“They will remember you,” the guy whose job was a recruiter. “Even if you’re interviewing at a startup.”<\/p>\n
I was polite, holding my tongue and just asked further questions encouraging him to talk about his job…friendly small talk at a friend’s farewell party at local bar.<\/p>\n
At the age of 21, I trekked all the way from Berkeley to downtown San Francisco in an Anne Klein gray suit. I had it cheaply tailored in Oakland Chinatown. During the interview for an IT job, I fidgeted horribly, stumbled over questions, and felt uncomfortable in my clothes. The hiring manager was dressed more casually\u00e2\u20ac\u201din just a shirt and slacks. I didn’t get the job.<\/p>\n
Nowadays at any professional event, I always dress as myself. Always closed-toe shoes. I don’t mind adding a bit of personality and color. Perhaps my favorite necklace or the patterned shirt with a slight flair.<\/p>\n
And the suit? I still have it at the back of my closet\u00e2\u20ac\u201dthinking that one day I will need it. But since I was 21, I never used it. I even dragged it all the way to Pittsburgh during graduate school, but did not use it at all (or if I did…I probably didn’t get the job and the memory has all but faded in my mind).<\/p>\n
Nowadays, clothes don’t matter. I want people to see my skills, my work and my personality. The fit. I don’t want to be remembered as being overdressed. I want to be remembered for iwanttoworkwithher<\/i>.<\/p>\n
After all, in my very judgmental ways, if someone came to interview in a suit for the tech companies I am at, I would immediately think: how dare he not understand our culture<\/i> or more likely is he such an interview newbie to not realize that we don’t care about dress?<\/i><\/p>\n
Yesterday at the same party, there was someone who wore a tailored skirt and top…with white sneakers. As I was finding a seat, I glanced at them, assuming correctly that she was planning to walk a long way home. She bluntly explained later, “I don’t really care, because I am married.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
“They will remember you,” the guy whose job was a recruiter. “Even if you’re interviewing at a startup.” I was polite, holding my tongue and just asked further questions encouraging him to talk about his job…friendly small talk at a … Continue reading