I was training someone recently for a sales position. They came with me to several appointments and observed. At the outset of the day, he asked me, "do you always wear a suit?" I told him that I like to, yes. He said that other people he has observed only wore business casual attire and, he himself was planning to do that because he didn't want to intimidate the customer, he wanted them to feel "comfortable with him." I was astounded by this reply. The last thing we are trying to do is instill comfort, we aren't in the business of making friends. We are in the business of getting our customers to take a real, hard look at their business and recognize that which makes them the MOST uncomfortable.... they need help. They need consultation.
I told him to close his eyes and picture the most successful business consultant he could imagine. Someone that commands attention, inspires trust and looks like integrity embodied. Is he/she wearing a golf shirt and khakis?
After watching me that day, he showed up the next day in a suit and tie.
Dress the part.
- Dress the part.
Excellence is a habit.
What do you wear to job applications? On the one hand, you want to make the best first impression, on the other hand, I usually wear business casual so it represents me better. I got myself a nice navy blue suit a while ago which I use for formalities like that, but I'm more comfortable / more myself in business casual. There's also the risk of overdressing.
- Dress the part.
thenewgreen and I have talked about this, and I think the caveat is that not all parts call for a suit. Most important to me, is someone that knows their business. I wouldn't buy a tractor from a guy in a suit. I would probably favor employing a male banker wearing a suit to one that wasn't, but if I were hiring a male coder, a suit would make me less, not more, inclined to hire him.
I used to go to the American Stroke Conference every year, and it was interesting because the MD men were almost all wearing suits, and the male scientists were almost exclusively not. Male pharmaceutical reps were all in suits. As a scientist, suit-wearing doesn't give you credibility, if anything, it can do the opposite because you aren't selling for financial gain and a suit can give the impression that you are. Physics conferences are an extreme, you can find very successful people in sweatpants.
I wear a suit for weddings, funerals, and banquets. I would wear one for some interviews, but if I were interviewing for a science position, I'd probably go with a suit but no tie, just so it's clear. I don't terribly mind wearing suits, and even enjoy looking smart in that way from time to time, but I would not long stay in a position that required me to wear one daily. Same goes for a cowboy hat.
There is also the issue about suits and gender, which I am not a fan of. I wish guys could be considered smart-looking without such little variation.
I think the issue for me boils down to dressing yourself up to cater to an audience or to do it for yourself. What I wear does influence how I feel and how others feel about me, so the issue is finding a balance between the two. I tend to lean towards wearing what I feel like wearing, which is business casual.
In general I also prefer the suit-but-no-tie. I think that's because I don't feel important or confident enough in most circumstances for a tie.
I agree. Also, the same clothes work differently on different people. Some people never look comfortable in a suit, and some people never look at home in jeans.
I guess it all comes down to the role that you are playing, and what you are communicating. Clothing can give you an edge in some circles, but it's contextual and only part of the equation. In a meeting or presentation, I tend to wear black or dark gray with dark jeans, and never logos. I wear that a lot outside of those occasions too. By wearing dark colors and no logo, I am comfortable, and my clothing isn't so rebellious that it can't easily fade into the background. If someone is really hung up about it, then that's probably a good thing to get out of the way.
A bunch of the richest financiers/bankers are known for wearing swatches. I don't know who started it, but it has become a trend. From what I have read, they wear cheap watches to communicate that they can.
Also, I think it is important to point out how masculine this whole thing is. Woman have to approach it from a whole different and complicated angle, and I think variability in men's professional attire is a good thing from that perspective.
There is no doubt that I would expect a practicing scientist and the President of a company to present themselves differently. Interesting times ahead...
You always look professional. But you always look 19 too.
- I wear a suit for weddings, funerals, and banquets. I would wear one for some interviews, but if I were interviewing for a science position, I'd probably go with a suit but no tie, just so it's clear. I don't terribly mind wearing suits, and even enjoy looking smart in that way from time to time, but I would not long stay in a position that required me to wear one daily. Same goes for a cowboy hat.
I can confirm the science comments. Wore a suit (and a clean haircut) to the first of my interviews and felt overdressed. Relaxed the garb for the next three interviews and felt much more at ease. Got into all but the first of the schools.
Science people sway much more towards dressing "nice" (i.e. clean, what I would describe at attractive-, but not formal-looking) over business or even business-casual. No point wearing a $100 shirt if you're going to get drops of iron or acid on it.
I would never not wear a suit and tie to a job interview. Even if I was interviewing to be a waiter at a restaurant, I would wear, at the very least, a tie. If your credentials and lined up equally with another candidate, and they show up dressed casually and you do not, guess what? Chances are you get the position.
It may not be accurate, it may not be fair, but the natural assumption is that someone who is dressed nicely is going to be more responsible, cares more about getting the position than someone who is not.
Making a suit for my boyfriend right now, going for the 2nd (final?) fitting today! It's a bit of a gamble because it's really easy to get scammed or get a really crap suit but you can also get really good value here. Got quoted between 150 to 800$ depending on the fabric so we went for the cheapest 100% wool stuff which will be about 350 usd... I hope it turns out well, fingers crossed!
Edit: Jacket got better, pants got worse and now there's no time for touchups. Damn. We asked for skinnier pant legs last time and he made them too skinny. Guy knows what he's doing tho, didn't cut out the fabric so we'll probably widen them back up once we're home! Pretty happy with the result finally :) It might be just gimmicks but I was supper impressed by the little pen pocket on the inside!
I respect the suit.
Too much jewelry can ruin it all. Nice watch, 1 ring, don't go to flashy with cuff links or tie pin, stay away from ear rings.
Wearing a suit is perilous in Portland. It's a fast easy way to get ostracized. People in suits get fucked with all the time, they often get terrible service and snide comments in public. I don't dig it.
Bad service isn't right. I like the idea of occasionally going out being really well dressed but my job (programmer) doesn't require it and I can't afford it. Oh well. I'm guessing the bad service comes from the assumption that if you wear a suit, you're working for a bank or some evil multinational. But that's not necessarily the case!
When I was in college the first time there was one girl in my course who always dressed up because she wanted to "dress for the job she wants". Except her version of dressing up was basically semi acceptable club attire and she had no idea.
It would be so easy if the option was suit, suit, or suit.
I remember my first "new hire training" I went to at a large company. Someone there suggested that you should "always dress for the job you want, not the job you have." To which the guy next to me said, "then everyone would wear shorts and flip-flops." Kind of true....
But yeah, fella's have it easier for sure.
Ya it's definitely an odd saying I'm not going to dress as a massage therapist while I'm landscaping. I feel like that saying really only works if the job you want requires a suit or dress.
It's nice to have options if you actually understand how to dress professionally as a woman but damn a lot of people would be saved by less options.
- basically semi acceptable club attire and she had no idea.
We had an HR intern a few years ago who came in on the first day wearing an absolutely skin tight, low cut, thin-fabric, short, white dress - basically a dress for clubbing. She was a very attractive woman.
My good friend was the VP of HR in the office at the time. That afternoon, after she had finished showing the intern around the office and making introductions, I stopped in to chat. I asked her how her day was. She walked across the office and shut the door and said something along the lined of "I'm not sure if this is going to work out. I'll need to have a conversation about attire with the intern or I'll have to write myself and everyone else up for harassment. Holy shit she's hot"
>I told him to close his eyes and picture the most successful business consultant he could imagine. Someone that commands attention, inspires trust and looks like integrity embodied. Is he/she wearing a golf shirt and khakis?
I'm in a field with plenty of consulting options. I'll probably end up a consultant in a few years. And I think if I put that question to most of my company's clients, they would answer that the most successful and desirable consulting partner they could ask for would dress Silicon Valley chic.
I have a personal rule that any job which requires I wear a suit, for non functional uses, is not a job for me. the respectability politics of a suit being the only acceptable attire for a "professional" is invlaid from my pov.
To me, the suit is a traditional item of clothing culturally synonymous with white collar jobs and the pursuit of the lifestyle that comes with it. I do not find the lifestyle appealing.
When I was heavily involved in a professional engineering organization, I never wore a full suit, at most a sweater. Still went up the ladder because of the work I did. When I got hired at my current job, I didnt wear a suit, chinos and a red shirt. Been here 3 years. Everyday, for work, Im im jeans and a T-shirt. No one respects my engineering work less.
There was once a conversation on Hubski which at one point turned to wearing suits. I said that I don't like wearing suits: they always made me feel trapped. Someone replied: "You just never wore a good suit".
Little did I know back then that I'd love wearing a smart casual suit so much I'll do it every day.
Now, I just can't stand the idea of not wearing the combo. Granted, it's not aggressively official as suits often act: it's a very-dark-blue pants plus white slim-fit shirt plus thin black tie combo - but damned I be if I don't look good in it. So many compliments I haven't received... ever! Hell, even men compliment my looks - this ought to be saying something, isn't it?
I'm a student in a uni that doesn't belong to the Ivy League, so the semi-suit is not a requirement, but I love wearing it. It makes me feel stronger, more powerful as a person, and I think that people treat me differently now. I don't want to go back to the t-shirts now.
Still need some shoes to match. Any advice? Sneakers are only good as far as I don't have a worthy replacement.
This is something I think about a lot as I polish up my résumé and get ready to dip my toe in the job seeking market.
Up to this point in my life I have ALWAYS worn a suit to every job interview. In fact - I wear a suit any time I am giving a presentation or speaking in public. It's just a thing I have.
- Someone that commands attention, inspires trust and looks like integrity embodied
Well said TNG. That pretty much sums it up. If you're going to listen to me talk, if I want to be taken seriously, or if I am being considered for employment - I better look as good as possible.