Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

How to Screw Up an On-Site Interview

artima.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

51–59 of 59 posts

Re: How to Screw Up an On-Site Interview

#51

Post by damncabbage »

j_baker wrote: post #13
fogus wrote: post #6

I would love to read stories of interviewees who've decided to call it quits on the interviewers. It must happen right?

You know, based on reading thedailywtf[1] for a while, I've concluded that it happens very infrequently even under the most absurd circumstances. Most of the time, the interviewee says something like "This was bizarre, but I figured I should just stick the interview out". I'm curious why that is. [1] http://thedailywtf.com/Series/Tales_from_the_Interview.aspx

Morbid curiosity. :-)

Re: How to Screw Up an On-Site Interview

#52

Post by nagrom »

evo_9 wrote: post #29
nagrom wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm a research scientist who wears a suit and doesn't understand your attitude. I don't wear a suit to cover up any lack of ability, I wear a suit because it's very comfortable, extremely convenient (lots of pockets!) and means that I don't need to worry about my outfit. I also enjoy being treated better generally because I look neat - doesn't matter about your body shape, a decent single-breasted suit makes you look…

Here in Colorado it's very informal; it's just not the norm to wear a suit to an interview. It raises eyebrows. This is especially true for tech jobs. I would never not hire someone because of this, but the reality is I've never met anyone that over-dressed like that for an interview that aced it. If they did, I'd probably joke with them about the suit, but that would be that. I also personally find suits unoriginal.…

I guess I'm just confused now. What would you wear that is stylish and professional that is not a suit or a derivative thereof (collared shirt, wool/linen trousers)? You ruled out about 90% of a professional's wardrobe, as I see it.

When attending an interview, I want to look smart and make it clear that I made some effort to dress well without trying to stamp my personality all over people, so the default choice is a well-fit suit with a nice shirt. I'm genuinely curious: what would you wear, or expect someone else to wear?

Re: How to Screw Up an On-Site Interview

#53

Post by nagrom »

blackguardx wrote: post #33
nagrom wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm a research scientist who wears a suit and doesn't understand your attitude. I don't wear a suit to cover up any lack of ability, I wear a suit because it's very comfortable, extremely convenient (lots of pockets!) and means that I don't need to worry about my outfit. I also enjoy being treated better generally because I look neat - doesn't matter about your body shape, a decent single-breasted suit makes you look…

I've worn a suit to almost every interview I've been on. In big companies, it is usually expected and never looked down upon. Smaller places tend to be a little more casual. It really depends on company size, industry, and region. Also, I agree with you. Wearing a nice suit isn't uncomfortable at all. It is the dress shoes that kill me!

I've found that with shoes, you really get what you pay for in terms of comfort. There's a world of difference between shoes that cost $50 and those that cost $100. There's a big gap again to those that cost $150. The leather is much more supple, therefore more comfortable and they usually look nicer too.

I've been told that once you get to over $300 you stop getting an increase in quality, but I've never been able to bring myself to pay more than $150 for shoes I must admit.

Re: How to Screw Up an On-Site Interview

#54

Post by cubicle67 »

ax0n wrote: post #20

I have been known to bail from an interview as soon as it became evident we were wasting one another's time. I'm not sure why the author put himself through all that. As it stands, it really reads like someone who's bummed they didn't get hired.

He didn't

This is not a true story...

Re: How to Screw Up an On-Site Interview

#55

Post by evo_9 »

nagrom wrote: post #52
evo_9 wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here in Colorado it's very informal; it's just not the norm to wear a suit to an interview. It raises eyebrows. This is especially true for tech jobs. I would never not hire someone because of this, but the reality is I've never met anyone that over-dressed like that for an interview that aced it. If they did, I'd probably joke with them about the suit, but that would be that. I also personally find suits unoriginal.…

I guess I'm just confused now. What would you wear that is stylish and professional that is not a suit or a derivative thereof (collared shirt, wool/linen trousers)? You ruled out about 90% of a professional's wardrobe, as I see it. When attending an interview, I want to look smart and make it clear that I made some effort to dress well without trying to stamp my personality all over people, so the default choice is…

I can only speak for myself, I don't expect anyone to dress a certain way (beyond what has been covered - aka a suit is over doing it, trying too hard). But me, I typically wear a pair of nice dress paints, let's say charcoal gray. I'd pair that with a button down dress shirt, long-sleave - something that is s solid color, usually a bold choice there to stand out such as burnt orange or a burgundy for example. That's pretty much it other than of course matching a proper belt and shoes (in this case black shoes and belt, I'd go to Aldo's for that). Just swing into Banana Republic or Limited for Men; poke around those shops and you'll get the hang of it. Maybe pick up an issue or two of GQ and Men's Health while you are at it. You can also switch out the long-sleave shirt in the summer for a shirt-sleave polo style shirt; I'd again get something more modern from a shop like Limited/BR, but you get the idea.

Anyway, that's literally what I wear to work most days. I have 3-4 pairs of dress slacks from a good store like those, different colors - black, charcoal gray, dark brown and a light gray (almost a tweed). Then you can buy a variety of different colored shirts. Then you just need a pair (or 2) of black and brown shoes, and matching belts (though you can probably get away with black shoes, and a black belt with the brown slacks, but I personally like to really look 'compete').

It's funny but I was starting to think about creating a post or blog entry on this because it's not that hard to dress really sharp without going too far. Also, if you aren't good at picking clothing bring a girl with you, or just ask one of the store clerks, they are usually really into this stuff and can point you in the right direction (but always pick things that appeal to you in some way, allowing them to influence your choice, not make it for you).

Re: How to Screw Up an On-Site Interview

#56

Post by zwetan »

evo_9 wrote: post #19

I've never worn a suit to an interview. I've always thought people in suits have something to hide, aka, if they really knew what they were doing they wouldn't be overdressing.

I've nerver worn a suit to an interview either (I'm based in London so it's not really ingrained in the culture), but I do not think at all that people wearing suits try to hide anything.

I don't like suit for myself, it make me feel I wear a uniform.

And yeah, if an interview require to wear a suit, I kindly inform them that I will not take the interview for that very reason.

As a side note, the wearing/not-wearing a suit can be a good test of how a company interviewing you is "intelligent" or "retarded".

[edit: I'm not in my 20s, suit even for the first interview is just not in my culture]

Re: How to Screw Up an On-Site Interview

#57

Post by zwetan »

fogus wrote: post #6

I would love to read stories of interviewees who've decided to call it quits on the interviewers. It must happen right?

I never did it but once, as I think even the worst interview on earth is something you use to learn.

But for the one time when it happened, long long time ago, it went like that:

I was sitting at a round table with 4/5 personn in front of me doing the interview, among them the CEO

this CEO in the middle of the interview ask me how much salary I would expect

I don't really block and answer straight away

then the CEO went into a fury on how I would dare to ask that much and that the price of bread could not augment that much

I kindly asked if he was comparing me to some slice of bread ?

He answered "yes"

I stood up, smiled and walked out of the room, not saying a word at all.

Stupid small story, but since that time I will always check the range of salary a company expect to pay for a job offer, it also helps to filter out the company having unreasonable expectations (I'm looking at the one who look for tons of languages, 10+ years of experience and want to pay you the salary of an intern).

Re: How to Screw Up an On-Site Interview

#58

Post by nagrom »

evo_9 wrote: post #55
nagrom wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess I'm just confused now. What would you wear that is stylish and professional that is not a suit or a derivative thereof (collared shirt, wool/linen trousers)? You ruled out about 90% of a professional's wardrobe, as I see it. When attending an interview, I want to look smart and make it clear that I made some effort to dress well without trying to stamp my personality all over people, so the default choice is…

I can only speak for myself, I don't expect anyone to dress a certain way (beyond what has been covered - aka a suit is over doing it, trying too hard). But me, I typically wear a pair of nice dress paints, let's say charcoal gray. I'd pair that with a button down dress shirt, long-sleave - something that is s solid color, usually a bold choice there to stand out such as burnt orange or a burgundy for example. That's…

Strikes me that the only difference between the way that you and I dress is that I wear a jacket ;-) (I can't stand ties). I wear the jacket because the silhouette is flattering, and there are all those handy pockets. Why should such a simple, very practical item make you think at such a person is over-dressing?

Re: How to Screw Up an On-Site Interview

#59

Post by lsc »

blahblahblah wrote: post #48
lsc wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

you /look/ like a marketing guy. nerds don't trust marketing guys. If you show up in a suit to a tech. interview, my first thought is that you want to be management, not a tech; and you are just using this as a stepping stone. Now, if I /need/ management, that's great. But if I'm trying to hire a tech, it's a net negative. on a related note, I think there is a certain amount of hostility towards good looking people i…

Don't read too much into it. I've never gone to an interview in anything other than a suit and, trust me, if my employer asked me to fill a management role, I'd decline the offer (and if told that I didn't have a choice to decline, I'd start looking for a different job). I also never ever wear a suit for work. The reality is that this phenomenon of wearing casual attire for interviews is a significant, and very recen…

obviously, judging people by surface characteristics is stupid. to some extent, we can't help it... but I think that a good interviewer has learned to look past his or her biases. There are better ways to figure out if a technical person knows what they are doing than looking at their surface characteristics. (really, I think getting some idea of a candidates actual skill is easier to do in a technical interview than when, say, interviewing a manager type. Of course, this might just be a result of where my experience lies.)

I was just trying to explain why the surface characteristic of wearing a suit and generally looking good is sometimes seen as a negative in the computer industry, even though it is a positive characteristic elsewhere.

Post reply on HN