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prescreen interview, what to wear
Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2012 3:36 pm
by corvettekid
So I have a short 30 min prescreen interview tomorrow at a firm i'm really interested in. I was going to wear a suit for this, but then I got an email from the recruiting coordinator that said:
I wanted to let you know that the firm has a business casual dress code so feel free to dress accordingly for your screening interview.
So what would you guys wear?
Now i'm thinking of just wearing some dress pants and a dress shirt with maybe a tie?
Re: prescreen interview, what to wear
Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2012 3:46 pm
by 20130312
corvettekid wrote:Now i'm thinking of just wearing some dress pants and a dress shirt with maybe a tie?
Yes, this is the definition of business casual (including the 'maybe' a tie). I think I would wear a tie, just in case, but also be prepared to be the only person wearing one.
Re: prescreen interview, what to wear
Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2012 3:48 pm
by ben4847
Depends. Are you a guy or girl?
Re: prescreen interview, what to wear
Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2012 3:49 pm
by dood
dude r u kidding? wear a suit. it is common knowledge; check the googles. and, u ever been to a quinn interview, where ur interviewers are wearing sandals and jeans? they tell u they dont care, but 9/10 are in suits and ties.
Re: prescreen interview, what to wear
Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2012 3:52 pm
by corvettekid
I also thought it was common knowledge to wear a suit, but that's why i thought the email to me about the office dress code was strange.
Re: prescreen interview, what to wear
Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2012 3:53 pm
by S-IV
Suit with no tie. If you feel overdressed, take off the jacket.
Re: prescreen interview, what to wear
Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2012 9:29 pm
by dixiecupdrinking
Yeah, they put you in a bit of a weird spot with that email. Normally, you'd wear a suit and that's that (even at a jeans and sneakers kind of place like Quinn).
But you don't want to ignore their clear instruction to do business casual. Given that constraint, you want to be on the dressier side of business casual. Though lots of people wear ties with no jackets, it's supposedly a faux pas among the snobby few. So I'd go with jacket but no tie.
Re: prescreen interview, what to wear
Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2012 10:10 pm
by r6_philly
There is a difference between "feel free to dress accordingly" and "please dress accordingly." So you can freely choose to wear a suit without making anyone uncomfortable. You can also feel free to wear biz casual. It's probably more or less a firm policy to project the proper image than they having any expectation on your part.
Re: prescreen interview, what to wear
Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2012 10:13 pm
by 09042014
dood wrote:dude r u kidding? wear a suit. it is common knowledge; check the googles. and, u ever been to a quinn interview, where ur interviewers are wearing sandals and jeans? they tell u they dont care, but 9/10 are in suits and ties.
Quinn doesn't care but they are the only exception I've heard.
Re: prescreen interview, what to wear
Posted: Thu Jan 12, 2012 11:44 am
by kalvano
They didn't tell you to dress business casual, they said the option was available if you wanted.
Wear a suit. It's a job interview.
Re: prescreen interview, what to wear
Posted: Thu Jan 12, 2012 11:46 am
by Grizz
kalvano wrote:They didn't tell you to dress business casual, they said the option was available if you wanted.
Wear a suit. It's a job interview.
This. You're not gonna rub anyone the wrong way by wearing a suit.
Re: prescreen interview, what to wear
Posted: Thu Jan 12, 2012 12:00 pm
by Ludo!
Either wear a suit or wear business casual. Don't do something ridiculous like wear a jacket with no tie
Re: prescreen interview, what to wear
Posted: Thu Jan 12, 2012 12:08 pm
by Ty Webb
Ludovico Technique wrote:Either wear a suit or wear business casual. Don't do something ridiculous like wear a jacket with no tie
You don't know what business casual is, do you?
Re: prescreen interview, what to wear
Posted: Thu Jan 12, 2012 12:22 pm
by Ludo!
If you think business casual is wearing a jacket without a tie then you're doing it wrong. Business casual is slacks and a button up shirt.
Re: prescreen interview, what to wear
Posted: Thu Jan 12, 2012 1:44 pm
by r6_philly
Ludovico Technique wrote:If you think business casual is wearing a jacket without a tie then you're doing it wrong. Business casual is slacks and a button up shirt.
Yes but most sane people wear a jacket over the shirt in the winter time.
Re: prescreen interview, what to wear
Posted: Thu Jan 12, 2012 2:11 pm
by Ludo!
I meant suit jacket. You can wear a coat and then take it off when you get inside, sure.
Re: prescreen interview, what to wear
Posted: Thu Jan 12, 2012 2:14 pm
by r6_philly
Ludovico Technique wrote:I meant suit jacket. You can wear a coat and then take it off when you get inside, sure.
I meant a sport jacket which is made for biz casual. It's odd to wear a coat directly over a button down shirt.
Re: prescreen interview, what to wear
Posted: Thu Jan 12, 2012 2:18 pm
by Ludo!
Ok. I just think if you show up for a job interview in a sport coat you will look like a jackass. Wear a suit.
Re: prescreen interview, what to wear
Posted: Thu Jan 12, 2012 7:27 pm
by BeachedBrit
Full suit w/ no tie, but bring a tie in your coat pocket or something (if possible) just in case. You can always duck in to the bathroom and put it on.
Certainly couldn't go wrong in a full suit w/ tie either, there are few occasions where it would be a bad choice.

Re: prescreen interview, what to wear
Posted: Fri Jan 13, 2012 11:41 am
by 20130312
BeachedBrit wrote:Full suit w/ no tie, but bring a tie in your coat pocket or something (if possible) just in case. You can always duck in to the bathroom and put it on.
Curious to see how this would turn out...
*walks in to firm, sees others are wearing ties, quickly runs to the bathroom before anyone sees you are not wearing one*
The potential for them thinking you're an aspie is high.
Re: prescreen interview, what to wear
Posted: Fri Jan 13, 2012 11:44 am
by YourCaptain
wear a suit it wont kill you