# How to Dress for Teams Interview **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 15, 2024, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-dress-for-teams-interview/1011686 "2024-12-15T20:49:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2024, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-dress-for-teams-interview/1011686/21 "2024-12-16T17:50:32Z")
I recently interview for a technical Program Manager position and I never wore a jacket or tie. I typically wear for an interview what I expect to wear on the job, possibly a slightly more format shirt. When conducting interviews I’d at least take note if someone drastically overdressed for the role and would ask what they expected from the position. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2024, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-dress-for-teams-interview/1011686/22 "2024-12-16T19:20:35Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Folks who interview: have you ever given an applicant _less_ of a chance because they were overdressed for the interview? Would you ever? I’ve never had anyone come in very overdressed. I have had a few men who wore complete suits with ties. Somewhat unusual, but I did not knock them down for that. One applicant wore a suit and tie, and all through the interview he slouched terribly. I certainly knocked him down for his body language; it speaks to his communication skills. That was over 20 years ago and I can still picture him. I’m sure I still have his resumé in my files with my comments about that. Would I ever knock someone down for being overdressed? Yes, if they were extremely overdressed (e.g., if she wore a formal gown, or if he wore a black tie tuxedo). I’d knock them down for their ability to fit in with the existing group and company. But that’s an extreme hypothetical. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2024, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-dress-for-teams-interview/1011686/23 "2024-12-16T19:34:05Z")
I haven’t gone on a job interview in years but remember feeling weird to be the best-dressed person in the building. And when a co-worker would come to work dressed up, we would joke about them going on a job interview after work. Sometimes that was the case and sometimes not. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2024, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-dress-for-teams-interview/1011686/24 "2024-12-17T10:48:23Z")
I used to wear a tie to the office, mainly because it made me feel like I was at work (and the ritual of taking off the tie at the end of the day marked the boundary for ‘off duty’, at least in theory.) But I was the only one wearing a tie. In meetings with external parties such as suppliers, they often seemed to just assume I was the one in charge. The mild, never-mentioned confusion was rather fun. ---
**Author:** ![mattgg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ccd318/32.png) [@mattgg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mattgg)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2024, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-dress-for-teams-interview/1011686/25 "2024-12-17T12:12:33Z")
I last interviewed for a job about 30 years ago, but even then interviewers didn’t expect tech people to wear a tie or jacket. I always told them that I would be coming from work so I would be dressed for work, which meant jeans and an untucked button-down shirt. I tell everyone who comes to interview with us that they should dress casually but most don’t. I can understand that the college students don’t have much choice because the placement office and their parents probably insist that they wear business attire. But when a veteran programmer comes in wearing a tie it’s a negative for me. If you want me to believe that you’re a programmer, you should look like one. If you wear a suit you look like a manager. Most managers don’t know shit about programming. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2024, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-dress-for-teams-interview/1011686/26 "2024-12-17T13:13:22Z")
Yeah, I would probably where a nice sweater. In reality, our IT department is VERY casual. I’ve gone to meetings in shorts. Luckily I don’t ‘go’ to meetings anymore. I’m 100% work from home. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2024, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-dress-for-teams-interview/1011686/27 "2024-12-17T15:14:53Z")
Have you considered asking your contact at the employer what you should wear? They’ll probably tell you, it at least give you a ballpark idea. In general, you should dress at the top of normal for the position you are interviewing for. But what’s normal varies a lot by industry, and also by company. My employer was business attire long after it became uncommon, for instance. (It became a problem for our external-facing employees, especially on the West Coast. They stopped wearing business suits because they couldn’t constructively interact with clients when they wore suits. But they all had to own a good suit to wear when senior management visited. We expected people showing up for interviews to wear a suit.) ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2024, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-dress-for-teams-interview/1011686/28 "2024-12-19T21:43:21Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > My understanding is that as long as you’re wearing business attire (so, no tuxes or ball gowns), it’s pretty much impossible to overdress for a white collar job interview. Overdressing just communicates that you’re serious about wanting the job. > > But I’ve participated in fewer than a half-dozen interviews (from the interviewer’s side) in my life, so I’m definitely not an expert. > > Folks who interview: have you ever given an applicant _less_ of a chance because they were overdressed for the interview? Would you ever? Honestly, if I’m wearing a suit and tie for an interview, I feel like an overdressed asshole. And I’m typically interviewing at Wall Street banks and tech companies. And I actually like wearing a suit and tie. Actually what I’ve found is wearing the suit with no tie is usually sufficient these days. You’re not overdressed but your still a step above the hoodies and puffy North Face vests most people wear to the office these days. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2024, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-dress-for-teams-interview/1011686/29 "2024-12-19T23:26:36Z")
> [@Mighty\_Mouse](#): > > I interview a LOT of people as a secondary interviewer between the hiring manager and the hiring manager’s manager. Probably more than 15 per year. > > It definitely gives off “out of touch” vibes to me, but I’m generally focused on technical questions in interviews. But that may just be my personal bias. Seconded. I think it would be a bit unfair to mark someone down for overdressing. It’s an interview; we’ve all been there, you don’t know the office culture and you play it safe by going formal. That said, if it’s an engineering role at a tech startup then it might subliminally give an impression of being a bit old-fashioned. It might make a tiny difference for a candidate that was borderline on the technical questions. Personally, I’ve had interviews for tech startups, and I still went with e.g. a shirt and V-neck because I think it’s still safer overall to wear a collar. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-dress-for-teams-interview/1011686.md?page=1)