Job Candidates Caught Between Suits and Hoodies

The matching blazer and pants Dani McEwen wore to a job interview at an insurance company felt like a smart choice — until she noticed most of the employees had on T-shirts and jeans. “The first thing that went through my mind was that I probably looked like I was trying way too hard and maybe seemed too uptight,” McEwen, a student at Baldwin Wallace University in Berea, Ohio, told AP News.

With virtual interviews and casual work environments proliferating, job candidates are having a hard time figuring out what to wear when they meet potential employers online or in person. Polished suits and other types of professional business attire — the typical recommendation of career advisers in years past — no longer are the default option when interviewers may show up in hoodies and shorts.

The Post-Pandemic Workplace Shift

The disconnect between long-established conventions and the less-rigid workplace settings of a post-pandemic world is confusing many job applicants who want to dress to impress. “If the last six years has proven anything, it’s that everyone and everything has become slightly more relaxed,” said Christina Adamo, a personal stylist at the Neiman Marcus store in Paramus, New Jersey. “That especially goes for dress codes, in great part because of the transition a lot of companies have had to hybrid and remote work.”

Wearing a well-tailored suit is still frequently prescribed when interviewing for executive positions and jobs in fields such as law and finance, stylists and staffing recruiters said. But it’s worth exploring an organization in advance to get a sense of the culture, or asking the hiring manager or recruiter directly about the dress code.

“If you walk in and you’re already feeling out of place in the atmosphere, your answers just aren’t as good,” said McEwen, 20, who manages a student career closet of donated suits and work attire at her university. “Most of what matters about your interview outfit is that you feel confident about it. It puts you in the mindset that you’re going to succeed.”

Researching Company Culture

One way to scope out an organization’s style vibe is to check its social media accounts or website to see what employees wear. “If you were to look at a company’s LinkedIn page and they’re using words like ‘We’re fresh, we’re innovative, we’re the new kids on the block, we’re here to shock the industry,’ then you know that the dress code is going to be more casual than if they’re saying ‘We are a traditional historic brand with traditional values,’” said Samantha Harman, a London-based personal stylist and author of “Just Get Dressed.”

If you’re going for a more senior role, think about refreshing your style so you don’t look dated, Harman, 37, said. “You don’t want anyone to think that you have a dated skill set because you want to be seen as someone who’s innovative, who’s going to have lots of new ideas.”

The Double Standard

Sometimes, even after doing the research, candidates find they’re dressing up more than their interviewers. Molly Tyndale, 22, wore a blouse and suit jacket to an online interview for a business development position after she was told by the company that the dress code was “business professional.” She was surprised when one of her interviewers showed up wearing an athletic T-shirt.

“If I, as the candidate, had joined in a T-shirt, that would almost certainly be an automatic no,” she said. “It’s frustrating.”

A wardrobe can also serve as a personal branding tool for your career. Hiring managers for senior positions are increasingly asking, “Does this person look like somebody we can send out if there’s a crisis and we need somebody to talk to the media? Or does this person look like they could host our next internal conference? Do they look like we could put them on a stage?” Harman said.

To convey quiet confidence as a publicist in Los Angeles, Dylan Thomas Cotter wears a dark blue tailored suit to job interviews or meetings where he’s trying to land a new client. In public relations, “if something goes south, we need to immediately look like we’re capable to handle that,” Cotter, 43, said. “But also, when we make our first impression on behalf of our clients, we can make or break their business if we’re not good at what we do.”

Practical Guidelines for Any Interview

While formality levels vary from one workplace to the next, some interview-dressing guidelines almost always are worth following. “Make sure everything is nice and clean and presentable,” to convey that you’re taking the opportunity seriously, said Jamie Close, a Charleston, South Carolina-based corporate recruiter at HireQuest, a national staffing and recruiting firm. “Then you’ll feel more confident about yourself as well because you’re not worried about ill-fitting clothes.”

Close also advises against buying something new and wearing it for the first time to an interview. “Make sure you’ve worn it somewhere before so you know how it feels when you’re sitting down or standing up and you’re not constantly fidgeting with your clothes,” she said.

For skilled trades interviews, “wear what you wear to work, but wear that nice, clean version,” Close suggested. “Clean boots, a nice collared shirt, ready to work. But not like you just walked off of a work site.”

Dressing for Virtual Interviews

Dress for a virtual interview the same way you would for an in-person meeting, experts said. Even if the camera will only show your head and torso, Harman suggests wearing shoes because they can signal to your brain to behave in a different way. For virtual interviews, wearing solid colors is a good choice, because those tend to look better on camera than busy patterns, Adamo said.

“You want to show up as the best version of yourself and that includes dressing the part,” Adamo said. “While many would suggest ‘waist up’ dressing since your top half is doing most of the work, I recommend treating it as if you were going in person. It helps put you in the right headspace, and feeling confident in what you’re wearing is the most important part.”

A Shifting Landscape

The dress code debate reflects broader changes in workplace culture that extend beyond the interview room. Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri recently weighed in on the office dress code debate, saying he is “pro shorts” in the workplace, as Storyboard18 reported. A 2023 Wall Street Journal poll found that 60% of respondents considered shorts acceptable in the workplace, with millennials the most supportive demographic.

As workplace culture continues to evolve, the ambiguity around interview attire is likely to persist. The most successful approach, experts suggest, is to research company culture thoroughly and aim to be one notch more polished than the everyday dress code. For candidates, the key is finding the balance between demonstrating respect for the opportunity and fitting in with the organization’s culture — while feeling confident in what they wear.