Why can't people dress proper for job interviews?

[Orlong]

I don't know of anyone who didn't get the job they were going for because they didn't wear a goddamn suit, myself included. I guess it's a cultural thing then, and over here people care more about how you perform than how you look.

We care about both and can be picky (finding someone who both looks professional and has outstanding performance) when there are a lot more people looking for jobs than there are jobs available. McDonalds and Retail stores are always hiring for those who dont want to put forth any effort for their interview.

[twiddler]

Sorry but a suit just screams tryhard for 95% of jobs. If I was the interviewer and you would show up in a suit for an IT job i'd tell you to leave instantly.

Interesting statement. I have to agree. Suits generally do scream tryhard, but I want a tryhard. Most employers probably want a tryhard. The only problem with that person trying damn hard to assimilate is that you question if they're also assimilating their responses and goals, instead of genuinely caring and approaching the domain.

[Orlong]

How can you judge somebody's performance if you haven't yet seen it first hand? All you have to go on is their resume / CV, appearance, and how they speak. Anyone can look good on paper.

Not only that but most people inflate their qualifications and responsibilities, and put bullshit on their resume/CV so you cant really know much about performance by reading that until you call some of their references/prior employers to gauge their performance

[Flarelaine]

Yeah suits arent the most comfortable thing to wear, but as someone who has often worn suits for work, after a couple weeks of wearing them, you get used to them and they arent uncomfortable at all unless youre trying to wear one you bought 15 years ago that no longer fits.

Or unless it's summer and there's no air conditioning. Otherwise, I agree.

[Greenfish25]

If youre a young person, just out of college and starting a career, you cant expect to own a house right away. Its a goal to work toward. Most people are well into their 30s or early 40s when they buy their first home unless they inherited one or inherited a lot of money or won the lottery. Just another example of young people and their entitlement mindset. I just got my college degree, I should be given a job right away making $100k per year and able to buy a brand new home and $40,000 car right away.

Alot of people don't realize it but house prices going up like crazy , wages staying the same. it's a just a modern form of slavery. to keep everyone in check so you can never stop working. , in the 1960's you could buy a house for around 2-3 years wages of a standard job. in the UK right now the Average joe's wont own a house in their life time. you'll still be paying off a Mortgage in your 60's.

[Deleted]

Just had 5 interviews this morning (1 marketing/ 1 front desk) and it amazes me how some young people (in their 20's) present themselves in a job interview.

One guy had on some sort of loooong t-shirt, kinda pyjama like,with stripes.
Another guy had a very wide neck on his T-shirt, that was also wrinkly and kinda torn on the edges (I think they sell them like this?) He also worre damaged skinny jeans with holes in them, which I also mentioned to him(your pants are damaged, what happened?) but he told me it's in fashion... >.>

Then there was a girl that had her arms exposed, which is of course no issue at all if they werent completely covered in tattoos. And I counted at least 3 skulls and some disturbing signs.
Also had a girl with one side of her head shaved and sporting a nose ring and dressed in bright purple.

Luckily not everyone dresses this way to an interview and we had at least 2 girls that came dressed properly but it does make me wonder if these other candidates don't have parents, teachers or someone else in their invormenet that tells them how to dress for an interview.

So why can't some people dress proper?

Welcome to the 21th century Deruyter. I guess guys also have to have short hair and girls have long hair too :/

[Kathandira]

Does the way they dress affect their work performance? Are they worse people because of the way they dress?

It effects the company image. Conformance is important to employers.

[unbound]

No offense, OP, but I just don't see any reason for people to dress up for interviews lower than, at the least, "middle management" positions. In the states, most of the entry level (and slightly-above-entry-level) jobs pay garbage, have poor management, and treat the employees as utterly expendable.

As such, why should people dress up for the interview? It's a dated tradition. So long as they're wearing clean clothes it shouldn't really matter.

The OP clearly labeled the positions as marketing and front-desk. As such, there is definitely an expectation of decorum, and a reasonable candidate should have absolutely understood that.

As an interviewer myself, someone coming to a job interview dressed like that tells me that there are likely 2 reasons: 1) they just don't care, and/or 2) they couldn't be bothered to read up / think about what they are getting into. Neither of those conditions point to a good candidate for hire.

Is the pay wonderful? Does it really matter? If the person wants the job, they should always demonstrate interest and enthusiasm, and dressing the part is one of the best indicators of that. Keep in mind that most positions have many candidates applying for them. Someone who can't be bothered to dress decently is not going to come out on top of the competition.

If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as a Michaelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, 'Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.'

- Martin Luther King Jr.

[Orlong]

Did you still proceed with the interview even if you knew they weren't going to be hired?

If yes, then you should've told them that their attire is not appropriate and that you won't interview them since it would be a waste of time for both parties. Maybe then, they would learn.

I always did, because in this sue happy world, if someone walks in looking shitty and you throw them out, they will likely find some way to sue you for discrimination costing you a lot of money for legal fees to have it dismissed. So you just do the interview, thank them for their time (thinking to yourself how much of a slob they are and not really listening to their answers), and then never offer them a job

[Kathandira]

because buying a suit is expensive.

Doesn't have to be a suit. Just a pair of dress pants, a long sleeve button down shirt, and a tie is plenty fine for a job interview if you can't afford a proper suit.

[Deleted]

Not only that but most people inflate their qualifications and responsibilities, and put bullshit on their resume/CV so you cant really know much about performance by reading that until you call some of their references/prior employers to gauge their performance

But wearing a suit to the interview clearly shows who cheated on their CV vs who didn't, yes?

[Orlong]

Well it's a pretty damn bad job interview if it doesn't establish at least some kind of an outline of the person's performance.

How are you to gauge performance unless there is a demonstration portion? Even then it doesnt show they perform well at work, it would only show they have the knowledge to perform well at work. Knowing how to do a job, and actually putting forth the effort to do it are 2 different things

[prwraith]

But wearing a suit to the interview clearly shows who cheated on their CV vs who didn't, yes?

It combined with whatever these kids lied about on their resume shows a minimum level of effort yes.

Something I as an emplower like to see. (I'll say again I don't need someone to wear a suit, but if you show up looking like you just threw on whatever was clean and rolled into the interview, you can fuck off)

[Deleted]

22 Year old reporting in.

I wore a full suit to an interview with Sports Direct once.

Ironed shirt and tie is the absolute minimum, how anyone thinks a t-shirt and ripped jeans is acceptable is entirely beyond me.

Special snowflakes, special rebelous snowflakes. As you can see in the comments there is a shitload of them.
Even got some saying suits are old fashion...

[zenkai]

Does the way they dress affect their work performance? Are they worse people because of the way they dress?

It show's that they are clueless.

- - - Updated - - -

Special snowflakes, special rebelous snowflakes. As you can see in the comments there is a shitload of them.
Even got some saying suits are old fashion...

Yup, then they complain they can't find a better job than McDonalds.


Hell even as a Teen turning in applications at low income jobs I would be dressed up in case I got a on the spot interview, I would always ask for the manager to turn my application in, instead of handing to the front clerk.

[Orlong]

That's a bad interview question that a respectable HR wouldn't approve. Example of one of our questions "Can you tell me about a time your performance goals were not inline with what you wanted from yourself, or what your previous director wanted from you, and how you corrected the situation"

It's a much better question than "why would you like the job"

that said I can't tell you how many people bomb the question entirely.

Most likely because most people dont want to be honest because they are afraid that you wont hire them if they give you an honest example of poor job performance. They want to sell themselves in an interview, and not sink their ship

[Xantrus]

Dress proper?

They were probably dressing properly having looked at the standard of English in the ad?

[Azadina]

It show's that they are clueless.

Are they? Kalis earlier mentioned, that they might not want the job in the first place, but show up as required by whatever welfare office demands of them. Does this make them stupid, when you have HR guy posting how he hasn't figured this out? It might not be the best choices one could make, to purposefully stay on low amount welfare, but if they succeeded in that, it sounds like they were smarter than HR guy who took it as serious attempts.

[prwraith]

Most likely because most people dont want to be honest because they are afraid that you wont hire them if they give you an honest example of poor job performance. They want to sell themselves in an interview, and not sink their ship

Me and our talent acquisition office joked about this actually, and your point is well received. I went and told her about how one applicant had said some crazy shit in an interview and she was like man if somebody asks you what your weak points are in a job you tell them "I sometimes work too hard"

But really to the question we ask I'll accept self promotion or honesty, as long as you answer the question. Somebody went on for a good 5 minutes on some random tangent and then asked me if he'd answered the question.

[Deleted]

as someone who works in a charity store, you can pick up some really nice suits and shirts for less than the price of a new pair of trousers from charity stores.