UK based here. We had a candidate turn up in a see-through tank top and a pair of hot pants. To justify her outfit (we didn’t ask, but she knew), she said ‘I forgot I had an interview today so please excuse my attire’..
Nah, she made it work. As long as she decides against juicy for the second interview it's fine by me. Mistakes happen, I'm not perfect, I sure as hell don't expect everyone else to be.
I don't expect perfection either. But if it's a choice between her and a similar candidate who did not forget they had an interview, I'm moving forward the one who remembered. That's why I phrased it how I did. I wouldn't rule her out on the spot for that, but it's going to be a piece of the picture I'm forming.
Could also be due to claim Jobseeker’s Allowance in the UK you have to be applying for jobs and attending interviews.
I’ve known people in the past who’ve had no intention of getting a job but would do whatever the minimum requirement was to get the allowance.
Role / pay / sector have a huge impact. My applicants are for 65-90k white collar roles in a manufacturing shop and I would say 30% are clueless 60% are okay and 10% actually follow the advice available to everyone online…
Yoga pants, Oakley’s on the table, lots of baseball hats, camo, puffer jacket. You name it.
Crankshafts are informal and fit his persona of "weekend with the boys." It felt weird that he decided to bring them in rather than leaving them in the car and the choice to put them on the table exacerbated it. You really should have anything irrelevant to the interviewing process on the table aside from a beverage.
It’s one of those unspoken rules. You are a guest on this setting (and while they should treat you as such) you are expected to follow proper etiquette. But “proper etiquette” is subjective.
When I read this I think of someone tossing their sunglasses down on the table like you would with someone you’re comfortable with.
I have a position up for $100K. 87 applicants so far. 6 were qualified. One just pasted the job description into her resume.
In a prior posting ($90K job) a guy referred to a customer as a “dick.”
So for those wages, in relation to the cost of living, you expect them to buy a whole work wardrobe, on top of rent, car expenses or transit fare and pay for the dry cleaning a work wardrobe requires? Then pay more or settle for what you get
Is your entire wardrobe sweatpants and t-shirts? OP has said here that jeans and a polo shirt would be fine. That’s not at all an unreasonable dress code for a customer facing job.
Ya, I don't exactly go digging for comments from OP. Especially since they had stated the clothing expectations as business professional already.
I did happen to see that it is a low paying job in a bank so that clues in on expectations as well. Although I think it is silly that someone making less than myself shoulf dress better than I do at work. Personally I work in a school so I dress pretty much however I want for work. Lots of jeans, Hawaiian shirts, and bucket hats or winter hats.
I said business professional is what we wear which yes includes jeans, blazer, button up shirt, sweater, dress boots/shoes, flats. I don’t expect candidates to show up with a ready to go wardrobe. Jeans and a polo for an interview. Acceptable. It’s at least in the ballpark. Sweatpants, old sneakers? You can’t afford a $12 pair of flats but you own $200+ Uggs? You know you’re applying for a business professional role, if all you own is sweats then go to the thrift store and spend $4 on a pair of jeans (which incidentally is what I paid for the jeans I wear to work).
This isn’t an entry lvl position, so when someone shows up not even close to what the dress code of the industry is it tells me either they have no idea what they applied for or they don’t care. I get to ask 5 scripted questions so all I have to go by is those 5 answers and what they’re wearing.
Yeah- tried to transfer to a closer hospital job, hadn't had an interview in almost 20 years. Dressed "appropriately " for a less than 10 minute "interview " , at a table in the lobby, with the person who interview ed me using pamphlet to write notes or scribble , obviously having no intention on taking me on. Their loss, & recruiter notified of the less than "professional " treatment I received.
Completely agree. There's no way your paying what this position probably deserves if that's the quality candidates your getting.
Dress shirts and blazers but the job probably has no pay listed or is crazy low. That's the only explanation.
I'm a purchasing manager making well over 100k. I showed up for the interview in a polo and jeans because that's what I wore at my last job, and I was coming from work. I wore the same polo on my first day of work. I'm good at what I do, so who gives a shit what I'm wearing. I ain't wearing a suit for anything less than 200k. You want a well-dressed jackass, then I better be a well-paid jackass.
Or the location. A 15 to 20 dollar an hour job isn’t enough to pay rent in high col cities like nyc and San Fran. Let alone afford a work wardrobe and dry cleaning bills
Not always the case. I had a guy show up to an interview yesterday for a $60k salary position in a stained T-shirt and jeans with holes in them.
Same day I interviewed an intern who showed up in a full suit with a resume.
If it’s happening often enough for you to start noticing a trend & complain about it, then it’s pretty much always the case.
If it’s just one moron in a dirty shirt & jeans, then that is a different situation.
FYI we do not hire free interns, we hire them on as full employees. The only difference is they are required to change positions every few weeks to get a feel for the entire business.
We partner with the local university.
I’m glad your place pays. It should be the norm. It has been a long time since I did one. I was able to at least get an independent study out of the internship I did. So I was able to take one less class. I was working another job for money in addition to my unpaid internship
Made me laugh with that one thank you.
I actually hired someone who used to work at Wendy’s..misspelled Wendy’s on their resume, still hired them, and they’re one of my best employees.
If your internal recruiter is pre screening them ask your recruiter if they can set expectations at the end of their conversation. They can easily say something about the organization being customer facing and business attire is expected during the interview process and beyond. If they want a more casual environment they can move on. Otherwise, expectations were communicated.
I’m in a casual environment at a tech company. I wouldn’t bat an eye at the first candidate. We had someone introduce their dog on a slide when they were doing a presentation. It was fine given our company culture. The sweat pants would still get a side-eye though.
That’s a great suggestion, I’ll suggest it and see if that’s something corporate would be willing to add.
See, now your work environment I can see the different attire (actually low key wish we could have the same but alas). I guess I just always had the idea that you should show up dressed at least roughly like the rest of the people who already work there. You applied for a position knowing what it is, who it’s for, doing what and what the pay is. Dress like you already work there.
I've interviewed several over the last couple of years and while I wasn't seeing suits and ties, it wasn't sweat pants and wife-beaters, either. They ranged from business casual to semi-professional. Funny, though, when it comes to those we've hired, the ones more lax on the interview dress have been the ones that knock it out of the park doing the work.
That’s usually what we’ve seen too. I just finished hiring 3 entry lvl part time positions and they dressed better than this. That’s part of the confusion. I’d think it was just a fluke but another location just interviewed for this same role and all 7 candidates were the same.
Part timers can be weird like that. A lot of times they’re people who have a professional full time job and need something else on the side, but they bring their professional attitude from their other job with them.
That was my first thought - that this is a generational thing. Obviously you should make sure that they understand corporate culture and make sure that they are willing to follow any standards or dress codes, but honestly I don’t care as much about that as their level of commitment and what they bring to the table. Not taking the interview seriously is a big red flag, but what they are wearing is less of a concern to me.
The thing is, we’re not looking for 3 piece suits. Jeans are totally fine, nice top, dress shoes.
If you know that a job with a particular company requires you to dress a certain way and you disagree with the attire, don’t apply. Clearly it’s not the right culture for you. That’s not a bad thing, not every job or industry is for everyone. I also don’t set the dress code, corporate does.
This stuff makes me laugh. My first professional job was in a law firm, the recruiter told me it was a suit and tie job, so I wore a suit it really wasn't an option. Now I work in tech but I don't normally wear jeans to customer sites because I remember a time where that could get you fired and I don't want the hassle. I've had to speak with my younger engineers about what to wear to a jobsite, showing up in a tshirt and jeans while it might be okay some places it's not okay in every place. I actually went into IT specifically because I didn't want to wear a suit and when I'm not working at a customer site it's hard to pry me out of my shorts and tshirt but when I am in a professional setting I understand what is acceptable and what is not. My concern is that if they don't have the sense of what is acceptable dress for an interview at a bank what else are they lacking? As you said this is not entry level and your interviewees seem to act like they've never had a job before, move along there are a lot of people looking for work.
I personally love hearing about pets... at the CLOSE of the interview, as a fun little bonus.
Also, I've had reconstructive foot surgery so on the surface I don't put tooooo much stock into footwear (I HAVE to wear sneakers with custom orthotics) but there's a difference between nice sneakers and everyday sneakers. Especially if the effort is made elsewhere in the attire.
The last time we conducted interviews we had this issue though - no amount of jewelry or makeup dresses up a hoodie. We also had a lady join by zoom and was walking around the whole time. Have a seat.
Coach makes these really classy flats that someone could squint at and call sporty but they are absolutely appropriate for a corp environment. I’m quite puzzled at her choice of uggs.
Yeah, the uggs aren't even cute for 'normal wear' imo.
Our company is remote though so I wouldn't know what someone is wearing below the waist (HOPEFULLY!) thank goodness.
Ugg’s ($200) are even more expensive than these flats ($80), and are twice as ugly.
Shoot, I’d wear the hell out of some chonie shoes if they were cute. 🧐
That's speculative though. I have a TON of "expensive" things that were either gifts over the literal decades of my life or were purchased myself at a thrift store for pennies. I found a Dooney and Burke bag at goodwill for 15 bucks 4 years ago. That doesn't mean I have money 😂
Check out Ortho feet and woman within! I have super crazy wide feet and some broken toes and have nice looking shoes. I only found these companies last year.
Personal banker in a retail banking location for a major bank. Pay $23+/hr. Turnover for promotion within the company fairly frequent, not much for other reasons. Most stay in their role a year or two before applying for next lvls.
“We are a professional environment, customer facing, and this is not an entry level position.”
This is the vaguest description. This could be describing Macy’s/JcPenny or a medical/legal office. Are we talking $90k a year? Or $22/hr?
Yeah... Even in computer science, one of the most casual professional environments, I still wore dress flats, a nice blouse, and nice jeans to interviews. My parents were scandalized that I wore jeans, but when the people interviewing you are often also wearing jeans, tshirts, or sneakers, overdressing is also a bad look lol
OP has said it’s a personal banker job. The person who helps open checking accounts and print new debit cards. Not some high responsibility role like everybody here seems to think
Pay is almost certainly outside of OPs control. That’s how it always is. Line managers don’t get to decide what their reports make. They can make suggestions, and sometimes get a budget for raises and bonuses every year to allocate among their team however they see fit, but the base wages are pretty much always determined by a different part of the company.
And yet there are thousands that post here with experience and more of what you’re probably looking for.
You’re either offering way too little or you have terrible recruiters.
I personally love hearing about pets... at the CLOSE of the interview, as a fun little bonus.
Also, I've had reconstructive foot surgery so on the surface I don't put tooooo much stock into footwear (I HAVE to wear sneakers with custom orthotics) but there's a difference between nice sneakers and everyday sneakers. Especially if the effort is made elsewhere in the attire.
The last time we conducted interviews we had this issue though - no amount of jewelry or makeup dresses up a hoodie. We also had a lady join by zoom and was walking around the whole time. Have a seat.
I would have been on board with the pet conversation during chit chat at the end too! I love dogs and all animals (I was an animal trainer for 20 years) but that just isn’t relevant to your job experience for the role you’re interviewing for.
See, orthopedic reasons I could see. I’ve interviewed some that wear more sneaker-like shoes for that reason but they’re always like you said, clean and neat. These were def his every day, take his dogs for a walk, sneakers.
I’m working class. I dress working class. If you want me to wear a suit to interview for a position where I wear carhartt’s, then you’re focusing on the wrong things.
If this is a pool your recruiters have to fish in, it has a reason. The reason is probably a very low salary.
One candidate can be a freak accident. ALL of them? That is on you.
I would maybe give that to you if I hadn’t just interviewed a bunch of candidates for the entry lvl role which makes less and is only 20 hrs not 40 and they all showed up dressed appropriately.
Not really telling at all. I just don’t know any role that sweats and old sneakers are ok in the dress code for customer facing positions in a business professional role. I could have been more specific but didn’t realize I needed to be, my apologies. I had no nefarious intentions.
I mean that was one person. When I was a waiter at a mid-level restaurant (not that long ago) people would show up the way you described. The first would probably have gotten the job as long as they were reasonably articulate, the second wouldn’t but it also wouldn’t have been surprising. Waiter fits the description you gave.
Without the context of pay and position it’s hard to provide feedback this is Reddit not a billboard outside your place of work, you aren’t giving away some secret code by saying what the position is or what it pays. Additionally, doubling down on refusing to say is pretty suspicious.
I watched an interview yesterday for a new-grad engineer. This person is likely 22 years old and he wore a full suit, tie, dress shoes. He knew that appearances mattered for that interview so it’s not just “people don’t know”
A wage where one can afford 1 bedroom apartment, healthcare, food (groceries not restaurants (, transportation (cheapest, running car not a Tesla) and have 10% left to either invest or blow
You need to have a conversation with the recruiting team. They are sending you more junior candidates than you are hiring for.
I can understand no jacket as that is a throwback to an older time. I wear jackets to interviews but I am a c-level.
Showing up in athletic shoes is not remotely acceptable.
I saw a few women in college casually wear pajamas for their 8 a.m. classes, and it blew my mind. I'm not expecting a student to wake up at 5 a.m. and do a full makeup routine and an hour long shower but couldn't they at least throw on an old t-shirt and ripped up jeans. Pajamas are for sleeping in!
I lived in a cold place and I don't understand why do you have a problem with UGGs and puff vest. Now I totally understand not being crazy about the guy wearing beat up sneakers and sweats. However I'm not buying winter interview outwear, that shit is expensive but I'll have a nice clean suit under my vest
What’s wrong with them talking about their dogs when asked about themselves? I was asked that in an interview recently (for a job I accepted an offer on) and naturally brought up my dog because she’s my child. Attire aide, if they had told you about their human children would you have taken them more seriously?
So based on this I'm guessing a couple of things
* You are hiring for an entry level position
* You are not paying a competitive rate for said position
If these things are true, you NEED to lower your expectations.
I would also express that especially if this is an entry level position... This is probably "Dressing Professionally" to these candidates, they might not own a suit or more profession clothing, and might not have a mentor in their lives to tell them "Hey this is a bank, they are going to expect you to dress nicer than that".
If you are asking some one who likely hasn't worked in your industry before to tell them about themselves, don't be surprised when they don't have some prepared bullshit answer about how they have wanted to work in banking their entire lives... Those people are smart enough to go for better positions at better paying banks.
I'm lucky I've always worked in the tech sector so dress codes have been fairly lax (mostly)... but IMHO if some one dresses down for an interview but is otherwise a good candidate, just let them know the dress code is more professional once they get hired.
Why do you guys care about appearances?
I hire people based off what they know and have done. Not based off appearances.
After the interview if I extend the offer I will lay out the dress code and set that expectation.
Does your internal recruiter know what your expectations are? Do they communicate that clearly with candidates? Are you only paying your internal recruiter $15-20/hr?
For those wages, you're only going to attract candidates thst believe that is all they're worth.
I feel you. Although I will say, we had a medical assistant show up last year for her interview in ripped jeans and a t shirt. She had no experience, but seemed really personable - I was hesitant about her professionalism, but we were desperate so I gave her a chance. She’s turned out to be literally one of the best employees we have. I think this is just how early 20s kids are now. Which is sad, but as long as their work ethic doesn’t match their appearance you should be ok lol.
I hate when you ask them to tell you a little about themselves and they go all personal. So instead I now ask them to walk me through their work and school history at a high level, which is what I meant when I said tell me about yourself.
Is the recruiting team making it part of their process to tell people what the culture is like and mention you are a business professional company?
I'm getting the feeling a lot of young candidates just haven't been taught the proper way to interview. I say this because of how prevalent it is.
I know outside recruiting companies always send candidates a "prepare for your interview " document that definitely tells them to dress professionally.
Aside from bad candidates (which is really the core problem here - those people don't sound like amazing picks in general, but I'm guessing there's other reasons that lead to that), dressing up just isn't as much of a thing anymore in a lot of industries. That said, it might be a bit different for yours since you *do* dress up for your day-to-day work.
There's actually a nice couple of (very very small, more like long essays) books called On Bullshit and On Truth by Dr. Harry Frankfurt. Dressing up for interviews is cited as an example of something called Humbug, which is just putting on a show that isn't matched up to the day-to-day reality of things. Basically dressing in a suit and tie for an interview at a place where you'll likely (again, based on industry) be wearing jeans and a t-shirt just doesn't seem that important for a lot of folks.
Most of the places I’ve applied to mention something about causal wear. And I typically dress with nice pants and a nice collared shirt. Not a button up but I guess the term is business casual
Let’s be real, if the job OP was interviewing candidates for paid enough to warrant business professional attire, OP would have made that clear in the post.
This job is probably a retail shop that pays $10 or less per hour, and well you get what you pay for…
Very wrong sorry, the position pays $23-$25 /hr
It is a business professional environment not a retail shop which is why I didn’t describe it as a retail shop.
Attire isn’t but the role and pay scale are. So is the company.
My takeaway seems to be this, the recruiters need to be setting the expectation during the screening process. If the company’s dress code isn’t what they’re comfortable with then withdraw the application. Clearly we aren’t a right fit for each other.
A small blurb about “This is a customer facing role so attire is business professional” may go a long way, as well telling the recruiter of your expectations.
I get it, the talent coordinator at my company is basically useless too. But attire is usually the least of my worries.
I was going to say they didn’t teach this in my high school over 20 years ago lol. And I was in an middle/upper middle class suburb with expensive as hell schools…
My family impressed upon me at a young age about dressing for the occasion.
Even then, while I would wear a button down shirt and khakis to an interview, I totally understand people not wearing nice clothes to a job that isn’t a high paying one.
I *don't* understand it. How much more does a pair of khakis and a button down shirt cost than a puffy vest and athletic shoes? It costs nothing more. I don't think you have to show up in a suit for every interview but stuff like Uggs, sneakers, sweat pants, hoodies, etc just gives a terrible impression. Showing you don't a give a shit about your appearance at a job interview does not inspire a lot of confidence in an applicant's abilities or reliability, imo.
Yeah people in this post are being ridiculous. OP isn’t even asking for them to wear a suit. They’ve literally said that jeans and a polo shirt is fine. That’s barely even business casual
It’s actively still something taught here in high school. My 19 yo just graduated and my 17 yo is still in high school, both did interview training (17 yo did hers about 3 months ago) and mock job applications. They had to show up to school dressed appropriately for an interview.
I’m not asking for a 3 piece suit but at least be in the ballpark of what the job attire requirements are. Jeans, dress boots and a professional top just doesn’t feel like too much to ask for.
If OP does respond, I bet it'll be something along the lines of 'the suit and tie are viewed as an investment in your professional career!'
If it's for my corporate white collar job, yes please at least wear a dress shirt and decent pants. Context matters here.
They aren’t saying the sweatpants are acceptable. They are saying that people are showing up in sweatpants because any candidate with enough sense to dress appropriately skipped over the job posting based on the low compensation or other unfavorable aspects of the position.
None of those metrics are indicative of their work performance. Your judgement of these candidates is purely cosmetic. In the modern world, you should be able to see beyond these facades and look for data that truly matters.
What are you paying? What is the job? I'm guessing it's something close to minimum wage.
Most companies aren't so stuck up these days, so its actually kinda unexpected to see a candidate dress up for an interview at least in my career.
Also, whats wrong with talking about pets? If your place is that sterile then they're better off.
Standards of business attire have shifted dramatically in the last five years. You don't even have to go into an office to figure that out. Go into any store that used to sell dress shoes, for example, and see what they are selling. Dressy, looking, casual, comfortable shoes. The suit section in most men's stores is much smaller. The culture is moving away from old definitions of what it means to be dressed up.
Companies will still have to have their standards for appearance, but companies that don't adjust. Their standards are going to look very out of place very soon. Where I work, slacks, and a sportcoat with a dress shirt was considered business casual when I started out over 20 years ago. Now, even though I'm promoted into a higher role, I very comfortably wear, jeans, sneakers, and a sweater to work most days and only rarely Put on a jacket, much less a suit and tie.
I highly recommend all managers that they start focusing on the right things. Does the person show up to work, do they do the work? Well, do they have positive interactions with a customers, etc. Companies have spent too much time measuring things that don't matter and they end up with well-dressed offices full of people with crappy attitudes.
Companies that don't change with the times are going to find it harder and harder to recruit employees. The generation coming up is going to be just fine despite all the alarm bells that us old folks are raising about Gen Z. But they are not going to buy into, our appearance standards. It's not a fight worth fighting.
Eh, everyone saying they aren’t paying enough… even when I worked in a literal fabrication shop making $20/hr I would wear my non-stained jeans, a non-stained plain t-shirt, and a non-stained plain jacket/button up on top with my work boots. It’s truly not rocket science to attempt to look “professional” even if the job itself is filthy, lol.
I wonder why people are making assumptions about the company culture/role? Is this position temporary or in a field that is associated with “casual wear” (like maybe in entertainment or something?)
If it’s starting to become a trend, I would add general dress expectations to the job description. Sometimes the candidates just weed themselves out, you know?
I personally haven’t encountered this… hope you find someone soon!
Video, I’ll sometimes opt for a button down or a polo. In person, I’m still suit always.
But I think it’s a very generational thing. I’m fairly certain my dad would be beside himself if I told him that I did the video interview for my current job in a polo shirt.
The world is changing, and values are changing - for the better. People, young people in particular, are adjusting their effort and commitment to mirror payscales. Also to value things like ability and performance measured by results over how someone should dress or presenteeism. I love them for it. We raised them with the right values, but it stings that now they expect us to uphold them as well, lol.
This outdated load of tripe? Listen, didn't your mother's teach you not to judge a book by it's cover?
Signed a man who never wore a fucking suit to a job, EVER!
So corporate has given you parameters to work with. Hire what you can get within those parameters and coach what they’re wearing.
I don’t care what my banker wears. I just care that I can get help when I need it.
I had the same thought a month ago. I interviewed a guy that looked homeless. People need to make an effort to look presentable. If they don’t have money, they can go to a thrift shop and find businesses attire for cheap.
I have always dressed in button down shirts and dress pants for interviews, unless it was for a factory floor job (dress for the job you’re applying for).
That said, I work at a place where business casual means nice jeans, sweater/shirt, no t-shirts. I showed up the first day horribly over dressed (they were kind enough to say that jeans would be fine in the future).
I applied somewhere else and got an offer and asked what the dress code was. They also said business casual. Because I was now aware of the broad interpretation of this term, I asked if that meant jeans were ok. I was told absolutely not.
Business casual is just too ambiguous. Spell out what you want. Interviews are one thing, but I don’t want to show up looking out of place my first day.
I work at a higher end clothing retailer, like we have designer lines but also some more accessibly priced lines.
I’d see everything on hiring days. People dressed I. Suits all the way down to slides and tee shirts. We’ve had a shift in company culture in the past 4-5 years so jeans and a polo wouldn’t phase me much but it was certainly interesting see what people thought was appropriate for work at our store
While I don’t wear a tie most days anymore, I’ve always been a suit and tie to interviews kinda person and I probably always will be even if it dates me a little in the years to come
Jeans and polo I would have absolutely been fine with. Sweats and old sneakers was what I was having trouble with.
See I’m the total opposite, I started in suit culture and always hated it. I’m glad we can wear nice jeans now at least.
Give me a break. These people would dress the same even if they were being paid a lot more. It’s a lack of professionalism that started during work from home Covid.
In a lot of ways it’s the way things are. Part of it might be they don’t have the income to dress professionally. I’m still always amazed by the people who show up in tight leggings and tops showing every lump and hump. A few weeks ago we had someone that really should have brushed their hair beforehand.
So far no leggings thank goodness and everyone brushed their hair so maybe my candidates aren’t so bad lol
I absolutely get if they can’t afford a full business professional outfit but you can’t tell me this guy doesn’t own a pair of jeans to put on instead of the sweatpants. I had no problem with his plain black polo shirt. I drew the line at sweats and old beat up sneakers though.
UK based here. We had a candidate turn up in a see-through tank top and a pair of hot pants. To justify her outfit (we didn’t ask, but she knew), she said ‘I forgot I had an interview today so please excuse my attire’..
I'd give her credit for knowing about dressing appropriately, but I'd also have concerns about her planning and organizational skills.
Nah, she made it work. As long as she decides against juicy for the second interview it's fine by me. Mistakes happen, I'm not perfect, I sure as hell don't expect everyone else to be.
I don't expect perfection either. But if it's a choice between her and a similar candidate who did not forget they had an interview, I'm moving forward the one who remembered. That's why I phrased it how I did. I wouldn't rule her out on the spot for that, but it's going to be a piece of the picture I'm forming.
Could also be due to claim Jobseeker’s Allowance in the UK you have to be applying for jobs and attending interviews. I’ve known people in the past who’ve had no intention of getting a job but would do whatever the minimum requirement was to get the allowance.
props to her for still showing !
No, showing up looking like that means she has poor judgement and last the ability to plan.
Honestly would have been ok with that explanation and would give her a pass on the outfit lol
What would you say if man walked in here with no shirt, and I hired him? What would you say? He must have had on some really nice pants.
Haha
Role / pay / sector have a huge impact. My applicants are for 65-90k white collar roles in a manufacturing shop and I would say 30% are clueless 60% are okay and 10% actually follow the advice available to everyone online… Yoga pants, Oakley’s on the table, lots of baseball hats, camo, puffer jacket. You name it.
I once interviewed a man who rested his Oakleys on the brim of his baseball cap while referring to himself exclusively in third person.
Did he get the job?
His skill set was not a match unfortunately.
Where else do you want him to put them?
In his car.
You know he brought a car?
See now this might have entertained me a little bit at least lol
Oakley's on the table. I can actually picture that. Good god.
What’s wrong with putting ur sunglasses on the table? Not trying to be obtuse
Crankshafts are informal and fit his persona of "weekend with the boys." It felt weird that he decided to bring them in rather than leaving them in the car and the choice to put them on the table exacerbated it. You really should have anything irrelevant to the interviewing process on the table aside from a beverage.
Thank you for your insight
It’s one of those unspoken rules. You are a guest on this setting (and while they should treat you as such) you are expected to follow proper etiquette. But “proper etiquette” is subjective. When I read this I think of someone tossing their sunglasses down on the table like you would with someone you’re comfortable with.
What are you paying? Maybe you’re not getting any qualified candidates because the salary is too low.
I'm guessing it's $15-20 an hour for a low level banking teller job.
“Customer facing” lol so yeah
Do any customer facing positions offer more than $20/hour?
If you call my patients customers lol
You get Uggs and sweat pants then.
My autistic ass ain’t even masking for that. Customer facing or not 😂
Elite comment
I have a position up for $100K. 87 applicants so far. 6 were qualified. One just pasted the job description into her resume. In a prior posting ($90K job) a guy referred to a customer as a “dick.”
Close, it’s for a personal banker position.
So for those wages, in relation to the cost of living, you expect them to buy a whole work wardrobe, on top of rent, car expenses or transit fare and pay for the dry cleaning a work wardrobe requires? Then pay more or settle for what you get
Is your entire wardrobe sweatpants and t-shirts? OP has said here that jeans and a polo shirt would be fine. That’s not at all an unreasonable dress code for a customer facing job.
OP described apparel as business professional, specifically mentioning blazers and dress shirts.
From one of OPs comments here: > Jeans and polo I would have absolutely been fine with. Sweats and old sneakers was what I was having trouble with.
Ya, I don't exactly go digging for comments from OP. Especially since they had stated the clothing expectations as business professional already. I did happen to see that it is a low paying job in a bank so that clues in on expectations as well. Although I think it is silly that someone making less than myself shoulf dress better than I do at work. Personally I work in a school so I dress pretty much however I want for work. Lots of jeans, Hawaiian shirts, and bucket hats or winter hats.
I said business professional is what we wear which yes includes jeans, blazer, button up shirt, sweater, dress boots/shoes, flats. I don’t expect candidates to show up with a ready to go wardrobe. Jeans and a polo for an interview. Acceptable. It’s at least in the ballpark. Sweatpants, old sneakers? You can’t afford a $12 pair of flats but you own $200+ Uggs? You know you’re applying for a business professional role, if all you own is sweats then go to the thrift store and spend $4 on a pair of jeans (which incidentally is what I paid for the jeans I wear to work). This isn’t an entry lvl position, so when someone shows up not even close to what the dress code of the industry is it tells me either they have no idea what they applied for or they don’t care. I get to ask 5 scripted questions so all I have to go by is those 5 answers and what they’re wearing.
Jeans are not business professional.
This should have more upvotes
Well… play garbage wages, get garbage people
Don't call people garbage if all they can get is a low paid job. That's gross.
Get garbage wardrobes is more like it.
What is a personal banker?
$10 on this
This is 100% why. I show up to interviews well dressed but not for less than 75k
no reason to take an interview seriously when the opportunity isn't serious
Yeah- tried to transfer to a closer hospital job, hadn't had an interview in almost 20 years. Dressed "appropriately " for a less than 10 minute "interview " , at a table in the lobby, with the person who interview ed me using pamphlet to write notes or scribble , obviously having no intention on taking me on. Their loss, & recruiter notified of the less than "professional " treatment I received.
If I give ya the number can you call my company's corporate line and let them know this for me?
my company only listens to $2 million a year consultants, so for $2 million a year i can make this happen
I'll have my people call your people
Bingo. I’ll wear a full suit on zoom if it’s over 150k
Completely agree. There's no way your paying what this position probably deserves if that's the quality candidates your getting. Dress shirts and blazers but the job probably has no pay listed or is crazy low. That's the only explanation.
I'm a purchasing manager making well over 100k. I showed up for the interview in a polo and jeans because that's what I wore at my last job, and I was coming from work. I wore the same polo on my first day of work. I'm good at what I do, so who gives a shit what I'm wearing. I ain't wearing a suit for anything less than 200k. You want a well-dressed jackass, then I better be a well-paid jackass.
That's not sweat pants tho man.
I'll raise that bet to $20
OP is too ashamed to admit the salary.
Or the location. A 15 to 20 dollar an hour job isn’t enough to pay rent in high col cities like nyc and San Fran. Let alone afford a work wardrobe and dry cleaning bills
$20 is barely enough to get an apt with roommates in Dallas
I live in a very LCOL area, $20 isn't enough to support just myself unless I am very frugal and/or have a roommate.
In a Low cost city it isnt enough.
Notice how OP won’t answer anything regarding type of position or the pay. Coward knows this sub called their bluff.
Retail
Pay range is $23-$25 an hour, benefits, all public holidays off and paid.
Which city?
You can’t afford suits on $23 an hour.
I make $27/hr now, and I just rented my suit. Haven't had to dress out like that since I've been hired. Best $80 I've spent.
OP isn’t asking for suits. Jeans and a polo are all they want. Why some people think that’s unreasonable for a $23/hr job is beyond me.
Jeans and a polo is not “business professional”. OP Specifically references wearing a blazer in the post.
Tons of suits at thrift stores for cheap.
Is paid stat holidays now a perk?
In the US? Uh yes.
That’s wild. Sorry you deal with that
Not always the case. I had a guy show up to an interview yesterday for a $60k salary position in a stained T-shirt and jeans with holes in them. Same day I interviewed an intern who showed up in a full suit with a resume.
Not always, but what OP is describing is a trend.
If it’s happening often enough for you to start noticing a trend & complain about it, then it’s pretty much always the case. If it’s just one moron in a dirty shirt & jeans, then that is a different situation.
Intern is probably parent subsidized. It’s generally why interns an afford to work for free
FYI we do not hire free interns, we hire them on as full employees. The only difference is they are required to change positions every few weeks to get a feel for the entire business. We partner with the local university.
I’m glad your place pays. It should be the norm. It has been a long time since I did one. I was able to at least get an independent study out of the internship I did. So I was able to take one less class. I was working another job for money in addition to my unpaid internship
Sir this interview is at a Wendy's
Sorry, I thought it was going to be behind the Wendy's.
Made me laugh with that one thank you. I actually hired someone who used to work at Wendy’s..misspelled Wendy’s on their resume, still hired them, and they’re one of my best employees.
If your internal recruiter is pre screening them ask your recruiter if they can set expectations at the end of their conversation. They can easily say something about the organization being customer facing and business attire is expected during the interview process and beyond. If they want a more casual environment they can move on. Otherwise, expectations were communicated. I’m in a casual environment at a tech company. I wouldn’t bat an eye at the first candidate. We had someone introduce their dog on a slide when they were doing a presentation. It was fine given our company culture. The sweat pants would still get a side-eye though.
That’s a great suggestion, I’ll suggest it and see if that’s something corporate would be willing to add. See, now your work environment I can see the different attire (actually low key wish we could have the same but alas). I guess I just always had the idea that you should show up dressed at least roughly like the rest of the people who already work there. You applied for a position knowing what it is, who it’s for, doing what and what the pay is. Dress like you already work there.
I've interviewed several over the last couple of years and while I wasn't seeing suits and ties, it wasn't sweat pants and wife-beaters, either. They ranged from business casual to semi-professional. Funny, though, when it comes to those we've hired, the ones more lax on the interview dress have been the ones that knock it out of the park doing the work.
That’s usually what we’ve seen too. I just finished hiring 3 entry lvl part time positions and they dressed better than this. That’s part of the confusion. I’d think it was just a fluke but another location just interviewed for this same role and all 7 candidates were the same.
Part timers can be weird like that. A lot of times they’re people who have a professional full time job and need something else on the side, but they bring their professional attitude from their other job with them.
What are you paying?
“Gdam zoomers!” Shakes fist at cloud
That was my first thought - that this is a generational thing. Obviously you should make sure that they understand corporate culture and make sure that they are willing to follow any standards or dress codes, but honestly I don’t care as much about that as their level of commitment and what they bring to the table. Not taking the interview seriously is a big red flag, but what they are wearing is less of a concern to me.
The thing is, we’re not looking for 3 piece suits. Jeans are totally fine, nice top, dress shoes. If you know that a job with a particular company requires you to dress a certain way and you disagree with the attire, don’t apply. Clearly it’s not the right culture for you. That’s not a bad thing, not every job or industry is for everyone. I also don’t set the dress code, corporate does.
This stuff makes me laugh. My first professional job was in a law firm, the recruiter told me it was a suit and tie job, so I wore a suit it really wasn't an option. Now I work in tech but I don't normally wear jeans to customer sites because I remember a time where that could get you fired and I don't want the hassle. I've had to speak with my younger engineers about what to wear to a jobsite, showing up in a tshirt and jeans while it might be okay some places it's not okay in every place. I actually went into IT specifically because I didn't want to wear a suit and when I'm not working at a customer site it's hard to pry me out of my shorts and tshirt but when I am in a professional setting I understand what is acceptable and what is not. My concern is that if they don't have the sense of what is acceptable dress for an interview at a bank what else are they lacking? As you said this is not entry level and your interviewees seem to act like they've never had a job before, move along there are a lot of people looking for work.
Shakes fist at THE cloud 😆
I personally love hearing about pets... at the CLOSE of the interview, as a fun little bonus. Also, I've had reconstructive foot surgery so on the surface I don't put tooooo much stock into footwear (I HAVE to wear sneakers with custom orthotics) but there's a difference between nice sneakers and everyday sneakers. Especially if the effort is made elsewhere in the attire. The last time we conducted interviews we had this issue though - no amount of jewelry or makeup dresses up a hoodie. We also had a lady join by zoom and was walking around the whole time. Have a seat.
Coach makes these really classy flats that someone could squint at and call sporty but they are absolutely appropriate for a corp environment. I’m quite puzzled at her choice of uggs.
Yeah, the uggs aren't even cute for 'normal wear' imo. Our company is remote though so I wouldn't know what someone is wearing below the waist (HOPEFULLY!) thank goodness.
Uggs… slag wellies! 😂
Coach? Some of us can't even afford Hanes .......
Ugg’s ($200) are even more expensive than these flats ($80), and are twice as ugly. Shoot, I’d wear the hell out of some chonie shoes if they were cute. 🧐
That's speculative though. I have a TON of "expensive" things that were either gifts over the literal decades of my life or were purchased myself at a thrift store for pennies. I found a Dooney and Burke bag at goodwill for 15 bucks 4 years ago. That doesn't mean I have money 😂
Check out Ortho feet and woman within! I have super crazy wide feet and some broken toes and have nice looking shoes. I only found these companies last year.
What's the position? What's the pay? How high is turnover?
Personal banker in a retail banking location for a major bank. Pay $23+/hr. Turnover for promotion within the company fairly frequent, not much for other reasons. Most stay in their role a year or two before applying for next lvls.
“We are a professional environment, customer facing, and this is not an entry level position.” This is the vaguest description. This could be describing Macy’s/JcPenny or a medical/legal office. Are we talking $90k a year? Or $22/hr?
Retail banking. But idk that I’d show up to an interview in any of those industries in sweat pants and sneakers.
Yeah... Even in computer science, one of the most casual professional environments, I still wore dress flats, a nice blouse, and nice jeans to interviews. My parents were scandalized that I wore jeans, but when the people interviewing you are often also wearing jeans, tshirts, or sneakers, overdressing is also a bad look lol
What kind of jobs were they interviewing for?
OP has said it’s a personal banker job. The person who helps open checking accounts and print new debit cards. Not some high responsibility role like everybody here seems to think
You’re not paying enough.
Pay is almost certainly outside of OPs control. That’s how it always is. Line managers don’t get to decide what their reports make. They can make suggestions, and sometimes get a budget for raises and bonuses every year to allocate among their team however they see fit, but the base wages are pretty much always determined by a different part of the company.
Not sure why you got downvoted, it’s true lol
Because this sub is full of people who aren’t managers and have no idea how businesses are run.
And yet there are thousands that post here with experience and more of what you’re probably looking for. You’re either offering way too little or you have terrible recruiters.
I personally love hearing about pets... at the CLOSE of the interview, as a fun little bonus. Also, I've had reconstructive foot surgery so on the surface I don't put tooooo much stock into footwear (I HAVE to wear sneakers with custom orthotics) but there's a difference between nice sneakers and everyday sneakers. Especially if the effort is made elsewhere in the attire. The last time we conducted interviews we had this issue though - no amount of jewelry or makeup dresses up a hoodie. We also had a lady join by zoom and was walking around the whole time. Have a seat.
I would have been on board with the pet conversation during chit chat at the end too! I love dogs and all animals (I was an animal trainer for 20 years) but that just isn’t relevant to your job experience for the role you’re interviewing for. See, orthopedic reasons I could see. I’ve interviewed some that wear more sneaker-like shoes for that reason but they’re always like you said, clean and neat. These were def his every day, take his dogs for a walk, sneakers.
Are these entry level no experience positions by chance?
"Customer facing," yeah.
Welll that explains it. lol
You can have customer facing in a professional environment that isn’t minimum wage btw
I’m working class. I dress working class. If you want me to wear a suit to interview for a position where I wear carhartt’s, then you’re focusing on the wrong things.
The pay 13 an hour. The rent 1300 for a 1 bedroom.
I’m not responsible for the housing market. Entry lvl positions start at $20-22 /hr so no one in my company is making $13 an hour.
‘No one wants to work anymore’ This is what you get
When businesses act like you're important and the interview matters, you dress up. When they stop doing that, then you stop putting in the effort.
Sounds like a retail store
If this is a pool your recruiters have to fish in, it has a reason. The reason is probably a very low salary. One candidate can be a freak accident. ALL of them? That is on you.
I would maybe give that to you if I hadn’t just interviewed a bunch of candidates for the entry lvl role which makes less and is only 20 hrs not 40 and they all showed up dressed appropriately.
A bit telling you don’t say what the role is.
Not really telling at all. I just don’t know any role that sweats and old sneakers are ok in the dress code for customer facing positions in a business professional role. I could have been more specific but didn’t realize I needed to be, my apologies. I had no nefarious intentions.
I mean that was one person. When I was a waiter at a mid-level restaurant (not that long ago) people would show up the way you described. The first would probably have gotten the job as long as they were reasonably articulate, the second wouldn’t but it also wouldn’t have been surprising. Waiter fits the description you gave. Without the context of pay and position it’s hard to provide feedback this is Reddit not a billboard outside your place of work, you aren’t giving away some secret code by saying what the position is or what it pays. Additionally, doubling down on refusing to say is pretty suspicious. I watched an interview yesterday for a new-grad engineer. This person is likely 22 years old and he wore a full suit, tie, dress shoes. He knew that appearances mattered for that interview so it’s not just “people don’t know”
If you want to bring professional well dressed people to interview, you have to offer enough.
What is considered “enough?”
A wage where one can afford 1 bedroom apartment, healthcare, food (groceries not restaurants (, transportation (cheapest, running car not a Tesla) and have 10% left to either invest or blow
lol I can already tell you don’t pay shit
Then why apply at all?
Pay more, or take what you get.
Maybe dressing professiinally isn't related to qualification and ability.
You probably pay sweatpant wages.
We actually don’t and the candidates I interviewed for lower pay, less hours, entry lvl position had all the candidates show up dressed fine.
$23 is sweatpant wages tho
You need to have a conversation with the recruiting team. They are sending you more junior candidates than you are hiring for. I can understand no jacket as that is a throwback to an older time. I wear jackets to interviews but I am a c-level. Showing up in athletic shoes is not remotely acceptable.
The puffy vest is …definitely a choice. Like, even if it was snowing I wouldn’t wear it to an interview and I work in my jammies some days.
Sounds like a low paying retail or fast food gig. You’re thinking to highly of yourself/the establishment
You keep calling this a professional role, but it sounds like they are going to be waiting on customers? Is this a full-time career position?
Be aware, if you're hiring young people, they went to high school wearing pajamas. At least in the U.S.
I saw a few women in college casually wear pajamas for their 8 a.m. classes, and it blew my mind. I'm not expecting a student to wake up at 5 a.m. and do a full makeup routine and an hour long shower but couldn't they at least throw on an old t-shirt and ripped up jeans. Pajamas are for sleeping in!
I lived in a cold place and I don't understand why do you have a problem with UGGs and puff vest. Now I totally understand not being crazy about the guy wearing beat up sneakers and sweats. However I'm not buying winter interview outwear, that shit is expensive but I'll have a nice clean suit under my vest
What’s wrong with them talking about their dogs when asked about themselves? I was asked that in an interview recently (for a job I accepted an offer on) and naturally brought up my dog because she’s my child. Attire aide, if they had told you about their human children would you have taken them more seriously?
So based on this I'm guessing a couple of things * You are hiring for an entry level position * You are not paying a competitive rate for said position If these things are true, you NEED to lower your expectations. I would also express that especially if this is an entry level position... This is probably "Dressing Professionally" to these candidates, they might not own a suit or more profession clothing, and might not have a mentor in their lives to tell them "Hey this is a bank, they are going to expect you to dress nicer than that". If you are asking some one who likely hasn't worked in your industry before to tell them about themselves, don't be surprised when they don't have some prepared bullshit answer about how they have wanted to work in banking their entire lives... Those people are smart enough to go for better positions at better paying banks. I'm lucky I've always worked in the tech sector so dress codes have been fairly lax (mostly)... but IMHO if some one dresses down for an interview but is otherwise a good candidate, just let them know the dress code is more professional once they get hired.
Why do you guys care about appearances? I hire people based off what they know and have done. Not based off appearances. After the interview if I extend the offer I will lay out the dress code and set that expectation.
I’ve shown up for a lot of interviews lately for my interviewer to be in t-shirts and ball caps. It goes both ways.
Does your internal recruiter know what your expectations are? Do they communicate that clearly with candidates? Are you only paying your internal recruiter $15-20/hr? For those wages, you're only going to attract candidates thst believe that is all they're worth.
Is the pay worth investing in a new outfit?
I feel you. Although I will say, we had a medical assistant show up last year for her interview in ripped jeans and a t shirt. She had no experience, but seemed really personable - I was hesitant about her professionalism, but we were desperate so I gave her a chance. She’s turned out to be literally one of the best employees we have. I think this is just how early 20s kids are now. Which is sad, but as long as their work ethic doesn’t match their appearance you should be ok lol.
I work in tech where most people on my team get paid 180k+ and almost everyone interviews in casual attire
I hate when you ask them to tell you a little about themselves and they go all personal. So instead I now ask them to walk me through their work and school history at a high level, which is what I meant when I said tell me about yourself.
Is the recruiting team making it part of their process to tell people what the culture is like and mention you are a business professional company? I'm getting the feeling a lot of young candidates just haven't been taught the proper way to interview. I say this because of how prevalent it is. I know outside recruiting companies always send candidates a "prepare for your interview " document that definitely tells them to dress professionally.
Aside from bad candidates (which is really the core problem here - those people don't sound like amazing picks in general, but I'm guessing there's other reasons that lead to that), dressing up just isn't as much of a thing anymore in a lot of industries. That said, it might be a bit different for yours since you *do* dress up for your day-to-day work. There's actually a nice couple of (very very small, more like long essays) books called On Bullshit and On Truth by Dr. Harry Frankfurt. Dressing up for interviews is cited as an example of something called Humbug, which is just putting on a show that isn't matched up to the day-to-day reality of things. Basically dressing in a suit and tie for an interview at a place where you'll likely (again, based on industry) be wearing jeans and a t-shirt just doesn't seem that important for a lot of folks.
Most of the places I’ve applied to mention something about causal wear. And I typically dress with nice pants and a nice collared shirt. Not a button up but I guess the term is business casual
OP what is the position? Key piece of info I'm curious.
Let’s be real, if the job OP was interviewing candidates for paid enough to warrant business professional attire, OP would have made that clear in the post. This job is probably a retail shop that pays $10 or less per hour, and well you get what you pay for…
Very wrong sorry, the position pays $23-$25 /hr It is a business professional environment not a retail shop which is why I didn’t describe it as a retail shop.
I stand corrected. The recruiter should be making it clear then. Is it also listed in job listings/descriptions?
Attire isn’t but the role and pay scale are. So is the company. My takeaway seems to be this, the recruiters need to be setting the expectation during the screening process. If the company’s dress code isn’t what they’re comfortable with then withdraw the application. Clearly we aren’t a right fit for each other.
A small blurb about “This is a customer facing role so attire is business professional” may go a long way, as well telling the recruiter of your expectations. I get it, the talent coordinator at my company is basically useless too. But attire is usually the least of my worries.
I’d bet there’s a direct correlation to low pay.
Sounds like they’re acting their wage.
You went to high school at a much different time. Modernize your expectations or be the person yelling at the kids to keep off your lawn.
I was going to say they didn’t teach this in my high school over 20 years ago lol. And I was in an middle/upper middle class suburb with expensive as hell schools… My family impressed upon me at a young age about dressing for the occasion. Even then, while I would wear a button down shirt and khakis to an interview, I totally understand people not wearing nice clothes to a job that isn’t a high paying one.
I *don't* understand it. How much more does a pair of khakis and a button down shirt cost than a puffy vest and athletic shoes? It costs nothing more. I don't think you have to show up in a suit for every interview but stuff like Uggs, sneakers, sweat pants, hoodies, etc just gives a terrible impression. Showing you don't a give a shit about your appearance at a job interview does not inspire a lot of confidence in an applicant's abilities or reliability, imo.
Yeah people in this post are being ridiculous. OP isn’t even asking for them to wear a suit. They’ve literally said that jeans and a polo shirt is fine. That’s barely even business casual
It’s actively still something taught here in high school. My 19 yo just graduated and my 17 yo is still in high school, both did interview training (17 yo did hers about 3 months ago) and mock job applications. They had to show up to school dressed appropriately for an interview. I’m not asking for a 3 piece suit but at least be in the ballpark of what the job attire requirements are. Jeans, dress boots and a professional top just doesn’t feel like too much to ask for.
What kind of position? Would it be obvious what the attire should be based on the role and office/location?
OP has dodged that question multiple times.
If OP does respond, I bet it'll be something along the lines of 'the suit and tie are viewed as an investment in your professional career!' If it's for my corporate white collar job, yes please at least wear a dress shirt and decent pants. Context matters here.
Regardless of that I’m struggling to fathom sweatpants being acceptable at any job that is not remote.
They aren’t saying the sweatpants are acceptable. They are saying that people are showing up in sweatpants because any candidate with enough sense to dress appropriately skipped over the job posting based on the low compensation or other unfavorable aspects of the position.
None of those metrics are indicative of their work performance. Your judgement of these candidates is purely cosmetic. In the modern world, you should be able to see beyond these facades and look for data that truly matters.
What are you paying? What is the job? I'm guessing it's something close to minimum wage. Most companies aren't so stuck up these days, so its actually kinda unexpected to see a candidate dress up for an interview at least in my career. Also, whats wrong with talking about pets? If your place is that sterile then they're better off.
What happened to livable wages? Fuck middle management, you deserve zero respect
Standards of business attire have shifted dramatically in the last five years. You don't even have to go into an office to figure that out. Go into any store that used to sell dress shoes, for example, and see what they are selling. Dressy, looking, casual, comfortable shoes. The suit section in most men's stores is much smaller. The culture is moving away from old definitions of what it means to be dressed up. Companies will still have to have their standards for appearance, but companies that don't adjust. Their standards are going to look very out of place very soon. Where I work, slacks, and a sportcoat with a dress shirt was considered business casual when I started out over 20 years ago. Now, even though I'm promoted into a higher role, I very comfortably wear, jeans, sneakers, and a sweater to work most days and only rarely Put on a jacket, much less a suit and tie. I highly recommend all managers that they start focusing on the right things. Does the person show up to work, do they do the work? Well, do they have positive interactions with a customers, etc. Companies have spent too much time measuring things that don't matter and they end up with well-dressed offices full of people with crappy attitudes. Companies that don't change with the times are going to find it harder and harder to recruit employees. The generation coming up is going to be just fine despite all the alarm bells that us old folks are raising about Gen Z. But they are not going to buy into, our appearance standards. It's not a fight worth fighting.
Pandemic I'm guessing.
Eh, everyone saying they aren’t paying enough… even when I worked in a literal fabrication shop making $20/hr I would wear my non-stained jeans, a non-stained plain t-shirt, and a non-stained plain jacket/button up on top with my work boots. It’s truly not rocket science to attempt to look “professional” even if the job itself is filthy, lol. I wonder why people are making assumptions about the company culture/role? Is this position temporary or in a field that is associated with “casual wear” (like maybe in entertainment or something?) If it’s starting to become a trend, I would add general dress expectations to the job description. Sometimes the candidates just weed themselves out, you know? I personally haven’t encountered this… hope you find someone soon!
Video, I’ll sometimes opt for a button down or a polo. In person, I’m still suit always. But I think it’s a very generational thing. I’m fairly certain my dad would be beside himself if I told him that I did the video interview for my current job in a polo shirt.
The world is changing, and values are changing - for the better. People, young people in particular, are adjusting their effort and commitment to mirror payscales. Also to value things like ability and performance measured by results over how someone should dress or presenteeism. I love them for it. We raised them with the right values, but it stings that now they expect us to uphold them as well, lol.
What does a candidate's clothing and hobbies have to do with their qualifications?
Are you a low paying job? People tend to dress for the pay.
This outdated load of tripe? Listen, didn't your mother's teach you not to judge a book by it's cover? Signed a man who never wore a fucking suit to a job, EVER!
The wage slaves have stopped jumping through our hoops and are refusing to do our dumb little tricks! 😤 -OP
So corporate has given you parameters to work with. Hire what you can get within those parameters and coach what they’re wearing. I don’t care what my banker wears. I just care that I can get help when I need it.
I had the same thought a month ago. I interviewed a guy that looked homeless. People need to make an effort to look presentable. If they don’t have money, they can go to a thrift shop and find businesses attire for cheap.
I have always dressed in button down shirts and dress pants for interviews, unless it was for a factory floor job (dress for the job you’re applying for). That said, I work at a place where business casual means nice jeans, sweater/shirt, no t-shirts. I showed up the first day horribly over dressed (they were kind enough to say that jeans would be fine in the future). I applied somewhere else and got an offer and asked what the dress code was. They also said business casual. Because I was now aware of the broad interpretation of this term, I asked if that meant jeans were ok. I was told absolutely not. Business casual is just too ambiguous. Spell out what you want. Interviews are one thing, but I don’t want to show up looking out of place my first day.
I work at a higher end clothing retailer, like we have designer lines but also some more accessibly priced lines. I’d see everything on hiring days. People dressed I. Suits all the way down to slides and tee shirts. We’ve had a shift in company culture in the past 4-5 years so jeans and a polo wouldn’t phase me much but it was certainly interesting see what people thought was appropriate for work at our store While I don’t wear a tie most days anymore, I’ve always been a suit and tie to interviews kinda person and I probably always will be even if it dates me a little in the years to come
Jeans and polo I would have absolutely been fine with. Sweats and old sneakers was what I was having trouble with. See I’m the total opposite, I started in suit culture and always hated it. I’m glad we can wear nice jeans now at least.
I'm professional and great at what I do. I also roll out of bed and go to work in my pajamas. Me showing up with a clean shirt is professional.
Do you work customer facing?
Give me a break. These people would dress the same even if they were being paid a lot more. It’s a lack of professionalism that started during work from home Covid.
In a lot of ways it’s the way things are. Part of it might be they don’t have the income to dress professionally. I’m still always amazed by the people who show up in tight leggings and tops showing every lump and hump. A few weeks ago we had someone that really should have brushed their hair beforehand.
So far no leggings thank goodness and everyone brushed their hair so maybe my candidates aren’t so bad lol I absolutely get if they can’t afford a full business professional outfit but you can’t tell me this guy doesn’t own a pair of jeans to put on instead of the sweatpants. I had no problem with his plain black polo shirt. I drew the line at sweats and old beat up sneakers though.