I write about “change” quite a bit. The ability to change with the times and roll with punches. One of the things that bothers me most is when some tells me that I need to do this or that because they have over (x) number of years of experience. I know life is the greatest teacher and experiences help you deal with a variety of issues. I know experience matters, but experience is just that, experience. You are not born with it. Someone gives you an opportunity based on your passion, skills, education, looks, or friendships. All these folks that say that they have 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 years’ experience in the game, well guess what, you didn’t always have it and quite frankly I’d rather hear about your skills.
In addition to blogging on CostofWork, SmartRecruiters, Project Social and PerformanceIcreate, I do a little career coaching and one thing that I’m noticing is how drastically different the interview process is now. When I was a younger man, I remember being told to wear a suit, do not wear too much jewelry or cologne. Your suit should be navy or a nice neutral color. I was told men should not wear earrings, because that’s employment death. I was also told tattoos were a no-no too. All that is out the window now-a-days.
I had a client tell me that she went into an interview and she was greeted by a younger man that had visible tattoos and was cussing like Chris Rock. Yeah she’s heard it all before but usually not until she’s had the job and gotten comfortable with the co-workers. I had another person tell me that they showed up for an interview in a nice blue suit and was told “Wow, you are overdressed.”
I recently discovered a company that strongly suggests you do not wear a suit when interviewing with them.
America is more casual, doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing, just new. It’s a changing of the guard. Times are different and you need to be able to adopt. Keep an opened mind. The new world CEO may or may not wear a suite anymore. Look at Mark Zuckerberg, he’s CEO of Facebook, Bitch! (that was on his business card; at least in the movie) He wore a hoodie as he met with Wall-Street executives which set off a firestorm of controversy. Suits vs. Hoodies the headlines read. It’s a different world.
Don’t judge! It’s just a Sign of the Times.
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when in doubt, wear a suit. nothing to lose. you can always say to the recruiter, “i was planning on wearing business formal (a suit), but if you think it’s more appropriate for me to dress down please let me know.”
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Absolutely can’t go wrong with the traditional route. Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment.
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It is definately a sign of the times. A couple of things, unfortunately it is a sign of the times and I believe it leads to greater issue of apathy and lack luster performance. Call me crazy, okay, so I might be a bit. But there was a time when taking pride in how you look could be directly attributable to how well you did at work. It came with a better sense of purpose and caring about who you are and what it all meant. I still beleive you dress up and if they want you to dress down that is okay. It is still about making first impresssions. I think if we did that more often society in general would be better. Thank you for letting me get up on my soap box ( which I do need b/c I am only 5’6″!!!
Good day my friend!!Steve AKA- “recruit4u”
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Agree with Charlie. Go the conservative route with the suit and tie. And this is something the recruiter/HR person should let you know in prep for the interview. Also, it’s important for the candidate to give the company a heads up if they are coming from a current job. For example, if you work in a business casual environment and are interviewing before or after work, let the company know you are coming from work and will be in biz casual attire, or make plans to play “Superman” in a phone booth before the interview!
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For the record guys, I agree too..but we are all middle aged men. There’s a new group of executives coming up and they aren’t as conservative or formal.
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2 sayings that speak to this situation.
1– “It’s better to be over dressed than under dressed”. For me, I would rather be over dressed than under dressed b/c you can always dress down. Take your tie off or whatever. I can comment on this part for women.2–”A monkey in a suit is still a monkey”. Don’t read too much into clothes. Such a subjective topic to make a hiring decision. It takes large juevos to walk into a company in casual clothes and interview. That person is probably very comfortable in their own skin.
Good post.
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