When I’ve interviewed for programming jobs, I usually wore khakis or dress slacks and a nice button-down shirt, no tie. It’s middle-of-the-road for this area, neither too fancy for the geeks nor too casual for the managers.

One thing to note, I’m not afraid to ride my motorcycle to an interview and carry in my riding gear. It’s often helped break the ice and establish friendly conversation.

-Josh

The way I see it, I’m a professional, and I’m going to dress like a professional. I take a job interview seriously, and I like to reinforce that with the way I dress.

Generally, you won’t be discredited for dressing professionally, though you may be discredited for failing to do so. I’ve had a single job interview during which the interviewer told me I could lose the tie because his company was more interested in what was between my ears than my ability to coordinate a tie. You’ll need to bring your brain along regardless of how you dress.

Some will argue that they don’t wish to work for a company that will judge them based upon their attire. While fair, researching a company and its associated culture is something that should be done well ahead of the interview.

The first phase was an over-the-phone interview. I could have been naked for this, but I actually sat outside, fully clothed. Was a nice day.

The second phase was that they flew me to Sydney for a day. This involved talking with the development team at a cafe. I went there dressed in jeans and shirt. Stuff I’d wear out in a bar or out shopping.

The third phase however involved a meeting with the National Director and I was advised to suit up. This involved nice pants and a long-sleeved white shirt but no tie.

These days I go into work dressed like the second phase. I even sometimes wear my “fork you” shirt and even though it’s not an office of 100% developers, they understand what it means after it’s been explained. The third phase clothing is still hanging in the wardrobe from the day I started my job. Maybe one day I’ll wear it again to “look important”.

I didn’t wear a tie, but nobody else did either.

I have to be honest anyway and say that I don’t think wearing a piece of cloth tied around your neck makes you look professional. To me, it makes people look like they are just wearing a uniform in order to fit in.

Women’s fashions come and go, but men have been wearing more or less the same shirts and ties for generations. It’s time we moved on to something else. Even as symbolism, neckties suck.