with you, my friend. I think sometimes I should just throw spaghetti sauce on all my clothes fresh out of the washer, and save myself the bother of trying to wear clean clothes.
I can tell you what NOT to order - spaghetti (any pasta, actually), ribs, chicken wings, anything smothered in gravy, soup, burgers. You might be safe with a chicken breast and potato meal (as long as there isn’t a lot of sauce on the chicken) - something you can cut with a knife and fork and hopefully manoeuver to your mouth with minimal damage.
As far as safe meals: choose things that you can easily cut into small bites and eat with a fork. Stay away from finger foods, sandwiches, and burgers, which will make your hands messy. Also, sandwiches and burgers will sometimes make your face messy, and will sometimes have very tough bread or filling that will leave you with an awkward moment of trying desperately to separate your bite from the rest of the sandwich. Not a big deal when you’re eating casually, but I speak from experience, it’s embarrassing and hard to deal with when you are the center of attention. You may feel very uncomfortable if someone asks you a question and you have to put down your big, drippy, half-eaten burger and wipe your hands and mouth before looking attentive and answering. Avoid foods like spaghetti or salad that will inevitably spray your shirt with sauce/dressing or leave you with an awkward too-big mouthful–with lettuce leaves you will need to cram into your mouth, or noodles you will need to bite off. Stay away from soup–it will spill, splash, or you will accidentally slurp it. Depending on your mouth size and the roll size, sushi can be very awkward because you either end up biting a piece of maki or nigiri and having it fall apart or stubbornly cling together, or stuffing the whole thing in your mouth and looking rude and greedy.
I would favor things like mashed potatoes, ravioli, or chicken breast. If you have to eat a sandwich, go for something small and simple, like grilled cheese or egg salad, instead of messy extravaganzas like an overstuffed grilled pepper focaccia sandwich or a meatball sub.
Always pick something you know you like to eat, unless you’re never picky about food. You don’t want to try, say, a lamb vindaloo for the first time and realize you hate it, then feel obligated to push through the hateful dish in order to be polite to your hosts.
Dang it, I forgot that I was going to agree with Wombat - that outfit would be okay with a button-down shirt under the blazer, but if you were interviewing with an old grouch like me, I’d write you off as a slob for having your white t-shirt showing at the top and bottom like that.
I interviewed in a very nice suit for a job where the dress codeis very casual. I got the job and have worn jeans every day since. Occasionally, one of my co-workers will remark how “I sure had them all fooled with that suit!” I just smile and say “yep!”