Navigating Interview Dress Codes: How Would You Respond to Casual Attire Questions?

I had been to an interview where I was asked, "What do you look for in a person when you conduct an interview?" Dressing (wearing formal clothes or not) was one of the answers I gave. My interviewer was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, so he asked me, "Do you think I should not be conducting interviews if I am wearing these clothes?"

Now, friend, can you help me find a proper answer for:

1. What do you look for in a person during an interview?
2. Why did my interviewer ask whether I should not be conducting the interview in these casual clothes?

Thanks,
Chitra Sharma

Dear Chitra,

Your reply should have been that it depends upon the company culture. Some companies prescribe smart casuals, whereas others will have uniforms. There are companies with a dress code of jeans and T-shirts. Your response should come after assessing the circumstances.

Sarvesh

Dear Chitra,

It is a fact that being formally dressed is best in any interview situation. If the company culture allows casual dress, you can switch to it later. However, your interview question was "What do you look for in a person when you conduct an interview?" It is easy to speak after the fact, but you could have answered by mentioning communication skills, knowledge base, interpersonal skills, fit with the organization, and stopped there, instead of bringing up formal dress since the interviewer was wearing casuals.

Regards,

Dhannya

Dear Chitra,

I think it's all up to us how we manage to reply to the question put forward by the interviewer, and both of our friends have given you some ideas about this already. Always assess the situation and answer accordingly. Moreover, when it comes to dress code, we really don't have any particular code in general. It varies from company to company. Hope you have got some idea now.

Regards,
Amith R.

Dear Chatra,

I think this link would help you the best: [How to Dress for an Interview](http://jobsearch.about.com/od/interviewattire/a/interviewdress.htm)

Your interviewer was talking nonsense and wasting time. Complain against his behavior to the CEO of the company as he is asking irrelevant and foolish questions unrelated to the interview. There is nothing more to discuss on this.

Dear Chitra,

The best answer could be that, "We are speaking in the context of the interviewee and not the interviewer, so my answer was formal dressing for the interviewee I am interviewing."

Regards,
Ravindra R

The common practice is to be dressed formally for an interview. It is more important for the interviewer to be in formal attire as this would help in sending the right message to the candidate as well as setting up the right atmosphere for the proceedings. Otherwise, the company/firm should have mentioned the dress code as informal.