Super quick question, but have an internship interview for a prominent west coast regional developer, and I was going likely wear a suit, but not a tie. Obviously, I’d rather be over dressed than under, but almost feel a tie might be too much. What do you all think?
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I thought this was common knowledge, but clearly not. Recently I've heard of college students showing up to NYC superdays without ties on. Whether you're at Blackstone or Marcus and Millichap, wear a damn tie.
Hmm, personally disagree with this, at least for this sort of company. Had a super day at a larger west coast regional developer, and all of the other interviewees had suit with no ties. Doesn't hurt to wear a tie (probably should), but that is just what I have seen in that environment.
Dude just wear a tie
Always wear a suit and tie to an interview no matter what.
We were interviewing someone for a boutique DCM internship at my prior company and my VP mentioned that was he disappointed the candidate was not wearing a suit & tie to an interview. The guy was very good anyway and got the offer, but it's still always safest to wear the suit just in case.
Worked at a large, international development firm and did plenty of interviewing for both summer analyst and full-time analyst positions.
I am never going to judge a candidate for over dressing within the metes and bounds of society, i.e. don't come in looking like a clown wearing a black tuxedo or have an obnoxious tie on.
This will sound bizarre, but my additional advice based on the judgment I've seen from senior leadership is - for young men to make sure their shoes are cleaned and polished and for young women to make sure their nails are neat and trimmed and their hair is presentable / not a mess. Have heard comments about both of these numerous times from leadership. Something I never noticed, but I guess jumped out to them.
I don’t wear a suit and tie anymore but I’ve been working for a while. We always appreciate and note when someone wears a full suit and tie during the interview process.
You can always tell a candidate to dress better if they get a job. Cant imagine good management making hiring decisions on someones haircut or if they wore a tie or not.
I would definitely not hire someone if they didn't know how to dress for occasions or they failed a personal grooming test. They're going to be out in public representing my company. What other social skills are they lacking? What other normal human behaviors do they simply not get?
I agree. I just meant stuff like "hey, throw on a tie when you start working here." If they show up in cargo shorts and a tank top that is a different story.
Then you'd be surprised.
This is your one shot at making a good first impression. If you've made it far enough at the end of the process to meet with the final decision maker, then chances are you already have a foot in the door as you've passed all of the screening from the team. At that point, the final decision maker is more focused on any potential red flags.
Interviewing with a company is like going on a first date. First impressions matter. Using your example, wouldn't you make the effort to be as presentable as possible while going on a first date? Get a haircut, choose clothes that you feel would make a good first impression, take care of your hygiene, and so forth? Versus rolling out of bed, throwing on yesterday's jeans and t-shirt, and heading off?
At the end of the day is it really that much effort to iron a button up, polish your hoes, and put on a tie? If you can't even put forth that much effort for an interview, that is saying something - whether you like it or not.
Also consider, this is real estate. We're not hiring ML or AI engineers. It's a relationship business, hence first impressions matter.
You will never offend or hurt your candidacy by wearing the tie. If you don't wear the tie, there's a non-zero chance it'll affect your candidacy. Clearly the 1 minute of extra prep time is worth it.
It's pointlessly stupid not to wear a tie for an interview. In this job market, especially, doing anything that could hurt you in the process is a mistake.
I'll admittedly sometimes only wear a jacket/no tie for a virtual interview... but always wear a tie for in-person.
Shouldn’t be the case, but it is, and I’d err on the side of caution. If you wear a tie, and it’s a tie-less vibe, no one will judge you, you’re an intern and maybe they’ll get a chuckle later but it won’t reflect negatively. On the other hand, if everyone’s wearing a tie and you’re not, could look bad. Again - it shouldn’t matter, but it’s one of those things where you’re not going to get knocked for wearing one, but there’s a small chance you might if you don’t.
Caveat this with: I’m Midwest through and through. A regional, west coast developer seems like it could very well be all golf polos, Lulu’s/jeans, casual sweater type vibe.
Suit and tie obviously. The real question is double Windsor or single Windsor knot?
Full Windsor Knot. Always.
As explained to me years ago... if they saw a Half Windsor Knot, they assumed that he might lack attention to detail, was potentially a bit sloppy, and might be lazy, because he was actually comfortable having a lop-sided tie, and unwilling to make the extra loop.
That was explained to me by some senior bankers during my father's era (1980s), and when I started (1990s), it was still loosely the same mindset, although they didn't really define it so formally by then.
After learning that's how it was viewed, I have opted for a Full Windsor Knot ever since.
Full Windsor knot. Noted. Thank you for your help!
Given you're a prospect I'd say suit + tie. It's always good to be on the safe side.
With that being said, I recently went through the lateral process as analyst and didn't where a tie to any of my interviews. I had a decent amount of success offer wise doing this (obv my offers weren't based on my dress/appearance). My logic was to match / slightly exceed the dress of my peers, who I know very rarely wear ties.
Was this a mistake? Would you have worn a tie anyways? For what it is worth, I was contacted via reverse inquiry for these roles, so they weren't as competitive as a normal process (idk if this makes a difference). I'm just curious
Think its best to always wear a tie, like you said it's better to be overdressed than under. I mean, in the worse case scenario where you feel a tie isn't required/needed. Wouldn't you just take it off, compared to not having one prepared?
While I am not familiar with West Coast standards, I can tell you that among at least some of the NYC firms, you absolutely must wear a tie -- with a Full Windsor Knot.
While this might seem extreme nowadays, below are a few points from the actual (internal) standard that some firms (at least 2 or 3 firms) actually still do enforce -- mostly due to their leadership surviving the 1980s and 1990s in finance, and still enforcing the same rules they endured:
Internal standards for men (as required by some firms, during interview):
• Suit (Properly Fitting, Conservative)
• Dress Shirt (Pressed, Crisp, Perfect).
• Necktie (Full Windsor Knot)
• Dress Shoes (No Sneakers)
• Clean Shaven (No Scruff/Facial Hair)
• Conservative Haircut (No Long Hair).
Anything that doesn't match this (above) is/was considered against the candidate.
Yes, the tie is expected and required.
(If anyone is interested, I can provide more complete details about the actual standards (internal policy), and details being considered by a few firms. Some still use the same basic standard from the 1980s (or earlier), with slight modifications; and current leadership will often today enforce a variation of that same policy).
Short Answer: Wear a Necktie.
I hope this helps.
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