[vinaydas]

Originally Posted by yzfrj

It seems the TCS guy indeed made the right choice by not selecting your friend. Attitude matters the dressing is one way of identifying it.
When you friend did what he did he just confirmed the TCS guys observation.



+1 to that man.

@e1t1bet

Light color shirt and tie if you want would be a saner choice as Samurai mentioned.
Unless of course you job/dress code requires you to wear a suit.

believe me it was not a test regarding the dress code.
and who said showing your finger aint attitude

@isp
It was not jeans but rather Black colored corduroys. It Never looked Informal at all.


points from this thread will be taken when im eligible for placement

[Jaguar]

Originally Posted by yzfrj

It seems the TCS guy indeed made the right choice by not selecting your friend. Attitude matters the dressing is one way of identifying it.
When you friend did what he did he just confirmed the TCS guys observation.

What about the attitude shown by the interviewer? Only if candidate was dressed indecently, the interviewers action could be justified. Not selecting a candidate is very different than asking the candidate to leave.

[vinaydas]

i believe the exact words used by the Interviewer was "Im Not Interested In Interviewing you".
This basically proves that the interviewer was a Cock and was arrogant.

[Delta Wing]

IMO, by following (or not) a dress code, one is answering an unasked question regarding tradition and one's falling in with the pecking order. I don't think one is penalized for not wearing a suit or even a tie. One can wear a smart pastel shirt on dark trousers with leather shoes and not lose at all in the impression. But jeans and T-shirt, no no. In an interview, a person is making a sales pitch for himself. At first glance, would you buy anything from a person who is shabby and shows you the finger too?

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by vinaydas

The Interviewer (a guy who is barely 1-2 years older than my friend) said directly to my friend, im not interested in any further discussion as you have not followed the dress code(he had worn jeans on sneakers but a full sleeves shirt neatly tucked inside)

OK, I used to be part of TCS interview panel about 13-14 years back. May be things have changed, but let me make some analysis based on my old and possibly outdated TCS policy knowledge. I could be totally off.

The panel is mainly made of 3 people. One manager (10+ years, but barely techie), one senior techie (at least 5+ years), and one HR chap. Therefore, the young panelist can only be the HR chap, whose main job is to notice behavior, assess attitude, culture, etc. Generally the HR chap holds the veto power to either select or reject irrespective of the candidate's performance in the interview. The manager+techie generally don't bother arguing with the HR chap despite them being of higher rank. That is because they are out of loop once the interview is over, but the HR chap continues to process that candidate. He will eventually get his way. Therefore, you can't win in TCS interview unless the HR chap is impressed.

Originally Posted by vinaydas

My friend immediately gave him the finger and walked out. (Because He had already been placed in another company )

That's a very dumb attitude to have. The Hari Sadu AD may have helped Naukri.com, but gave a very bad example to follow. Corporate world is a small one, and you always run into same people after a few years. Trust me, the panelists would not forget a birdie flipper in a hurry. They might have actually noted down his name for future reference, just in case. In addition, he instantly confirmed the judgement of the young panelist.

Originally Posted by vinaydas

believe me it was not a test regarding the dress code. and who said showing your finger aint attitude

While hiring, one keeps watching for red flags throughout the recruitment process. Nobody wants to hire a rogue candidate.

Originally Posted by Jaguar

What about the attitude shown by the interviewer?
..
This basically proves that the interviewer was a Cock and was arrogant.

Sometimes, that happens. Even minions working for a large company act as if they can bring the weight the entire company upon you. But tit-for-tat doesn't help your cause. Protest respectfully and leave.

Originally Posted by Delta Wing

But jeans and T-shirt, no no. In an interview, a person is making a sales pitch for himself. At first glance, would you buy anything from a person who is shabby and shows you the finger too?

Yes, the dress code matters a lot. Job interviews and formals go hand-in-hand. How formal, is the only question, that depends on the job profile, and local culture. In US/UK, one has to wear a suit even for a janitor's job interview. When you go against the accepted norm, you already raise the red flag.

[Gandhi]

Originally Posted by Samurai

Generally the HR chap holds the veto power to either select or reject irrespective of the candidate's performance in the interview. The manager+techie generally don't bother arguing with the HR chap despite them being of higher rank. That is because they are out of loop once the interview is over, but the HR chap continues to process that candidate.

That's the reason we keep the HR people out of recruiting process. They just have to approve the budget and have absolutely no say in selecting or rejecting a candidate.

Originally Posted by Samurai

Yes, the dress code matters a lot. Job interviews and formals go hand-in-hand.

That again depends on the company culture. If the job profile is not customer facing, the attire doesn't really matter IMHO. We have people who are genius at work but don't bother to dress up formally. People raise eyebrows when somebody comes in formals to office . Who cares as far as they are doing better than they are expected to .

[lsp]

@Jaguar
As I have written in my earlier post as well. I myself would not go to the extent of refusing to interview a person who comes dressed in casuals (I am sure no one would turn up dressed 'indecently'). However not knowing what transpired between Vinay's frnd and the TCS' interviewer I would withhold comments on whether it was right or wrong.

Originally Posted by Jaguar

What about the attitude shown by the interviewer? Only if candidate was dressed indecently, the interviewers action could be justified. Not selecting a candidate is very different than asking the candidate to leave.

@Samurai
My comments inline

Originally Posted by Samurai

OK, I used to be part of TCS interview panel about 13-14 years back. May be things have changed, but let me make some analysis based on my old and possibly outdated TCS policy knowledge. I could be totally off.

The panel is mainly made of 3 people. One manager (10+ years, but barely techie), one senior techie (at least 5+ years), and one HR chap. Therefore, the young panelist can only be the HR chap, whose main job is to notice behavior, assess attitude, culture, etc. Generally the HR chap holds the veto power to either select or reject irrespective of the candidate's performance in the interview. The manager+techie generally don't bother arguing with the HR chap despite them being of higher rank. That is because they are out of loop once the interview is over, but the HR chap continues to process that candidate. He will eventually get his way. Therefore, you can't win in TCS interview unless the HR chap is impressed.

I am currently on the interview panel and the current setup has somewhat
changed when it comes to campus interviews. There are 2 rounds of interviews.
TR - Technical Round and MR - Management Round.
TR is conducted by 2 people who have technical background and mostly 5+ yrs exp. Once a candidate clears the TR round, he/she then faces the MR round where in comes one senior manager and the HR person.


That's a very dumb attitude to have. The Hari Sadu AD may have helped Naukri.com, but gave a very bad example to follow. Corporate world is a small one, and you always run into same people after a few years. Trust me, the panelists would not forget a birdie flipper in a hurry. They might have actually noted down his name for future reference, just in case. In addition, he instantly confirmed the judgement of the young panelist.

That is so true and this is again a tale from TCS. A friend of mine, lets say X, was appearing for the TCS Campus placement and the HR guy asked X about his family and then his elder brother's name. Turns out the elder brother, lets say Y, was in TCS earlier and had left the company on some dispute and this HR person had handled his case. Of course X/Y had an uncommon name, so that helped. X did get selected finally.

And I can vouch from personal exp that these HR people are terrific when it comes to remembering people. I saw the HR guy who interviewed me at my campus about 3 years later in my neighborhood market when I was dressed in shorts and a tee. I had forgotten about him but he addressed me by my name. I was like

While hiring, one keeps watching for red flags throughout the recruitment process. Nobody wants to hire a rogue candidate.

Sometimes, that happens. Even minions working for a large company act as if they can bring the weight the entire company upon you. But tit-for-tat doesn't help your cause. Protest respectfully and leave.

Yes, the dress code matters a lot. Job interviews and formals go hand-in-hand. How formal, is the only question, that depends on the job profile, and local culture. In US/UK, one has to wear a suit even for a janitor's job interview. When you go against the accepted norm, you already raise the red flag.

[m8002?]

Originally Posted by Gandhi

That again depends on the company culture. If the job profile is not customer facing, the attire doesn't really matter IMHO. We have people who are genius at work but don't bother to dress up formally. People raise eyebrows when somebody comes in formals to office . Who cares as far as they are doing better than they are expected to .

There is a lot of difference between coming to work and attending the interview. Maybe you can check how many of those same genius guys attended interviews in jeans/tshirts.

For an interview, i would still recommend to err on the conservative side irrespective of the company culture.

[vivekiny2k]

Originally Posted by Gandhi

Who cares as far as they are doing better than they are expected to .

you should if you understand the fact that you dress more for respecting others, not yourself.

It doesn't bother me what others think of me if I go to work in flip-flops unshaved. But imagine working in a place where everybody looks like just woke up and walked into the office in flip flops and pants resembling PJs. Compare that to place where everybody smells nice, and is groomed and dressed well. Let me push it further and contrast between women in messed up hair and wrinkled sarees, to the well groomed women in sharp business suits. Where would you prefer to work?

Collectively we make an environment for each other that's pleasant to work in.

[JVH]

To the OP - I agree with others that you can wear a lighter shade shirt. I personally did not like the tie. Would have preferred a slightly darker one.

Regarding the other topic being discussed about interview etiquettes and workplace environment, I remember 4 years ago, when I was trained to be on the technical panel, I'll never forget a few words which boss told me to remember when interviewing. I hope it'll be useful for all

1) A candidate to be interviewed is your future colleague
2) Never look for a superman
3) Attitude can be the single most determining factor. Vinaydas, you can tell this to your friend again
4) Never hire a candidate if your instincts are not supporting you. Seek your colleague's help in another round and you be the observant
5) Dressing code and body language tell you more than what the candidate speaks

Enough off-topic now, sorry!

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by Gandhi

We have people who are genius at work but don't bother to dress up formally. People raise eyebrows when somebody comes in formals to office . Who cares as far as they are doing better than they are expected to .

What you wear everyday to work is different than what you wear to an interview. Would you wear T-shirt and Jeans in your wedding? How about a wedding in your family? If you say yes, then I'll accept your argument.

Job interview is a formal occasion, and you have to dress up for it. How much formal is the only question.

[Gandhi]

Originally Posted by m8002?

There is a lot of difference between coming to work and attending the interview. Maybe you can check how many of those same genius guys attended interviews in jeans/tshirts.

I am not sure what they wear for interviews, but we never judge a candidate based on his clothing. We do get candidates who come in jeans/t-shirt and it doesn't make any difference to us as clothing has zero impact on the quality of product we are delivering.

Originally Posted by m8002?

For an interview, i would still recommend to err on the conservative side irrespective of the company culture.

Agree. Most companies expect the candidates to come in formals for interviews. I was simply quoting example of my company and was not generalizing things.

Originally Posted by vivekiny2k

But imagine working in a place where everybody looks like just woke up and walked into the office in flip flops and pants resembling PJs. Compare that to place where everybody smells nice, and is groomed and dressed well. Let me push it further and contrast between women in messed up hair and wrinkled sarees, to the well groomed women in sharp business suits. Where would you prefer to work?

Did I mention that people come to office in their night suits? There is a difference between wearing casuals and not looking decent. Only thing one has to consider for clothing in my office is that nobody else should feel uncomfortable because of one's clothing. I don't think wearing jeans/t-shirt at work should make anybody uncomfortable. I prefer to work where everybody has a freedom of expression (can be voice, opinions, or even clothing) keeping the law of others' comfort in mind.

Let say you have to hire a position of your colleague. You find a candidate who is perfectly suited for the job, would you reject him just because he/she came in casuals for interview?

BTW, as I have mentioned above, I do agree that most companies expect candidates to come in formals for interviews, I'd suggest the same to the OP of this thread too.

Originally Posted by vivekiny2k

Collectively we make an environment for each other that's pleasant to work in.

Agree. That's what we are doing too.

[mkh]

A person i know takes a small workshop- for about 1 hour and gives you trainings on how to take interviews. He is over 12 yrs exp and has taken and given many interviews, he is good. Charge is v less- about Rs 500.
PM me if you want his contact info

[Spitfire]

A suit and a tie in this Bangalore heat?? Just kidding. Its best to wear what one is comfortable in. Best of luck dude.

My dad told me work is worship, like we take bath, wear clean clothes and go to temples so be it when you got to work everyday. I follow that "religiously".

There is a guy who comes to office in 3/4ths but he totally carries it and we are all comfortable with that.

PS: Regarding the middle finger thing that is so retarded. This is no college, kid.

[bblost]

Apart from clothes.


clip your nails,
a mild but not overpowering deo,
DO NOT SMOKE just before your interview,
clean teeth,
clean and freshly washed and ironed clothes,
Haircut if needed, but if you are the unruly hair guy, just comb it well.

In short look like someone the interviewer will have no problem sitting beside in a bus.

Be courteous and polite.

From a s/w developer point of view, any company that places more importance on shoes rather than coding will not work for me. Please note I said development and not consulting.

Edit: Added.
As I wrote this I released.
I am wearing a blue cotton shirt. No matter how much I iron it never gets rid of the creases. A worn out Levi and sport shoes.
A small percentage come to office in tracks and a T Shirt as well.
No one expect the very very upper management comes in a suit.
Most guys wear sandals.
Someone from my company will not have an issue if the person being interviewed is wearing jeans.

But across the road is another s/w giant.
My friend works there.
His clothes are more formal than what I wore for my wedding.
His company will not tolerate this attitude of dressing.