Dress Code, Culture and the Interview

There have been dozens of posts on preparing for an interview and indeed all the things one needs to do to make that job winning impression on the day. And what one wears to an interview has been pretty much covered too. Or has it?

Recently, one young delegate in a training course we were running asked about what he should wear to his interview for a position as a "junior consultant" with a technology company in the cloud hosting space. My reactive answer was dress to impress, wear a suit and preferably a tie...oh and shine your shoes!

So he did as suggested and he did get the job, but not because of what he was wearing. In fact, it was remarked on in the interview that one concern they had was that the candidate might not fit with the "culture" of the company...after all, they were "not corporate types" and they "wore jeans and stuff", and judging by his suit perhaps he was looking for a different kind of working environment.

Is it me? Sure, I know one should really research a potential employer and know what they do and as much as possible on how they do it, but on the day you walk in and ask them to hire you, I'm pretty sure the game demands that you still look your best. This is a case perhaps of judging a book by its cover, and maybe this one interviewer is at fault or poorly trained in the art of interviewing...the young person did get the job on talent and qualifications, but to think looking smart and dressed up nearly did for him has me scratching my head somewhat.

My advice to any job seeker is still dress up, look sharp, make a good first impression. Am I wrong? Am I missing something? I'm very open-minded and always willing to learn, so if the interview game has changed, do let me know!