Crisp open necked white or blue shirt. Get your lighting right and background correct. Check your connections and mike beforehand. Be more animated than you would otherwise be. Be passionate……..(i recruit for a multinational from Digital to senior commercial roles)…good luck

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.

And with all due respect I’d argue that – interview scenarios aside – this is bollocks from beginning to end. If you’re judging people on how they look, the problem isn’t how they look.

In a career of 30+ years, no-one’s ever paid me to look good, they’ve paid me to know things. The whole notion that you’re not a ‘businessman’ unless you tie a little noose around your neck every day and wear a jacket indoors in July is utterly arcane. It’s “we’ve always done it this way” madness and I’m not doing it any more.

Because, this is a thing isn’t it. I’m old enough and grumpy enough that I no longer care. If you’re going to deny me a job because my tie is the wrong length, pff, it’s a greater loss to you than to me.

I am so very tired of job adverts that are pages of requirements, expectations and demands and then a throwaway afterthought of “competitive salary” or “salary negotiable” or “salary dependent on experience.” Shite to that, this is a two-way process, what are they offering me? Why should I come and work for you? Do they have so little respect for their candidates, for their employees? It’s almost contemptuous.

Also, I suffer from hyperhidrosis so you can stick your long-sleeved shirts up your chuff. Not happening.

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

If the industry dictates a sartorial norm which I don’t conform to then you’re absolutely right that I don’t belong in that industry, whether that norm be a double-breasted dinner jacket, shorts and a Hawaiian shirt, or naked. And at the risk of repeating myself: their loss.

And y’know, I like looking like I don’t belong, people underestimate you and that’s a superpower. Doubly so in security, who’s gonna give a second glance to that dopey looking **** who’s just rocked up in a tee-shirt and Birkies? One of the best penetration testers I ever met is a pretty young blonde lass by the name of Holly; no-one ever notices when she’s halfway through pwning their entire infrastructure because they’re too busy looking at her tits.

Judge me on how I look all you want. There’s only one winner if you do.

I’ve ever worn a suit or a tie to an interview. I own neither. I have worn shorts to a few (it was summer, it was hot). I’d hope I was being judged on my merits and suitability for the role rather than my choice of attire.

Once went for an interview and it was mentioned that most people wear a suit in the office. They later offered me a job, I politely declined. Polyester slacks really aren’t my thing.

I like the cut of your jib, sir.

Crisp open necked white or blue shirt. Get your lighting right and background correct. Check your connections and mike beforehand. Be more animated than you would otherwise be

As an ex Head of Internal Recruitment I totally agree with this.

A crisp and correctly fitting blue business shirt is an absolute winner. Even if the other person is wearing a tie or suit you won’t look out of place.

It also doesn’t look overkill if the other person is in a polo shirt and jeans.

Lighting is super important, unfortunately, and I say this because image should count less than content. Turn off that overhead light, get a nice bright and warm light behind the camera, avoid cluttered or totally plain, cell like, backgrounds.

People make decisions on candidates withing the first 30 seconds and if you appear in the screen bright, without shadows under the eyes and are full of life/humour then you’re on the right track.

Also, if you have potential distractions, kids, pets, etc then use them to your advantage. Nothing breaks the ice and makes your seem real and approachable than joking that “at some point in this interview there is the possibility that my beloved labrador/toddler will make a surprise appearance. I can only apologise!”

Above all, good luck, and just be someone that they would want to work with. You’ve already passed the criteria test with your CV.

People make decisions on candidates withing the first 30 seconds and if you appear in the screen bright, without shadows under the eyes and are full of life/humour then you’re on the right track.

Pretty much agree but still depends on their answers. Did one last year, funnily enough the guy wore said crisp blue shirt. It was wasted on me as he was sat slouched, showing lack of interest but it didn’t matter about his shirt or body language as his answers were shite.

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.

I must have interviewed a couple of hundred software developers in the last 10 years. I remember every single one who turned up in a suit (all four of them). Only one got the job – but that was for his third interview with the Board – the other three all stood out as “weird” and seemed like they didn’t know anything about working in a small software dev team!

Personally I wouldn’t want to work anywhere that expected me to wear a suit in my own home outside office hours.

I don’t think I’ve interviewed anyone in the last 15 months who has changed what the were wearing just for the interview. The person who mentioned lighting was right though – a dingy poorly lit room with an unflattering camera angle right up your nose or a load of washing drying behind you is a bit weird. If the job is working from home you’ll want to give the impression of someone who will give a professional impression to customers/colleagues on calls. I’m not a fan of these backgrounds that are all the rave just now.

I’m a software engineer, and for all the formal interviews I’ve done I think I’ve worn a suit (not always a tie I don’t think), on the basis that although I know full well that’s not how people are going to dress on the job I’d sooner look like I was making an effort.

To be honest, although I appreciate that first impressions count, I think the whole “culture fit” thing ends up being based on the entire image you present. So if a firm was going to look askance at my suit, hopefully I’d make up for it by knowing what I was talking about, having relevant experience, answering questions reasonably, etc, and they’d give me the benefit of the doubt. If you wear the “wrong” clothes and come off like a loon to boot, you’re probably sunk 😉

To the point of the OP: personally I think looking presentable and as though you’re taking it seriously is the main thing. For me, doing a video-call interview out of “office” hours, I wouldn’t go in fully suited, but I would make sure I looked neat and tidy, and (as others have said) that my backdrop looked sane and that the lighting was good.

So it’s true, at least half of STW does work in IT! Also, the IT crowd might be a little, er, different.

I work in engineering.

Suits and ties are what graduates wear. Everyone else just wears a harassed look as they squeeze in the interview round what ever shit storm they are trying to escape from don’t they?

backdrop looked sane and that the lighting was good.

Not blurred or and effect though, that shit makes me feel a bit seasick.

Jacket shirt and tie up top, thong on the bottom “forget” to hang up and show a little skin as you leave the room. It’s going to seal the deal one way or another.

When I left uniin 2002 I got an interview as a countryside ranger, I turned up in a suit. The panel we’re all rangers and looked like they’d just wrestled a badger. I never got the job. My answers may have been shit though.

That was my last interview. Since then working as a tree surgeon, rope tech and on the railway I’ve got by with a chat, then turning up and doing a good job. my most recent job had our team in a tunnel in Ffestiniog with the MD all in high vis and filthy.

Surveying for hydro Jamie?

the other three all stood out as “weird”

Back when my boss was initially building our team from scratch, I was the first team member he picked. The phrase he used was “I want Cougar cos his brain is a bit ****ed.”

I work in a niche bit of accountancy.

I’ve done interviews with people over the last year or so with visual experiences ranging from no video to three piece suit and tie.

Made not one jot of difference to me. Nice to see a face but there are reasons why people don’t or wont BUT I’m also used to managing a team where not every one is senior and wealthy enough to be in a comfortable pad with a spare room set up just for work and a perfect selection of domestic backdrops.

My role is senior, I’d have the lighting sussed and be in a spare room in a smart shirt but I’m also a decent human being so I’d never judge someone based on whether they happened to have the privilege (and yes it is a thumping great privilege) of having the good fortune and be of the right generation and kids of the right age to be able to have a “nice” setup for a teams interview with a guarantee of no interruptions.

If you’ve got a furby or a Lego monstrosity in the background or your wall is damp from the leaky flat above over which you have no control I don’t care.

I’ll go further I don’t have a right to visually intrude into your home in an interview. If you want no camera or a background of your favourite landscape or some blur to cover up your private things then you can carry on.

Disclaimer I am not interviewing the OP so his experience may vary.

@Joshvegas. Examination of the tunnel bore and 3 shafts. I rode up to the hydro. Last there in the first lock down and Antur was closed.

Back to what to wear, I’d say a polo shirt. Nothing says smart casual like a t shirt and a collar.

Interviewed about 20 candidates during lockdown and had a couple of interviews myself. For others (mainly in the US), they have worn ties and some have worn a jacket. I think overkill. Personally, I’ve worn my favourite floral shirts. I don’t wear ties. Even when representing the company on official business. Lighting and background are more noticeable than clothing. Partly because even interviewers are nosey 😉

Best interview so far was interrupted by potty training when his 2yo came in. Cool and calm under pressure. I recommended the candidate for the position.

Teams interview? Well I would say jacket and tie are definitely overkill there. Speaking from very recent personal experience I found the best balance was one of my black casual shirts as the only attire change from my normal t-shirt. I also had a fresh beard/ hair cut.

Where I invested my preparation was a combination of video and audio. I picked up a decent webcam to plonk on top of my monitor, put a couple of LED panels I have kicking around for photography either side of my screen, balanced the output of each to ensure the massive window on my left didn’t result in half my face in shadow. I also cleared up the background a bit so there were no major distractions. For audio I ended up using a headset for the interview. I have a Jabra speakerphone thing but the mic sounded quite tinny and the mich with the logitec webcam sounded even worse. My Plantronics business headset on the other hand sounded brilliant so I went with that.

My rationale was simple – I wanted the interviewer to be able to see my face as clearly as possible but more importantly hear me well enough that it felt like we could be in the same room. Did it make any difference to the outcome – I have no idea – I may ask at some point. Did I feel more confident based on how I was presenting myself? Absolutely. Above usual effort on my appearance then go to town on the tech & settings for video & audio – which is exactly what you would expect from the particular IT based line of work I was interviewing for.

I’ve done interviews with people over the last year or so with visual experiences ranging from no video to three piece suit and tie.

Ooh, that’s interesting and something that hadn’t occurred to me.

Does removal of the requirement for video (or face-to-face) interviews help minorities who might otherwise be prejudiced against? Recruitment has several legally protected characteristics but when you’re sat in front of someone judgemental it’s hard to hide being brown or fat or ginger or old or insert physical characteristic here. Over t’Internet you could dodge that bullet.

That’s good, right?

A speculum with shit sandwich feeder.

I luv a shitsanswich me I do i do. I’ve got no opinions and will work for pats on the back.

Ooh, that’s interesting and something that hadn’t occurred to me.

Does removal of the requirement for video (or face-to-face) interviews help minorities who might otherwise be prejudiced against? Recruitment has several legally protected characteristics but when you’re sat in front of someone judgemental it’s hard to hide being brown or fat or ginger or old or insert physical characteristic here. Over t’Internet you could dodge that bullet.

Slightly OT but that hadn’t occurred to me either. I don’t classify myself as “woke” or anything like that I was simply raised to be fair and non discriminatory but you could be right other than those who discriminate for a lack of camera.

What alarms me a little about this thread is that it highlights how unaware some (not necessarily the posters but the culture of places/indistries they work in) are of just how intrusive a video meeting in your home is and just how much prejudice or discomfort it could trigger.

My impression (not just from this thread and I’m not having a pop at any posters here) is there are a fair few empty nesters out there with big houses and dedicated home office space who don’t understand how much harder it’s been for the younger generation / “lower ranks” to separate work and home space.

@jamiemcf

Putting your job description together with the fact your boss was in the tunnel with you I reckon I know who you work for. I can’t imagine a suit and tie would impress them in the slightest.

I work in T-shirt and jeans and personally I wouldn’t care if someone I was interviewing wore the same, with some caveats I suppose – if you wore your favourite offensive slogan T shirt you wouldn’t be making a good impression. That said, I agree with Superficial here. If you’ve got a smart shirt, why wouldn’t you just put it on? Then all bases are covered.

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.

Agree cultural fit is important, but personally the only thing I’d read into someone wearing a shirt and tie for an interview is that they’d made an effort.

I assess cultural fit as well as technical talent,

How would you define that?

I mean if “cultural fit” means you can’t / won’t employ someone who ‘won’t fit’ because of their gender or skin colour, you’re breaking the law. Sometimes if someone isn’t a cultural fit, it’s the culture that needs changing.

My impression (not just from this thread and I’m not having a pop at any posters here) is there are a fair few empty nesters out there with big houses and dedicated home office space who don’t understand how much harder it’s been for the younger generation / “lower ranks” to separate work and home space.

I’ve got the ‘pleasure’ of having known both. I’ve moved house recently and one of the prerequisites was an office space of some form. I was WFH anyway before the virus broke and cannot see that changing any time soon. So now it’s great. Prior to the move though I had a desktop and two laptops jammed onto an Ikea special maybe 1m across, stuck in the back corner of the living room where my partner is watching A Place In The Sun. My boss asked if I wanted a spare monitor and I said, “thanks but I’d have to glue it to the back of the kitchen door”.