I came across Mark Cuban’s blog post from the other day entitled “Why I Don’t Wear a Suit and Can’t Figure Out Why Anyone Does” and, while I definitely agree with his stance, not everyone has the luxury to swear off suits. Personally, I haven’t had the “need” to wear one for business, possibly ever. But I have worn them, on occasion. The reason is simple and that is just that it is what is expected at a certain level of business communication. In many instances, business dealings and communication are formal. Unfortunately, there are few ways to indicate formality in the world of business, other than the attire of the participants in said business. Mergers may happen on the golf course, but they are finalized in the board room - by people in suits. Lawyers don’t argue their cases in t-shirts and jeans. A suit, while archaic, cumbersome, and almost always uncomfortable, is really all we have to indicate a level of seriousness that many types of business dealings require.

I would place certain interviews at that level of formality (or perhaps more appropriately, “expected formality”) and for that reason alone, I think most people that are seeking to gain a white-collar office position would be well-served to err on the side of caution and wear a suit to the interview. Obviously, that advice changes if the position does not involve an office setting or is blue collar or whatever. You know the types of positions where people will wear suits from time to time or all of the time.

And while I am definitely not one to blindly follow the herd, but in this instance I haven’t heard of a better alternative. If you have one, I’d love to hear it.

Tags: business attire, business suit, job interview, job interview etiquette

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