Comment by jimt1234 3 days ago
I used to work with a guy that was known for dressing nice, very formal. Back in the 2000s, he would wear button-down shirts, slacks, nice shoes; he stood out for a software nerd. Anyway, when I saw him recently, he was dressed in jeans and flip-flops, wearing a t-shirt. I asked him what's with the casual attire. He just said, "Trying to keep my job." Being an older dude in this field as well, I know what he's talking about.
Not an older person but I genuinely don't like wearing jeans and t shirts and I never have. t shirts make me feel like I'm trapped and jeans are stiff and unpleasant (and always feel shaped wrong.) Also wearing what are essentially corporate ads on my body just feels brain dead.
Shorts and a Hawaiian shirt are comfortable but I guess that's still not ok in the office even though everyone wants to pretend they don't care.
Whatever it's not like I'd accept a non-remote job these days anyway.
Khakis and outdoorsy button ups from the likes of Columbia, TNF, Patagonia, Uniqlo work. Also if a tshirt makes you feel trapped, it’s probably too small. There’s a W. Rast brand so soft and comfy I wear to bed.
Actual tech, nothing. Company politics and "being a culture fit", unfortunately in some companies it means a lot.
It has to do with the culture of the company you're working for.
Professional companies are stereotyped to suits and ties, and company attire is often part of company dress code.
Tech companies are stereotyped to kids and what they wear, and company dress code (if it exists) is often super-lax except for executives -- because the executives need to interact with Professional companies and look the part.
There's a lot of in-between, and it really depends on what company you work for and somewhat to what company you want to work for.
Ironically it DOES. Because part of your ability is your ability to convince others etc.
People think of ability as just technical, or just soft. It is mixing it all together that produces true strength.
If I wear a suit at the wrong time, it shows an inability to read the room, and in some firms may even have gotten my manager to ask if I was looking for a job!
So, understanding how to dress how you want to be seen is critical. I'm not saying it's high fashion time, but at least understand the audience, and the aura you want to put out.
As the parent comment said, he stood out for dressing nicely those years ago. Wearing jeans in the 2000s was not just tolerated or accepted, it was expected. I remember feeling wary of engineers who dressed up for interviews then, like they were trying too hard.
My general belief for interviews is to dress one step up from what you'd be wearing on a day-to-day basis at that job.
I wear shorts and a t-shirt (often a DEFCON or BSidesPDX shirt) usually, so I'd wear jeans and a solid color t-shirt or possibly a polo to an interview, though I haven't done an in-person interview for a job since 2016. For remote interviews, I'm in sweatpants and a polo.
In the early 2000s, I wasn't a tech worker yet, but I always assumed engineers were wearing khakis and a polo, so I would have shown up to an interview with black slacks and a button-up shirt, maybe even a tie.
Very much my impression too. I work for an org with sites scattered across the country. My colleagues in Virginia still regularly wear suits, while I in California haven't even owned a suit in many years. For no particular reason I can discern, the gradient seems to be pretty linear. Our Texas people are right in the middle formality wise.
I call this "Wearing your uniform."
You need to look like you are a person who would be doing the job. You wouldn't hire a gardner with smooth hands, clean shoes, and no dirt under their nails would you?
Car mechanics, you can see it in their hands, and the way they act around cars.
Every profession has its tells, from what we wear, to our physical traits etc.
After a while, you know if someone adds up or not. But part of that is changing with the times. :)