Remember back in the day when applying for a job meant buying a conservative black, dark brown, or navy suite, (skirt suit for the females with dark pantyhose, sensible fashion-less pumps and a string of pearls?) We were told by our career councilors to put our hair into orderly buns; making sure it was well tugged in behind the ears. Once we got the refined look in order, we would step into the job searching adventure, often literally walking into companies, door to door and handing our resume to the hiring manager. If you are a generation Y, you probably don’t know what I am talking about, and that is just as well, because it seems that today’s Silicon Valley job hunter will never have to wear a conservative suit again. Personally I do not seem to be able to do away without it, in order to feel at the height of my confidence, I need to wear some type of a suite, along with a perfectly ironed blouse. Back in Iran where I grew up, the females in my community would never be caught dead leaving the house without immaculate makeup and shinny high hill shoes. (Ironically I grew up under the current regime, which does not allow women to wear make up and scorns on anything fashionable). I entered the professional world as a Concierge for the Ritz Carlton Hotel which led me to a career in the world of luxury and fashion, where not only was I required to wear designer suits, and carry the latest in season handbags, I had to make sure that each piece of my outfit was in perfect harmony with the rest of my ensemble. These days, I have done away with the Ritz Carlton slick black suite, and to much delight, have completely given up the sticky itchy pantyhose, but continue to remain faithful towards my moderately priced ready to wear pant suits from the Limited and the Express. I now also allow myself the luxury of wearing any kind of shoes I want, and a handbag that ages back as many as 3 or 4 seasons!! I must admit that I still find myself overly dressed compared to the rest of the job seekers, and almost always more formal than the hiring committee. Will I have to change my dressing patterns in order to land the good jobs in the Web 2.0 arena? Only time will tell!!
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3 responses so far ↓
Antoine Tarwe // April 27, 2008 at 7:14 pm
C’est une histoire fascinante, et c’est interessant de voir ce que les femmes endurent a travers les interviews. Merci de partager ces experiences!
BB // April 28, 2008 at 4:28 pm
“I am Iranian too, and I agree with you Layla, it’s a very different culture. Even in the US you can see a big cultural gap. I live in the East Coast and you’re expected to wear a conservative suit for your interview, though few of my Gen Y colleagues behave the way Baby boomers find acceptable. I suppose that is how things are done in New England.”
Kerry Xu // May 2, 2008 at 11:37 pm
Even though we have a very casual environment in Silicon Valley, I still think people try to dress appropriately for interviews. As an executive assistant, I see a lot of candidates at work. I’ve found most people don’t dress down for interviews especially for high level positions. I guess that’s because most people still think it’s important to have a good impression at the interview and show respect to their future boss. But if you are as brilliant as Steve Jobs who is in his turtle neck all the time, you can wear whatever you want.