Interviewing for startups : are formal cover letters + suits necessary, neutral, or harmful? • Hacker News Board

Re: Interviewing for startups : are formal cover letters + suits necessary, neutral, or harmful?

#81

Post by windupbirdx » Tue, Jun 17, 2008, 5:30 PM UTC

In a discussion with an older lawyer, I was told that dressing well demonstrates your respect for the people you are meeting with. I personally feel that things have become more complicated as dress, in general, has become more casual but I'm not certain where the line lies between dressing down and disrespect.

I've always worn a suit to interviews in the Midwest and East Coast. Once in New York (at a startup) I was told after being hired that they were concerned that I might be too stiff and strait-laced because of the suit. I did get the job, however, and I would still wear a suit interviewing there.

On the West Coast, I might go with a suit for big companies, but I'd go button down and khakis for a small company or a startup. It's a different culture. Even the better restaurants rarely require formal attire, and I feel like a suit at some interviews would show an inability to grasp the cultural differences.

Re: Interviewing for startups : are formal cover letters + suits necessary, neutral, or harmful?

#82

Post by edw519 » Tue, Jun 17, 2008, 7:45 PM UTC

nradov wrote: post #79

edw519 wrote: post #25

"I dislike cover letters because they feel extremely artificial." Then make yours natural. Write like you speak and say what you want to say. "is this over-the-top or absurd" A suit is never absurd, except at the beach. When in doubt, overdress. You can always take off your jacket (and tie). And don't forget the handwritten and sincere Thank You Note.

Handwritten thank-you note? I do a lot of interviewing and would find it bizarre and annoying if a candidate sent me something by snail mail. Only a fax would be worse.

I find it bizarre and annoying that you find a handwritten thank-you note bizarre and annoying. Have we gotten so immersed in technology that we've forgotten how nice it is when someone goes out of their way to show a little appreciation? I sure hope not.

Re: Interviewing for startups : are formal cover letters + suits necessary, neutral, or harmful?

#83

Post by cperciva » Tue, Jun 17, 2008, 9:16 PM UTC

carterschonwald wrote: post #67

cperciva wrote: post #2

In my CL template, I end up talking about how, in high school, I woke up at 5:00 am to practice for contest math tests Take that out. It doesn't matter what sort of job you're applying for -- the words "high school" should never appear in the resume or cover letter of anyone who has a college degree. As for the rest: Dress like the job you want to have, not like the job you're applying for. If I was applying for a ma…

There are certainly counterexamples to the "excise high school references". Consider for example one of the NYC magnet high schools such as Bronx Science (or Stuyvesant), which on paper at least have a track record of producing 1 physics Nobel Laureate and 1 Turing award winner each per decade (on average). In such a school, a characterization of where one was on the continuum of creative intelligence can be a pretty…

I considered adding "unless you went to Stuyvesant, Upper Canada College, or Eton" -- but I'm not convinced that this is useful if you're applying for a high tech job. If you're trying to get into politics, saying "look at how politically well-connected I am" is certainly useful; but if I saw a CV which mentioned attending Eton, my immediate reaction would be to judge the rest of it more harshly -- because I'd be thinking "you had all those advantages, but this is all you've managed to do so far?"