I worked as an office temp (word processing, temp secretary, light phones) for a few years about 20 years ago.
I need some additional income, and plan to test the waters in the temp market again.
My question: What is considered proper attire for a guy seeking work as an office temp these days?
Specifically, should I wear a tie?
Thanks…
I would wear a tie for the first day at least, after that you can dress down if needed.
Business casual is the style these days. No one wears a tie. You you look like a keener jerk if you wear a tie.
NO ONE WEARS A TIE.
Yup. Tie, dress shirt, dress pants/khakis, and nice, clean shoes. After the first day, you’ll see how everyone else is dressing and you can dress accordingly - if they’re anything like office workers around here, they’ll probably be in dress shirts or polos and slacks. As a lady temp, my uniform is nice shirt, dress pants, and nice black leather shoes.
This is very typical office dress in my city.
No ties? I haven’t worked downtown in a long time - ties aren’t worn too often in offices outside of the core, but they were worn downtown last time I worked there. I’d still say wear a tie on the first day - you might be in an office that’s a holdout on the tie front. 
1995 called. He wants his tie back.
Yeah no one in our mail room wears a tie.
About half the guys I worked with wore a tie every day.
There’s only one person in my office who wears a tie and that’s the president of the company and only if it’s Super Official Business.
I can’t even imagine if I showed up in a tie.
It’s been a few decades since I temped, but wear a tie and you can always take it off.
It’s better to be dressed a little too formally than a little too casually. Wear the tie.
This. Wear the tie until you find out what’s expected. Ties can be untied.
Half they guys in my office wear ties, and we are an NGO.
Wear a tie the first day. You can dress down later according to the culture of your specific office.
But they can’t be tied?
I’d suggest asking the temp agency person who contacts you about the assignment what the dress code is. Otherwise, I tend to think it’s better to dress more nicely than to underdress on the first day. The regular staff are no doubt accustomed to new co-workers (temp and otherwise) not being quite sure about that place’s culture, and you don’t want to give your on-site supervisor qualms about whether you take the job seriously.
This is the way to go on the first day. The tie can always come off if necessary. After that you can dress accordingly based on everyone else in the office.
Thank you for the feedback!
What is tied can be untied seems like a good policy to me – in the office, and perhaps elsewhere 
Ffolliott, where are you located? Business dress standards are local.
If you are in the East time zone, wear a tie. If you are in the Pacific or Mountain time zone don’t wear a tie, unless you are temping for a legal firm. For Central, bring a tie and decide based on what everyone is wearing.
I wear a tie. So do most of the men in my office. And I don’t look like a “keener jerk”, I look damn sharp.
I don’t think that your universal rule is all that universal.
Yeah, this has come up before here. OK. No one wears a tie where I’ve worked for the last 15 years, in let’s see 5 places. Heck, I have visited suppliers and customers in most of these jobs too, and no one wears a tie!
I didn’t realize that some places of employment were still like this, because around here no one wears a tie!
Around here ties are worn September through May. June, July, and August are business casual no tie months. The exeption is Friday. Fridays are casual and jeans may be worn.
I say wear a tie the first day.
