Out of hours, teams interview. What should I wear?

Rest assured, Clothes are a given. But should I suit up? Polo shirt and Jeans, not that my legs will be seen. String vest and undies?

Never done this before, role will be home based.

Tia

What’s the job?

No reason not to wear a shirt and tie, no jacket.

I don’t care what the job is, if you can’t make a decent effort to look smart to try and pursuade someone to give you it why would I want that person on my staff?

Dress for the job, wear a suit and tie.

Dress for the job, wear a suit and tie what would be expected.

FTFY

Speedos

Hmm I wouldn’t expect someone to be wearing a tie for a Teams interview (office job roles), I’d prob just wear a work shirt with no tie if it was for an office-based role.

Speaking for all the ladies here – unless you work as a golf caddy, there is never ANY reason to wear a polo shirt.

But yes, always a suit and tie for a job interview, better to be overdressed than look like you don’t care enough to make the effort.

Out of hours for who? You or the interviewer/Job?

For me that would be the crux of it, that said I usually dress more smartly in my own time than work’s.

Be careful of whose answer your listen to here, the world has changed in the last year and that includes dress codes, if people haven’t been an interviewer or interviewee in the last 12-18 months their views may be out of date. Whilst there will be some industry variations, I’d say you won’t go far wrong with the below. For conext, I hire people into senior finance, insurance and legal roles. Even in those in those industries which are historically quite traditional and conservative in their dress codes, things has been getting less formal for years, Covid and WFH has accelerated that.

My view is to aim to dress 1 level above the person doing the interviewing, though the same level works but you don’t have much margin for error. Going too far above can suggest you don’t understand the company/industry culture.

If the meeting was in person I’d still advise someone wore a suit and tie, though I’d have no issue if someone didn’t wear the tie, the person interviewing them will likely be in chino’s and a shirt, maybe a suit and open neck shirt. For Zoom/Teams wear a smart shirt, no tie and no jacket, the interviewer could be wearing anything from a shirt to a hoody. I’d not wear a polo, that’s a level to low for me.

Tu-tu

Pink preferably.

I’ve interviwed about 30 candidates over the past 2 months and only one actually had a tie and jacket. Hardly any looked like they had made any effort. This is or developer and analyst roles so they tend to be the sort of people who will have toys on their desks at work though so your industry may differ.

Just go a bit smarter than you’d usually wear when working at home. Make a bit of effort without going off the top. Much like what Lunge said above.

On the upside if it’s out of hours at least the central heating should be on so no need for a dressing gown and hat and minimal chance you’ll look like you’re vaping.

As above, I recently went through this and for 1st and 2nd interviews wore a smart polo shirt but in my world, thats what I’d wear to the office anyway. Didn’t matter that I still had mud covered shorts on from working in the garden all morning!

If it’s out of hours, then you must wear your smoking jacket.

When I used to interview I never noticed what people wore unless it was particularly scruffy.

I’d probably go for a shirt. I can’t remember the last time I wore a tie, probably a wedding or funeral.

Teams is quite literally in your face so I’d put more consideration into lighting and shaving/beard trimming/hair etc. Again, for me this is about not looking scruffy more than anything.

I don’t care what the job is, if you can’t make a decent effort to look smart to try and pursuade someone to give you it why would I want that person on my staff?

im a product designer and if I interviewed someone who turned up in a full suit I would think they were mental! Dress how the job / industry dictates. I recently joined a bank and for both interviews (covid world via zoom) I just had a plain black t-shirt on. Before that I was at a travel tech firm and turned up to that interview at lunch time in jeans and a tshirt.

Non job interview professional I usually wear a casual smart shirt (like checked or plain)… (as a fallback no guidance given) and as a “prop” I’ve got a jacket on the back of the chair…

I’d heavily repeat lunge

My view is to aim to dress 1 level above the person doing the interviewing, though the same level works but you don’t have much margin for error. Going too far above can suggest you don’t understand the company/industry culture.

2nd interview you can aim for the level the interviewer wore at the 1st (IMHO)

If I was interviewing I’d be more concerned/impressed you prepared, tested connections etc. (even down to you asking please “can I just run a test with someone in case there are connection issues”) – ESPECIALLY on Teams where being in a few organisations can give somewhat seemingly random behaviour (I recently ran a whole project across 2 teams servers only 7 of us but I don’t think any two had both behave the same)

Few things set as bad a tone as wasting 10 mins faffing about at the beginning… (IMHO)

I’ve been interviewing for senior IT positions over the last year for a consultancy org. I’d expect gents to be wearing a business shirt, and ladies an equivalent. No need for a suit and tie, even though that may be required at times for the job.

I’m also interested in the environment they choose to use for a video call, as that is very relevant to how they’ll need to work for us and present us to our clients. I expect a well prepared area, tidy, with no background noise or other distractions. Think carefully about how your surroundings present you. For example, I had one who was sat at the kitchen table as their partner prepared dinner. I get we’re all under odd circumstances, but it wasn’t professional. I’d have actually preferred if they’d contacted me in advance and requested a telephone interview due to unsuitable location, rather than go ahead with video. And they were asked in advance by the recruitment team if they were able to do the interview without interruption or distraction.

I’ve not worn a tie at work since about 2006, and then I was working for the Ops Dir of a FTSE100 company.

I just got up one day and decided it wasn’t called for anymore. And this is from a man that use to wear a 3-piece suit to work.

Now approaching retirement I work for a Bank, in the office I always wore smart jeans, shoes and a long-sleeved business shirt (probably helps been slim & tall, as most things look smart on me). Too warm for jackets.

Home working is usually a clean white T-shirt – for an interview I’d probably wear a collared shirt.

I’m also interested in the environment they choose to use for a video call, as that is very relevant to how they’ll need to work for us and present us to our clients. I expect a well prepared area, tidy, with no background noise or other distractions. Think carefully about how your surroundings present you

This is also important. If you’re working from home, I need to know you have a good environment to work in. it doesn’t need to be a perfectly neat office but it does need to be somewhere you can work in relatively undistracted. If you don’t have that then at least be sharp enough to blur your background.

As long as you look clean, well presented and not a scruff bag I’ve never been bothered how interviewees look. Not everyone has a suit, wears chinos and a polo shirt.

, if you can’t make a decent effort to look smart to try and pursuade someone to give you it why would I want that person on my staff?

Depends on the job. If somebody thinks a suit and tie is needed at home, on an out-of-hours call then I’d need additional confirmation that they would fit into the team…

If it was me, going for a job at my level, I’d put a shirt on and probably Donald Duck it.

For me, I’d wear a smart shirt, no tie, a haircut, good lighting and a tidy background. Spend enough time making sure the overall video you’re presenting looks professional and capable, and this goes way beyond what you’re wearing. If I were interviewing someone in a tie I’d probably just think they were trying to make a good impression. T-shirt would suggest not making any effort. I’d be fairly suspicious of anyone in a polo shirt.

No reason not to wear a shirt and tie, no jacket.

I don’t care what the job is, if you can’t make a decent effort to look smart to try and pursuade someone to give you it why would I want that person on my staff?

Software dev, so longs people wear clothes, I don’t really care how they dress.

And on the other side, if people care more about how I dress than what it is I can do for them, I don’t really want to work for them.

It goes both ways – making a slight effort to show you’re interested in the job is not too much to ask. If you want to make a point by turning up scruffy and relying on your exceptional skills to win the job, as an interviewer I’d be concerned about how that attitude might work in my team. Attitude is as important as technical skills in a lot of professions.

Whats the point in not wearing a shirt and tie?

Software dev, so longs people wear clothes, I don’t really care how they dress.

And on the other side, if people care more about how I dress than what it is I can do for them, I don’t really want to work for them.

The problem with this attitude is that it relies on the interviewer holding the same values that you do. Which might be fine if your super-enlightened viewpoint is commonly-held, but there’s a clear consensus from this thread suggesting that your opinion is not widespread.

But the real point here – why take the risk? You can’t really upset anyone by wearing a smart ish shirt. You can certainly annoy some people by not doing so.

The problem with this attitude is that it relies on the interviewer holding the same values that you do. Which might be fine if your super-enlightened viewpoint is commonly-held, but there’s a clear consensus from this thread suggesting that your opinion is not widespread.

But my point is that if they don’t have the same values as me, I don’t want to work for them. I’m perhaps fortunate in that I’ve a little luxury for choosing who I wish to work for. If I was desperate, then sure, I’d play to the interviewer.

I didn’t realize Polo Shirts are uncool!

But the real point here – why take the risk? You can’t really upset anyone by wearing a smart ish shirt. You can certainly annoy some people by not doing so.

I’m hiring a bunch of software engineers at the moment. I’ve held maybe 30 interviews so far (last 6 weeks). fewer than 20% have worn anything other than normal casual clothes and only one has worn a tie.

I assess cultural fit as well as technical talent, and like candidates to bring their whole selves, personality included to an interview. If someone’s wearing a tie, I’d have concerns that they weren’t meeting one of those needs.

I went shirt and tie for an interview not so long ago, I think the jacket would be overkill.

My normal office attire is shirt and trousers.

No reason not to wear a shirt and tie, no jacket.

I’d rather people wear a shirt and jacket with no tie, than a short and tie with no jacket. I think the former is well established smart business attire, and tie and no jacket is not a good look.

And, at risk of descending into sartorial conversations, remember that unless you’re interviewing for a job as a bus driver or a photocopier repair person then never, ever wear a short sleeved shirt.

I’ve never owned nor worn a tie. Likely never will; the ‘tied’ is turning!

https://www.theguardian.com/world/commentisfree/2021/feb/08/the-phallic-necktie-is-an-outdated-symbol-of-white-male-rule-in-new-zealands-parliament

Whats the point in not wearing a shirt and tie?

If it’s not the industry norm you just look like you don’t belong in that industry.

Whats the point in not wearing a shirt and tie?

FTFY.

It’s an interesting question. I’ve had a number of interviews over the years, and I’ve conducted many more. And for decades I’ve have said “make an effort, look like you care.”

But times have changed. For a video call from home, surely at the very least now we’re down to the crime against fashion known as ‘smart casual’. Who the hell puts on a 3-piece suit to walk from their bedroom across the landing to their spare room? It’s frankly weird enough and outdated in an office, let alone your own home.

I think if it were me I’d “make the effort” of putting a shirt on and combing my hair. Basically dress as if I was going out for a dinner for a mate’s birthday, rather than being the next Wolf of Wall Street.

Last person we hired via remote interview didn’t turn the camera on. It was a bit odd, but he was the best candidate so got the job. He looks perfectly normal as well – we were wondering if he had some form if disfigurement etc.

Just on the lighting subject, I’ve been battling with a laptop webcam which is too wide angled so I look far away, and can never get good lighting on screen. Finally dedicated webcams came back into stock on our internal order system, so much better, I can have it perched on my monitor without appearing to be 6 metres away, and the lighting is good without any real effort.

Speaking for all the ladies here – unless you work as a golf caddy, there is never ANY reason to wear a polo shirt.

Internet high five! Who invents what’s basically a T-shirt with a rubbish version of a shirt collar plonked on as an afterthought. A dickhead, that’s who!