Attire for all-day job interview

This thread is exactly why I tell those coming for interviews that they do NOT need to wear a suit. I'm not going to be wearing one, why should they?
You can be more than presentable by wearing a nice pair of pants and a button-down shirt; sometimes more than the guy who wears his suit only to interviews, funerals and weddings. I want people feeling comfortable for the interviewing process. Most people are just more comfortable without a tie because if you're a sportswriter it's not day-to-day attire.
In the last 10 or so years, I've forgotten to tell two people not to wear suits and ties, and they both showed up wearing one (one of the two is a regular poster here. Sorry, D). Both were hired, but it had nothing to do with their attire.
I don't judge people by what they're wearing, rather how they present themselves. Had one guy come in wearing a suit (disregarding my offer not to, which didn't bother me) and he spent the interview yawning and picking his nose. A couple times he looked at the booger, and I thought sure as shit he was going to eat it. Never did. Didn't hire him, either.

 

Best piece of advice I got on this issue was this: Dress to fit in with the people you are covering.

If you're covering a post-practice interview session, jeans are probably fine. If you're covering a school board meeting, you probably want to dress up a little more. I tend to at least wear slacks on game days. But not always. Sometimes I'll don a sportcoat on game days. But not always.

If you're covering a baseball game, dress like the manager and put on a uniform (kidding).

I almost never wear shorts on assignment, unless it's something that's going to keep me outdoors in the middle of summer for several hours (like a track meet or something). Again -- dress to fit in. Everyone else will be wearing shorts in that instance.

 

No, it's because I work at a weekly community paper. The dress code I mentioned above was already established as such before I got here (except the business casual for sources minimum I added).

My predecessor made a habit of strolling into the newsroom at 1 p.m. In flip-flops. On deadline day. On deadline day, I'm usually there no later than 10 a.m. and usually earlier.

 

Back when I first started, I was single, living alone and not very fond of ironing so needless to say I wasn't the fine, GQ specimen I am now 8) ... one of my more embarrassing stories occurred when I was getting ready to do an interview with the new director of the Department of Social Services.

I was sitting in the waiting room when I saw what I believed to be the director come in, look around and then leave again. He came back a few minutes later and called my name. I stood up and we went back to his office. He apologized for not getting me sooner, he saw me in the waiting room and thought I was a "client."

That's when I knew I needed to go to the mall and buy a few new shirts and pants.

 

Ouch. That's a definite wake-up call.

 

I guess I'm an anomaly then. I expect a certain level of professionalism when I'm interviewing someone. I don't expect suit and tie, though I won't object to it, but I expect at least a shirt and tie. If you don't have that, your clips and your interview had better blow me out of the fucking water.

Perhaps I'm spoiled. The first person I interviewed for an unpaid internship came in wearing a suit and tie. That's the only time I've ever seen an *intern* do that. He came dressed better than some of the people I've interviewed for full-time position.

Ever since I interviewed for a job and the managing editor sent me a later e-mail suggesting I either dress up or explain why I didn't, it made a permanent impression on me. I was wearing a button down shirt and slacks. I just didn't have a tie on.

Then again, I once interviewed for a non-journalism job on my community college campus one day. The guy who scheduled the interview told me I could wear what I was wearing that day (t-shirt, shorts and sandals). However, I was NOT going to take THAT advice!

 

Hell, i wear shorts all the time. Along with a polo or button down shirt, and I work at a daily.

If I'm covering a football game when it's still hot, I'm wearing shorts, maybe even a t-shirt if it's still hot as balls. I'll be Mr. Sweaty by the end of the game anyway, I shoot and keep stats, so I might as well be as comfy as possible. Never had an issue raised. Same with outdoor spring sports.

Even the press boxes are hot, so I'm going to be comfortable. I don;t think I'll look to professional dripping with sweat.

HS hoops, I'll wear jeans.

If I'm doing a college hoops game, I'll wear khaki's and a polo or button down.

 

Yeah, I wasn't big on shaving much then. Still not but I do it three, maybe four times a week now.

 

I'm completely spoiled at my current job by the slack dress code. For example, today I'm wearing Capri's and a sleeveless shirt with open heel/open toe shoes (I'm so anti-girly that I'm not sure if they are classified as pumps, heels or sandals). Granted that's about as girly as I get, but I can still wear all three, which are no-no's elsewhere.

In the office we can wear whatever we want, which is good in some ways, but in others it's not. It's turned me into being too lazy to "dress up" for work. But at the same time, it makes me feel that much better when I wear something nice to go out.

 

I agree with the Bobs on this one. There is no way I am wearing jeans or khakis in the spring/summertime/early fall to games. I pour sweat as it is wearing shorts and a polo, if I was wearing pants and a button down shirt I would be soaked.
I think the different areas of the country change your opinion on this. If your weather isn't crazy hot 3/4 of the year then you probably don't wear shorts as much.
Heck, I covered a football game in December last year and it was 85 degrees.

 

You could go for this ...



Or do what I do (4-for-4 in my most recent job interviews) and wear a suit.

I've actually worn the same suit for every interview I had from '97 to '04. By '04, my waist was a "tad" bigger (32 to 35) and I had to have my wife punch me in the gut several times to get my fat ass in it.

 

I didn't wear a suit (don't own one) to my last interview, and I was questioned about it during the interview. I responded that if they wanted someone with a nice wardrobe, they should hire someone else. If they wanted someone who could do the job, they should hire me.

They hired me.