[rescue] Do you remember when? Security software.....

Wed Aug 13 13:41:07 CDT 2003

On Wed, Aug 13, 2003 at 12:07:32AM -0400, Andrew Weiss wrote:

> You really have to be careful with that too... I think somewhere on 
> some interviews I've done things like that.  I always wear a suit to an 
> interview... well not really a suit but nice pants a tie and black 
> shoes... 

I always wear khakis, black shoes (about all I wear anyway), and a polo
shirt.  Most of the time it is too hot, but I also like button-down
collar knit shirts.

I can't afford a suit anyway, and I'd look worse in one than my
"business casual".

Around here it's too hot for even a buttoned-up shirt most of the time.
In the summer they even warn people to not wear a suit an tie, but
thousands do it anyway.

> I have never been to an interview poorly dressed, but I have done silly 

Me either, but we probably have different definitions of that.

> me... especially an off-putting creepy ROI suit.  Sometimes I lose it 
> internally when this happens.

Same here.  It is worse if they are spouting BS at the same time.  I
have a hard time ignoring that.

> >But damnnation, my boss ran out and got them.  You just can't save some
> >people from themselves.
> >
> They could have been good but young... you never know if they just 
> don't know what is or isn't respected in the field... we all learn 
> these things over time.

It wasn't just the suit.  That was a negative because of how they acted,
and because their whole game was deception (that's what dressing up
really is after all).

It was their resumes that got them escorted to the door.  Kind of the
last straw with me.

My boss not listening to me and going back to get them cost the company
several hundred dollars for the salaries of the people who wasted three
hours interviewing them.

> I would look more for a balance of reasonable skills on the resume 
> (that don't look like lying... )... nicely dressed (serious about the 

Define nicely dressed.  I find most suits are ugly.  There are very
few I think look good.  Usually, they are either not in style, or more
expensive than my current car.

I don't see what nicely dressed has to do with being serious about
the job either.  In 14 years of interviewing and being interviewed,
I've never seen the correlation.  In fact, I've often seen the exact
opposite.

> job... you can break the dress code to them later...i.e. we dress 
> casually around here... and of course I tend to ask the interviewer 
> ahead of time to better prepare for what I should be wearing), not a 
> show off... but eager to share knowledge, and able to answer questions 
> about what is on their resume beyond what they have written and in a 
> non-canned way.

Fortunately, almost no one balks at business casual these days.

Something else to consider: if you are uncomfortable in a suit, it
shows.  It can have a negative impact on your interview, and can affect
how you act and feel in an interview.  It is probably better to be
confident and comfortable than to look nice in those situations.

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