I run a retained executive search firm, and regularly interview candidates for jobs paying over $100,000.
I thought I'd pass along a few of the oddball things that people have done regarding their dress when I meet them for a job interview.
These tales may amuse some of you, and give some others (I'm sure a few of you are looking for jobs) a better picture of what someone who interviews people for a living sees.
I interviewed two people for a $125K position. Both had recently been laid off. Both came in sloppy casual - not even moderate-to-high end business casual - the type of dress they had worn in the pharmaceutical lab where they had formally worked. My position would have required that they oversee a staff of 100 people. Lab wear (ware?) wasn't good enough, and being unemployed, it wasn't as if they were going to make their boss suspicious if they came to work wearing a suit.
Another candidate for a $250K job overseeing an international sales force for a 1000-employee company emailed me saying that if I had no objections, he would dress business casual for the meeting. Now, at least this guy emailed me ahead of time, but this really wasn't appropriate. He shouldn't be the one setting the tone for the meeting. He should be thinking of me as the customer, and trying to impress me. He didn't, for a variety of reasons in addition to his dress, but it wouldn't have been much work for him to dress in a suit.
My favorite story came duirng the same project I just mentioned. I was going to Philadelphia, where a prospective candidate lived. He told me he would arrange his schedule that day to work from home, and I could meet him there, which was fine with me. When I arrived there, he came to the door barefoot, in shorts! He explained that that was how he always dressed when he worked from home (I was wearing a suit, by the way, complete with full-length pants and socks, and a pair of shoes).
This was an arrogant statement, saying that he didn't really need this job, or care much about it. It shocked me. I never introduced him to my client, of course.
I met another candidate three hours later who actually wore a suit, and was far better qualified than was the barefoot candidate, anyway. He got the job.
When in doubt, wear a suit is the basic rule of dressing for a job interview. Dressing a notch better than the person who is interviewing you is OK - you're paying a compliment to them by doing so. If they suggest business casual, or a friend on the inside tells you not to wear a suit, then dress business casual primo, with clothes of the same quality as your suits.
What do you do if you're sneaking out of work for an interview, and everyone dresses business casual at work? You shouldn't risk dressing up and raising suspicions. You should tell your interviewer about your problem ahead of time, and he should understand that. However, I've changed in McDonald's bathrooms and in my car at roadside rest areas to be dressed appropriately for job interviews - do that if you can.
I thought I'd pass along a few of the oddball things that people have done regarding their dress when I meet them for a job interview.
These tales may amuse some of you, and give some others (I'm sure a few of you are looking for jobs) a better picture of what someone who interviews people for a living sees.
I interviewed two people for a $125K position. Both had recently been laid off. Both came in sloppy casual - not even moderate-to-high end business casual - the type of dress they had worn in the pharmaceutical lab where they had formally worked. My position would have required that they oversee a staff of 100 people. Lab wear (ware?) wasn't good enough, and being unemployed, it wasn't as if they were going to make their boss suspicious if they came to work wearing a suit.
Another candidate for a $250K job overseeing an international sales force for a 1000-employee company emailed me saying that if I had no objections, he would dress business casual for the meeting. Now, at least this guy emailed me ahead of time, but this really wasn't appropriate. He shouldn't be the one setting the tone for the meeting. He should be thinking of me as the customer, and trying to impress me. He didn't, for a variety of reasons in addition to his dress, but it wouldn't have been much work for him to dress in a suit.
My favorite story came duirng the same project I just mentioned. I was going to Philadelphia, where a prospective candidate lived. He told me he would arrange his schedule that day to work from home, and I could meet him there, which was fine with me. When I arrived there, he came to the door barefoot, in shorts! He explained that that was how he always dressed when he worked from home (I was wearing a suit, by the way, complete with full-length pants and socks, and a pair of shoes).
This was an arrogant statement, saying that he didn't really need this job, or care much about it. It shocked me. I never introduced him to my client, of course.
I met another candidate three hours later who actually wore a suit, and was far better qualified than was the barefoot candidate, anyway. He got the job.
When in doubt, wear a suit is the basic rule of dressing for a job interview. Dressing a notch better than the person who is interviewing you is OK - you're paying a compliment to them by doing so. If they suggest business casual, or a friend on the inside tells you not to wear a suit, then dress business casual primo, with clothes of the same quality as your suits.
What do you do if you're sneaking out of work for an interview, and everyone dresses business casual at work? You shouldn't risk dressing up and raising suspicions. You should tell your interviewer about your problem ahead of time, and he should understand that. However, I've changed in McDonald's bathrooms and in my car at roadside rest areas to be dressed appropriately for job interviews - do that if you can.