(This is mostly a tangent, but it talks about how to mess with signalling if you’re already outside of the system.)
“Mom you do not get it, that would absolutely tank my chances of getting hired except at companies so bad I don’t want to work there, the only people who wear a suit for an interview in tech are the people who don’t think they can cut it on their technical skills and the people hiring know this”.
Back when I was consulting, I actually figured out how to get away with wearing a suit as a programmer. I had some help from this from a helpful older salesguy in a suit shop, who was probably well past retirement age. He explained that suits could actually convey a wide range of signals, including:
“Small town banker.” This suit only changes on a generational time scale.
“Ad guy.”
“Trendy artist.” This changes much more rapidly, and a specific style can go out of fashion.
There are lots of visual details here: How many buttons you have, the style of the pockets, the collar, the color, etc. For a really ancient example, look at how Will Smith changes the classic Men in Black outfit at the end of the first movie. For a more recent example, Expedition 33 has tons of fantastic retro suits.
So if you want to wear a suit as a programmer, start by looking at whatever trendy artists are wearing when they’re forced to wear suits, and then try to work out a personal style from there. Depending on the context (employee, conference speaker, consultant), you might want some combination of:
Good looking. Suits were popular for ages because they can actually make a wide range of male body types[[1]] look good. This requires a good fit and possibly some tailoring.
Comfortable. Well-fit suits can actually be a lot more comfortable than you’d think; I was actually surprised by this. Looking comfortable is actually a plus, because you stop signalling “I am making myself uncomfortable in order to submit to social convention.”
Slightly eccentric, or at least individual. I agree that programmers should almost never signal “boring conformist” in interviews, because it makes the hiring managers suspect that you’re desperate. But that just rules out boring banker suits, and ill-fitting suits.
Expensive and successful. Particularly if you’re consulting, you want to look like someone who gets paid your daily rate.
There’s a lot of space here, and it will vary by city and context. San Francisco is an unusually hard place to carry off a suit. So’s New York City, but in the opposite direction, because there are so many $3,000+ suits and people who have very strong opinions on suit fashion. Do not try to compete directly.
But the underlying signal that programmers often want to send in interviews is “My skills are valuable and rare enough that nobody would ever ask me to dress up like a small town banker.” And there are definitely ways to wear a suit with flair and non-conformity. Unfortunately, like a lot of signalling, it may require more skill, expense and risk of looking foolish.
Also, I think a few more people should dress up like Expedition 33 characters. Just saying.
Suits also look fantastic on women and non-binary people, but that’s separate discussion that I know much less about. As an apology, please have this photo of Mason Alexander Park.
(This is mostly a tangent, but it talks about how to mess with signalling if you’re already outside of the system.)
Back when I was consulting, I actually figured out how to get away with wearing a suit as a programmer. I had some help from this from a helpful older salesguy in a suit shop, who was probably well past retirement age. He explained that suits could actually convey a wide range of signals, including:
“Small town banker.” This suit only changes on a generational time scale.
“Ad guy.”
“Trendy artist.” This changes much more rapidly, and a specific style can go out of fashion.
There are lots of visual details here: How many buttons you have, the style of the pockets, the collar, the color, etc. For a really ancient example, look at how Will Smith changes the classic Men in Black outfit at the end of the first movie. For a more recent example, Expedition 33 has tons of fantastic retro suits.
So if you want to wear a suit as a programmer, start by looking at whatever trendy artists are wearing when they’re forced to wear suits, and then try to work out a personal style from there. Depending on the context (employee, conference speaker, consultant), you might want some combination of:
Good looking. Suits were popular for ages because they can actually make a wide range of male body types [[1]] look good. This requires a good fit and possibly some tailoring.
Comfortable. Well-fit suits can actually be a lot more comfortable than you’d think; I was actually surprised by this. Looking comfortable is actually a plus, because you stop signalling “I am making myself uncomfortable in order to submit to social convention.”
Slightly eccentric, or at least individual. I agree that programmers should almost never signal “boring conformist” in interviews, because it makes the hiring managers suspect that you’re desperate. But that just rules out boring banker suits, and ill-fitting suits.
Expensive and successful. Particularly if you’re consulting, you want to look like someone who gets paid your daily rate.
There’s a lot of space here, and it will vary by city and context. San Francisco is an unusually hard place to carry off a suit. So’s New York City, but in the opposite direction, because there are so many $3,000+ suits and people who have very strong opinions on suit fashion. Do not try to compete directly.
But the underlying signal that programmers often want to send in interviews is “My skills are valuable and rare enough that nobody would ever ask me to dress up like a small town banker.” And there are definitely ways to wear a suit with flair and non-conformity. Unfortunately, like a lot of signalling, it may require more skill, expense and risk of looking foolish.
Also, I think a few more people should dress up like Expedition 33 characters. Just saying.
Suits also look fantastic on women and non-binary people, but that’s separate discussion that I know much less about. As an apology, please have this photo of Mason Alexander Park.