Also in the UK, and I would definitely not be surprised to see candidates show up with suits at places where that’s obviously not required. No one cares. “Pedigree” that’s another question.
I did show up in a tailored three-piece suit with a tie and pocket for my interview at Deliveroo (a notorious streetwear influencer now). There was an eyebrow justifiably raised (by a guy in a t-shirt who, I learned afterwards, was the CEO) and I felt the need to explain that I had another interview for a very different company just after. That other interview went horribly and I got the job at Deliveroo! I’d still recommend showing up wearing biking gear.
We had an interviewee showing up in shorts and t-shirt. Turns out he wanted to combine the interview with a tee off time in the afternoon. While not customary (even though we don't wear suits/business attire at our company) he totally got away with it and it didn't affect the interview.
I did interviews in suit before, but if I ever have to do interviews again I'm not going to do that anymore. I hate suits, they don't fit me well and I don't feel comfortable in them. I think it is silly that it is 'expected' to wear a suit for a job interview where none of the employees wear suits. For finance/legal it's different matter, obviously.
When I interviewed for my new job (at a tech company), I knew it was fine to wear casual clothes, but only because I have a friend who works there. I probably would have worn a suit otherwise.
I gave feedback that they should just tell candidates to wear casual clothes when they invite them to interview. It's such a simple thing to do and really helps put candidates at ease.
Normally that would be a better solution, but like I said, he totally got away with it. It was a nice way of breaking the ice. I wouldn't recommend it to just anybody, though.
I did exactly the same thing for Thread (a fashion/tech startup) - wore the cheapest most unfashionable suit possible, because I was a poor student and needed to wear something that would work for multiple interviews in one trip to London.
No one at Thread cared, no one at most of the other places cared, but I got the impression one more corporate place cared. I ended up taking the Thread offer, and despite working with people who's job it is to be good at fashion, I've not once felt out of place even though I have no real idea what I'm doing.
Impostor syndrome is one thing — but you might want to know a bit of how fashion is structured if you work at Thread!
I got a ton of points during an interview at a similar company by mentioning my uncle’s fashion brand as something “they might not have heard about”. Instant braggadocious “try me” from the interviewer. Turns out, my uncle’s sneakers are genuinely cool.
Depends, I've worked (as a consultant / developer) at a number of widely different companies, and knowledge or interest beforehand of the domain wasn't necessary. (investment banking, trains, shipping, e-commerce, etc)
Dude, were your interviewing as a software developer or as a delivery man? For the former, I'd rock up in a suit and a bike helmet, but only if I really did ride my bike to the interview.
As it was, I interviewed for Google in a suit (no helmet, I took a bus), even though the instructions recommended against it. This was in Switzerland; and as far as I can tell, nobody even noticed, let alone cared, what I was wearing.
Data scientist, but Deliveroo is big on empathy and you are meant to ride (handle deliveries, but also understand the issues with riding a bicycle or a moped in a big city: rain, parking, etc.)
I’d say half the candidates I interviewed (I was far down the pipeline) had done deliveries and all had learnt something important doing it. The key one was: it’s a physically challenging job.
A few years ago I went to AKQA suited and booted - I think I realised that I might be over dressed when on the way a passer by asked me if I knew where the Ivy was :-)
The interview was a total bust the guy that interviewed me was wearing a t shirt so scruffy I would only wear it to do the gardening.
I’ve seen a lot of those t-shirts and generally what is printed on them is the important part: a memorable hackathon, a cool product, etc. For an outsider, it’s often tricky to tell.
My favourite: the “I’ve done 100 interviews and the only thing I got was this t-shirt.” t-shirt at Facebook, with the 100 stroke-through to read 200. If looking really tattered, you know you are talking to someone who’s probably done a lot more interviews since the 200 mark. Expressly worn to show the candidate you know what you are talking about.
It was plain one and looked like he had spilled a burrito down it - he was also totally clueless about the role he was nominally recruiting for and seemed not to know any of the cool stuff AKQA had done
I did show up in a tailored three-piece suit with a tie and pocket for my interview at Deliveroo (a notorious streetwear influencer now). There was an eyebrow justifiably raised (by a guy in a t-shirt who, I learned afterwards, was the CEO) and I felt the need to explain that I had another interview for a very different company just after. That other interview went horribly and I got the job at Deliveroo! I’d still recommend showing up wearing biking gear.