

Ask HN: What clothing do you wear to a tech interview? - a3voices

I used to think it was a suit and tie, but apparently that&#x27;s frowned upon now? If so what should I wear? I also don&#x27;t want to wear something too casual, so I&#x27;m confused.
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anthonyjs
These days people may not often dress in suits or even business casual but I
would think that you would want to make a good impression when you first meet
someone, I've always been taught it's better to be over dressed than under
dressed, and as tptacek said if a company rejects you because you choose to
err on the side of caution then you've probably dodged a bullet.

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cwt
I always thought that wearing a suit or at least a coat and tie with oxford +
slacks and dress shoes and belt was a standard. It says I am serious about
interviewing even if the interviewers will be wearing a hawaiian t-shirt and
flipflops. Unless told by the interviewers before hand that they prefer to
have casual dress for interviewers.

If you can't get a sense of someone's culture fit from talking to them how is
looking at what they wear going to help in an interview? [Sure you can see if
they come in wearing jnco's or look to see if the indie music/game/movie shirt
is "cool" enough.] The only thing I think is reasonable to assume from
clothing is how interested they initially are in working for the company.

Maybe someone with a lot of startup experience can enlighten me.

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buckbova
Wear a suit, tell them you came from another interview if it's the afternoon,
or you have another interview later that day.

Then if they say you can take off the jacket, tell them you're holding in the
pit stains. I always like to get the interviewers laughing.

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ojbyrne
The rule is "1 level up" from what you would guess to be the dress code. So
where I work the dress code for engineers is jeans (or shorts) and a t-shirt.
1 level up would be a shirt (polo or button up) and pants.

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wsc981
For interviews I usually like to clothe myself "casual chic". I don't wear a
suit ever. I like to wear clothing that I intend to use daily on the job.
Clothing that fits comfortably and still have a professional look.

Something like this (without the tie) is what I would wear: [http://media-
cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/14/7f/10/147f1019bf4b...](http://media-cache-
ak0.pinimg.com/736x/14/7f/10/147f1019bf4b9ac59a759e4b880a7eb4.jpg)

You could find inspiration on Pinterest:
[http://www.pinterest.com/sandybeyer/casual-chic-man-
outfits/](http://www.pinterest.com/sandybeyer/casual-chic-man-outfits/)

Alternatively, the "Put This On" weblog often has nice tips on how to clothe
like a man: [http://putthison.com](http://putthison.com)

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chatmasta
I agree with this. But only if you can pull it off. As in, you've worn that
style before and can confidently rock it. There's nothing more unappealing
than somebody wearing clothes that he clearly pulled from /r/mensfashion
without having the slightest clue of self-awareness.

In short -- just dress in something that makes you look professional and
attractive.

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rquantz
Yeah, it seems like a suit would make you stick out like a sore thumb at most
startups (ie, not a "culture fit"). Unless it's a fashion startup, in which
case go for the suit, as long as it's well tailored. And maybe also for a big
company that's not tech-oriented.

For most startup interviews I'd think you should go with the startup uniform:
slacks, button up shirt with no tie, and dress shoes.

Edit: my apologies for only answering for men. No idea what a woman should
wear to a job interview.

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tptacek
It's almost worth wearing a suit just as a sanity check; if that's the reason
you get rejected, you didn't want to work there anyways.

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rquantz
Interesting. Is there a reason beyond the obvious (that it shouldn't matter
what you wear, at least above a certain threshold)?

Good new for me. I love wearing a suit.

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tptacek
Yes, there is! The fallacious belief in a company "culture" that is signified
by what candidates wear isn't benign, but it isn't the worst implication of
"culture fit". Intolerance of normal work/life balance, of different
mentalities about software development, of comfort levels with intoxication,
of different management styles, or just of meaningful diversity --- those
"culture fit" pathologies are much worse. And if the company you're thinking
about working for filters based on candidates wearing suits, it's more likely
than not that some of the more malignant pathologies are also there.

~~~
erroneousfunk
As a woman working in startups, this is another reason why I always wear a
suit to job interviews. I don't care about having to dodge nerf footballs or
beer funnel-whatsits or whatever while I'm coding, but if you're only looking
for people who fit into your "culture," down to lifestyle, hobbies, and dress
it's probably not going to work out.

 _shakes cane_

I'm being a little glib, but I think it's always best to stick with your guns,
especially in a job-seeker's market :)

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daigoba66
Just ask. The interviewer will probably be happy to tell you the dress code. I
do.

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jhwhite
I'm not a developer but I'm an IT/Technical Project Manager. I typically wear
business casual.

I interviewed at one place where the owner was in flip flops. So I felt dress
up in slacks and a polo shirt.

I interviewed at a very big financial institution so I wore a suit and I had
one of my interviewers tell me, twice, that they DO NOT wear suit and ties to
work.

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mbleigh
Completely depends on the company. Don't go jeans and t-shirt, but for most
startup/tech companies suit and tie is too far the other direction.

Long-sleeve button-down and slacks probably works in most cases, but again for
startups/tech companies you probably want them to be more cool than corporate.
No pleated khakis or high-starch polyester shirts.

It _shouldn 't_ really matter that much since the whole reason developers
don't dress up to work is because it's not the dress that matters, it's the
work. In reality it matters anyway, at least at many companies. Try to find
photos of their team at work on their website, dress a bit nicer than that.

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greggawatt
Nice shirt, nice pants, nice shoes. Not too fancy, but don't come in looking
like a slob. I'd avoid t-shirts. Suit and Tie is usually what sales guys wear
because they are the "front of the house".

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hookshot
I just interviewed a few days ago and was agonizing over the same thing. The
place I interviewed at had a casual dress code - jeans, t shirts, shorts etc.
It's a software company, not a company that has in house software.

I didn't want to over or under dress so I wore dockers, dress belt, dress
shirt tucked in and a tie. I think the best idea is to hit business casual -
not full suit but not casual.

The founder was wearing shorts and a t-shirt. He didn't say I was over dressed
and I got the job. I would have been really uncomfortable in a suit.

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koshatnik
Depneds on the company - best to do some research. Are there any clues from
photos on the company website/at events? If you know someone (who knows
someone etc) who works there, ask what the informal dress code is, but
probably go a little smarter.

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akg_67
I used to wear navy blue sports jacket, blue trousers, white/light blue shirt
and tie for tech interviews. But recently I stopped wearing tie for interview.
A navy blue sports jacket if cooler weather else just a blue shirt and khaki
trousers.

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bjourne
White or light-colored ironed professional looking shirt, jeans and black
shoes.

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jason_slack
my last interview was 2 days.

Day 1: Tan Dockers, nice shoes, a low-key long sleeve button up Tommy Bahama
shirt I got on clearance, a belt. The Dockers were on sale too. I already
owned the shoes and belt.

Day 2: Black Dockers, same shoes as day 1, a long sleeve blue patterned shirt
that was also on clearance, same belt as day 1.

I had to bring stuff to the interview. I carried in my orange Marmot backpack.

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artbikes
I wear what I wore to work that day.

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JoeAltmaier
Whatever I have on. But I'm a senior level developer with 20+ yrs experience.

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s_m
nice jeans + button-down shirt + sweater + decent shoes

