I just spent three months interviewing entirely at startups, accepted an offer from one of them (a YC launch, slightly less of a raw startup than some of them, but still small), and for those few interviews that were in-person I wore jeans and a shirt.
if you don't have the smarts on how to dress for an interview, then you don't have the smarts i'd be looking for.
i mean, i always wear a suit, but only because i have to
i think you could leave out a lot of smart people with that sort of policy
I would dress in interview attire. If the company is pretty casual you could lose the tie and just wear slacks, button down shirt and jacket.
Wear a suite. You can never overdress. Ultimately though if it's really a deciding factor in the hiring decision you probably aren't going to like the culture anyway.
I should mention this isn't typical consumer app based startup like Snapchat, Tinder, etc that is marketed towards the young. Its an enterprise security software company and the role will require some interaction with fortune 100 companies. I'll also be meeting with the VP of Operations. I think the staff here are a bit older as well and don't hire as much fresh grads and interns.
Ask HR what is normal and what they recommend, dress like that. That has never failed me.
There isn't a level of professionalism being discussed here, there's a type of professionalism being discussed here, and it's one that tells me nothing about how well (or professionally) someone will do their job. It's just pointless window-dressing. I know some people "feel more professional" in a suit, I don't get it. Putting on a robe and hat doesn't make me a wizard, neither does wearing a suit make one a professional.i wouldn't want just smart people. i want someone who's smart and has common sense. if you don't have the common sense to know that you are supposed to wear a suit to an interview (like you said you have) then you're not the kind of person i would want to work with.
there is a level of professionalism that just comes with someone wearing a suit when you're supposed to wear one, in a work environment. by not wearing a suit to an interview, you're letting me know that you don't have that level of professionalism, and that isn't someone i'd want to work with.
and i'm the kind of guy you will never see wearing anything else other than a wife beater and mesh shorts when i'm at home, unless it's winter time, then replace the shorts with sweat pants.
unless they explicitly told me to dress a certain way, i'd dress just like i would to any interview - in a suit.
EDIT:
i'm working with 2 other cofounders on a startup now and if we get to the point where we get investors after we launch and have to hire more engineers, i'll pretty much dismiss anyone who doesn't come to an interview in a suit and tie based soley on that. if you don't have the smarts on how to dress for an interview, then you don't have the smarts i'd be looking for.
There isn't a level of professionalism being discussed here, there's a type of professionalism being discussed here, and it's one that tells me nothing about how well (or professionally) someone will do their job. It's just pointless window-dressing. I know some people "feel more professional" in a suit, I don't get it. Putting on a robe and hat doesn't make me a wizard, neither does wearing a suit make one a professional.
Out of the dozens of interviews I have done I have only seen new grads come in with a suit. No experienced engineer has come in with a suit. Shirt and tie at most and even that is only maybe 50% of the time. At this point it would seem weird to see an experienced engineer come in in a suit.
Unless you are doing something customer/business facing a suit is overkill and anyone that uses it as a main criteria for hiring is not someone I would want to work with. Actually I've never even heard what an interviewee wore mentioned during the post interview round table either. So I guess I'm not alone in finding it irrelevant.
As for the startup advice it sounds like it is customer/business facing so I'd go suit.
It shows evidence of the judgement of the candidate, which arguably is part of professionalism. Going into an interview, you never want to dress more casually as your interviewer, and the way to guarantee that is to wear a suit and tie (assuming you were not told otherwise by the recruiter). That's basic business etiquette/sense, and especially if the role may require interacting with people outside of the company, does tell you how someone will do their job.
i've never not interviewed someone not in a suit, and that includes senior software engineers.
and don't get confused with what to wear to an interview being what you wear day to day once you get the job, because where i work it's pretty casual (jeans and t shirt if you want).
it's basically the simple fact that if someone can't be bothered to put on a suit and clean up themself for an hour or two out of their life while interviewing with a company they could work with for years, then that person isn't the type of person i'd want to work with in general. it means they can't get out of their comfort zone for even a short amount of time.
i mean what happens when 6 months after you hire them, they have to meet with a client using the software, and they refuse to wear a suit? what do you do then? that's why i wouldn't bother with someone like that. it is just a trait (or lack there of) that i wouldn't want in someone i'm working with. it tells me that if they can't do it for themself, they won't be willing to take one for the team if the time arises.
TYPE of professionalism.It shows evidence of the judgement of the candidate, which arguably is part of professionalism. Going into an interview, you never want to dress more casually as your interviewer, and the way to guarantee that is to wear a suit and tie (assuming you were not told otherwise by the recruiter). That's basic business etiquette/sense, and especially if the role may require interacting with people outside of the company, does tell you how someone will do their job.
I understand it. See, the thing is, it's stupid.the fact that there are multiple people in this thread who don't understand this simple fact really is mind boggling.
Not wearing a suit does not mean you aren't cleaned up. It isn't as if this is suit or cut-offs with flip flops and bedhead.
Maybe it is a west-coast/Texas vs east-coast thing. I've heard of companies out here where wearing a suit would be an indication you don't understand the company or culture. People seem to think that wearing a suit is some magic safety net; that it is the pinnacle of correct wear but it isn't. Not only is it frequently not necessary it can be detrimental.
Even worse is if you "put in the effort" by buying a suit for this interview(s) and it is a cheaper/low quality suit. You can look more professional with less than a suit vs someone that has a mediocre suit.
I'm not saying you are wrong in your situation to want a suit, especially if you think customer facing is a possibility. But to hold it up as some sort of holy grail metric which dare not be met as general advice is wrong.
I haven't worn a suit after my first job and I've only had one interview not end with an offer.