<p>Son has an interview - it’s a group session of recruits followed by individual interviews followed by food and drink. The term in the title is used. Does he go with:</p>
<p>Suit without tie?
Suit pants, dress shirt?
Suit pants, dress shirt, light jacket (it will be cool tonight)?
Suit and tie?</p>
<p>None of the above. Business casual is khakis and a collared polo shirt or casual button-down without a tie. If it’s cold, add a nice cotton sweater.</p>
<p>The most casual thing on your list is suit pants and a dress shirt, and if he wears that he will look too stiff and dorkish. :)</p>
<p>Business casual, in our experience, does not include a suit. It’s usually nice pants, a nice shirt, and a sportcoat if it’s cool outside. No tie. It’s possible that business casual in some venues would mean a golf type shirt with khakis but I’ve never seen that at large corporate offices, law offices, or financial institutions. Good luck to him in the interview!</p>
<p>Nice khakis (any color), oxford/dress shirt, absolutely no tie, and a blazer/jacket if he feels more comfortable or it’s cool. A golf shirt is business casual in many situations, but for an interview I would opt for a dress shirt.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>The problem with the term “business casual” is that it means different things in different organizational cultures, anything from jeans and a polo on the most casual side, to shirt/tie/“dress” pants without jacket, or even “dress” pants/shirt/sport coat but no tie on the more formal side. This NY Times article explains the dilemma:</p>
<p>[Redefining</a> Business Casual - NYTimes.com](<a href=“Redefining Business Casual - The New York Times”>Redefining Business Casual - The New York Times)</p>
<p>To be on the safe side, I’d go with a pair of “dress” pants (suit pants seem a bit formal; nice khakis, gabardine trousers, or corduroys are OK), leather belt, button-down shirt (solid, stripes, checked all OK), dark socks (not athletic socks), and leather shoes (no athletic shoes, no sandals, certainly no flip-flops). Or, if it’s cool weather, nice pants and a sweater. Look at the “men’s dress pants” page on the Eddie Bauer website for examples of the look I’m suggesting; these ensembles would pass just about anywhere as “business casual.” </p>
<p>If your S is the type who can pull off looking “casual” in a sport coat over a shirt with open collar, that works, too, but if it will make him feel stiff and overdressed, I wouldn’t try it.</p>
<p>East Coast business casual: “pants, a nice shirt, and a sportcoat if it’s cool outside” and shoes that are in good condition, on the dressier side, but no tassels (properly shined).</p>
<p>West Coast business casual: khaki pants and a collared (polo) shirt, and a pair of Sperry topsiders will work to complete the look.</p>
<p>I’d go with:
khaki or corderoy pants with belt
button up shirt, don’t button the top button
no white socks
leather shoes
sports jacket/blazer</p>
<p>It’s definitely better to be slightly overdressed than underdressed - he can take off the jacket if everyone is in jeans.</p>
<p>agree with mathmom</p>
<p>My interpretation and observations and expectations (although I like ‘casual’ more than most and in no way a sartorial expert) -</p>
<ul>
<li>Not a suit.</li>
<li>No tie.</li>
<li>A jacket/blazer isn’t necessary but is acceptable if someone wants to wear one.</li>
<li>Not blue jeans, not shorts, not cargos - usually Khakis (Dockers and the like) or any other pants that aren’t too casual (like the ones with pockets all over the place). Suit pants would be okay too.</li>
<li>A collared shirt that’s either fully buttoned or polo style but in both cases the top button can be left unbuttoned.</li>
<li>For me at least - short sleeves are acceptable (it’s still ‘summer’ here).</li>
<li>Shoes are not tennies, flip-flops, etc. </li>
<li>Hopefully I never actually see their socks and if I did, I wouldn’t care what color they are.</li>
</ul>
<p>Convention can change at different companies I suppose but in my observation and expectations the above would fly. As an employer, for an interview with a student I’d also be somewhat understanding that they don’t have a lot of experience in this area and cut them some slack but that’s just me.</p>
<p>I agree with everyone above, but I would add, stay away from a plain white or blue shirt. They can look like a uniform. He’ll want a shirt with some color to it, like a plaid or a strip.</p>
<p>I’d say that as long as he doesn’t wear his best t-shirt, when any old t-shirt will do, he’ll be fine.</p>
<p>Dark gray suit pants, striped blue button-down shirt, dress but not too dressy shoes.</p>
<p>We got there early so we just parked in the visitors parking. Another student was there sitting in his car waiting. He was in khakis and a buttoned shirt with a non-dressy coat or jacket. Then four students pulled up and got out. All four were in full suit and tie. I left with about eight minutes before the group stuff started so that may have been it for the group. Son didn’t recognize any of them.</p>
<p>The group of students fit the racial stereotype of engineers. This is his third interview. He blew the first. They asked a question indicating that they were looking for someone with a masters degree. It was a fairly theoretical question which I knew the answer to but would be unusual for an undergrad to have the answer.</p>
<p>The second was for low-level hardware work and he aced that one. That’s the company that I’d like him to work for. The third company is private and appears smaller - hard to get information on it from the outside.</p>
<p>The plan was grad school and he’s working on his application but I asked him to casually look for work. He contacted the first place. The other two contacted him. So he might work or go to grad school. I think that I’d prefer the latter as you only scratch the surface with an undergrad degree.</p>
<p>My gut feel on seeing business casual recommended was to go with a full suit and tie because that’s what I’m used to. Candidates where I work are expected to wear a suit and tie (or the analogous clothes for women) on the interview. They can then wear business sloppy if they are hired. I’ve never heard of business casual on interviews before.</p>
<p>It could be that they are looking to see who can follow directions and that the full suit and tie goes against you or that they want to see who will do the professional look even though they recommended against it. So we did something in the middle. </p>
<p>Thanks for the suggestions. We went in the middle of the suggestions.</p>
<p>In my office, which is business casual, the men usually wear dress shirts with any kind of pants that are not jeans, a belt, and shoes that are not sneakers. Polo shirts are rarely worn except on Fridays (when the standards are relaxed and even jeans are considered acceptable).</p>
<p>I am uncomfortable with the idea of a polo shirt at a business causal interview, but that may be because I’m from the East Coast. </p>
<p>My instinct when the instructions for an interview say “business casual” is to wear the most businesslike outfit you can conjure up that is not a suit. My other instinct is to be annoyed by the instructions. Suits are actually a lot easier.</p>
<p>I would not assume that business casual is a polo shirt. That would be an office that is casual as opposed to “business casual.” I would go for a button down shirt, pants, blazer or sportcoat for men. I’ve noticed some young people are wearing a thin knit dress sweater instead of a sport coat (it cold climates in November.)</p>
<p>I think sometimes too much is read into this. Although I expect business casual (according to my definition) I’m fine with the person showing up in a suit, with/without a jacket, full buttons/polo, etc. They usually only standout when they’re dressed in loose jeans/t-shirt (as has happened before) although even then I wouldn’t let that be enough to not hire the person.</p>
<p>I also ‘consider the source’, i.e. engineer type people with little to no business experience trying to dress appropriately. Think about that.</p>
<p>Penny loafers (or similar), kahki trousers, dress shirt, no tie, blazer or sports coat. </p>
<p>And be sure to wear socks and a belt. The operative word in “business casual” is business.</p>
<p>
I agree with this, but maybe not button-down (not a fan), loafers. I would bring a blue blazer. As an applicant, he needs to be more formal than employees, he can’t be more casual than people who are interviewing him.</p>
<p>Sorry, I have a thing about guys wearing kahkis too, I much prefer grey dressy pants for business casual.</p>
<p>I got there early enough to see the students go out to their (or their parents’) cars. About half wore suit and tie. Examples of the rest were:</p>
<ul>
<li>t-shirt + corduroy pants</li>
<li>khakis + dress shirt</li>
<li>suit pants + dress shirt</li>
<li>corduroy pants + poorly fitting dress shirt</li>
<li>suit pants + dress shirt + tie + sweater</li>
</ul>
<p>I didn’t see any blazers or sports coats.</p>
<p>Son said that the interviewers were pretty casual and that some of the things that he saw in the workplace indicated a very relaxed work atmosphere. The focus on the interviews were about solving puzzles, explaining experiences on the resume and describing areas of teamwork. The HR person said that the group was selected from a large number of resumes so I assume that they thought the students competent in their areas (there were a fair number of majors represented).</p>
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<p>I think that some engineering schools try to do a fine dining experience with some instruction and perhaps one or more dances. Perhaps the career center offers tips on dressing. It’s not too hard to explain a lot of the details if you have the materials to demonstrate and if the student has interest. I imagine that you could find YouTube videos on the process of buying suits, shirts, etc.</p>
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<p>My guess is that this is what happened with the student that showed up in the t-shirt today. He might have felt a little uncomfortable but they were really after his brains.</p>
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<p>Agree on all points.</p>
<p>Ha, suits are lot easier for those that already have one. To me “business casual” for males means nicer than jeans/sneakers/tshirt… but not a suit/tie. </p>
<p>Ah, this gives me a flashback my senior year in college, 1984. We were all dressed up in suits for an engineering honor society meeting. I said to my boyfriend (now DH), “Did you see Jioe waiting for interviews? I couldn’t believe he was wearing a polyester leisure suit and a bright blue/white hawaiian print shirt”. When he replied quietly, “He’s right behind you”, I at first thought he was kidding. But he was not. I felt very bad at first, but then I felt that maybe it was good Joe got the mesage. Remember… this was 1984, right after “Dress of Success” book - almost every guy in the interview waiting room had similar grey pin stripe suit, white shirt, and maroon tie.</p>
<p>How old is your son, and why did you drive him to his work interview assuming that he has already graduated from college.
Did other candidates see that your son was accompanied by his father?</p>