“I don’t do suits”, he says.
“You have to!”, I say.
“I asked and they said they all wear jeans”, he says.
“So what!?”, says I.
He didn’t wear a suit.
Now granted, he will most likely get the offer. I don’t doubt his incredible ability nor his personality, drive, and dedication. I felt totally ‘old school’ telling him to wear a suit. He and I both work for companies that are dressed down and casual. It wasn’t always like that, I worked for companies where I threw a tie on every day. I don’t mind it… makes me feel important. It does, I must admit. 🙂
I simply didn’t have a good answer for him when I kept bugging him, but I’m sure that a suit would have resulted in a better offer, better options, better something! Perhaps simply additional respect. A suit is simply an investment in yourself. Wear the suit, get the cash… put it in the dry-cleaners until next time. What’s the downfall? No one laughs at a guy in a suit. But they might laugh at the guy in jeans.
In the past, I have personally made the decision to not hire people because of their dress code and their hygiene. It’s unfortunate… but I did pass them by even though they were very talented. Why? I never thought about it before, but Seth hit it on the head… it’s because they were not trying. The guy (or gal) in the suit was trying. They put on the fancy socks, shined the shoes, tied that Windsor 3 times, put the collar pins in… and took the jacket on and off 3 times so it wouldn’t get wrinkled. What a pain! But they did it. Why? Because they were trying!
Is that wrong? Am I getting old?
I wish I had read this entry a couple weeks ago so I could have answered him. Much like Seth talks about the Marketing Balloons at the Auto Sales place, a suit makes you look like you are trying.
