I used to have the attitude of not paying too much attention to how I dressed, because I don’t have a high opinion of “superficial” people and consumerist suckers (something like “that’s a game I don’t want to play, because I think it was invented to make money for the fashion industry”).
But when I considered that even I judged people on how they dressed (and on their hair etc.), I accepted that yeah, it’s normal that I get judged on that, I should pay attention to it (not that I claim to dress well, I just pay attention to it now).
To put it in game theory terms, if two candidates apply for an interview and you consider that dressing well is costly, then they’re playing prisoner’s dilemma, hence some of my initial revulsion (my following change of mind could then be framed as “eh, may as well defect anyway”, in which case I hope some helpful commenter will offer a better-sounding rationalization).
I recently (successfully) applied for a job at a fashion company, doing technical back-end stuff. My invitation to interview said “just wear what you’re comfortable in”. On the basis that they probably didn’t want me turning up in my underpants and slippers I wore a suit.
I’ve always considered the business attire interview convention to be a very useful protocol, and actually found it a bit discourteous when they tried to take it away from me. Business attire might be considered conventionally high status, but it also sets a bounded limit on how good or bad applicants can look. If they’re going to be judged based on their clothing, at least they’re being judged on a scale which is common knowledge. Once you remove that protocol, you have no idea what you’re competing against.
I actually asked the panel interviewing me what they all wore to their interviews with the company, and every one of them went for formal business attire.
I also got my current job wearing a suit to an interview when they specified “dress casual.” I didn’t get the email in question until I was already heading out the door, or I would have honored their request; I am not sure if this would have been to my advantage or detriment.
I’d be interested to know whether women feel the same way about business attire. It’s much less standardized for women, which is an advantage in some ways because they have more flexibility, but it also means that dressing for business doesn’t reduce the amount of thought they need to put into their clothing.
Though, I guess I sort of cheat at this—I’m a woman, but stick pretty close to the male versions of business clothing. I’m not sure if this puts me at a disadvantage or not.
Business attire might be considered conventionally high status, but it also sets a bounded limit on how good or bad applicants can look.
I agree, it’s not the same as say wearing designer clothes in high school, which would be closer to a prisoner’s dilemma—and in that case one way to enforce “cooperation” is to make wearing a uniform compulsory.
I agree, it’s not the same as say wearing designer clothes in high school, which would be closer to a prisoner’s dilemma—and in that case one way to enforce “cooperation” is to make wearing a uniform compulsory.
(except that it doesn’t achieve the desired results, and makes identification and tracking of status games much harder for people outside of the loop by reducing signal visibility, without diminishing the frequency, intensity, complexity or consequences of the status games in the slightest)
I used to have the attitude of not paying too much attention to how I dressed, because I don’t have a high opinion of “superficial” people and consumerist suckers (something like “that’s a game I don’t want to play, because I think it was invented to make money for the fashion industry”).
But when I considered that even I judged people on how they dressed (and on their hair etc.), I accepted that yeah, it’s normal that I get judged on that, I should pay attention to it (not that I claim to dress well, I just pay attention to it now).
To put it in game theory terms, if two candidates apply for an interview and you consider that dressing well is costly, then they’re playing prisoner’s dilemma, hence some of my initial revulsion (my following change of mind could then be framed as “eh, may as well defect anyway”, in which case I hope some helpful commenter will offer a better-sounding rationalization).
I recently (successfully) applied for a job at a fashion company, doing technical back-end stuff. My invitation to interview said “just wear what you’re comfortable in”. On the basis that they probably didn’t want me turning up in my underpants and slippers I wore a suit.
I’ve always considered the business attire interview convention to be a very useful protocol, and actually found it a bit discourteous when they tried to take it away from me. Business attire might be considered conventionally high status, but it also sets a bounded limit on how good or bad applicants can look. If they’re going to be judged based on their clothing, at least they’re being judged on a scale which is common knowledge. Once you remove that protocol, you have no idea what you’re competing against.
I actually asked the panel interviewing me what they all wore to their interviews with the company, and every one of them went for formal business attire.
I also got my current job wearing a suit to an interview when they specified “dress casual.” I didn’t get the email in question until I was already heading out the door, or I would have honored their request; I am not sure if this would have been to my advantage or detriment.
I’d be interested to know whether women feel the same way about business attire. It’s much less standardized for women, which is an advantage in some ways because they have more flexibility, but it also means that dressing for business doesn’t reduce the amount of thought they need to put into their clothing.
Though, I guess I sort of cheat at this—I’m a woman, but stick pretty close to the male versions of business clothing. I’m not sure if this puts me at a disadvantage or not.
I agree, it’s not the same as say wearing designer clothes in high school, which would be closer to a prisoner’s dilemma—and in that case one way to enforce “cooperation” is to make wearing a uniform compulsory.
(except that it doesn’t achieve the desired results, and makes identification and tracking of status games much harder for people outside of the loop by reducing signal visibility, without diminishing the frequency, intensity, complexity or consequences of the status games in the slightest)
At least it’s a good looking defection.