# How to dress in this position (concise details)?



## MBTIPC (Jan 31, 2013)

So I got a job, I'm an IT specialist at an IT provider's company. There's around 10 of us in the office (not a cubicle office, the space is open, most can be seen if you turn your head), 4 of us answer the phone and fix connections (I'm one of them), 1 calls and asks if you want their services, then there's the manager, the statistician, the analyst and a few guys fiddling around with internet equipment like modems, etc..

One wears a sweater and blue jeans, a few wear a buttoned checkered shirts and blue jeans and I think one some sort of pants, one wears a dark sweater.

Do you think a suit would be appropriate in my position? I like looking professional, but wouldn't it be too much and create some sort of negative attitude?

P.S. Talking about going to work, not the interview.


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## AriesLilith (Jan 6, 2013)

Is this company very small? I'd say that if everyone works in the same place, it's very small and most of the guys are casual, then wear a suit without tie and blouse not completely bottoned to the neck, or just a blouse and suit jacket with a pair of jeans.

http://luxuryemporio.com/images/201...923bf863_633c7bb935ee66a016b7b7a9a810c956.jpg

(it's casual, yet a bit more formal and serious, has class, jeans color is nice as blue would be less classy I guess?)

I'd always prefer some level of formality, as it shows that you bothered to be adequate and serious for the job. I also work in the IT field.


*edited* I just notice that you are not talking about going for an interview, my mistake. >_<


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## jbking (Jun 4, 2010)

MBTIPC said:


> Do you think a suit would be appropriate in my position?


Are you the only specialist in the company? If so, then the suit may work as you are the only one in that role. If there are other specialists, I'd probably be inclined to follow the other person's lead.



MBTIPC said:


> I like looking professional, but wouldn't it be too much and create some sort of negative attitude?


Depends on how special you want to see yourself, IMO. Generally, it isn't bad if you are alone in a role to look good but if you are the only suit among a handful of people all doing the same work then it could cause issues.


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## MBTIPC (Jan 31, 2013)

AriesLilith said:


> Is this company very small? I'd say that if everyone works in the same place, it's very small and most of the guys are casual, then wear a suit without tie and blouse not completely bottoned to the neck, or just a blouse and suit jacket with a pair of jeans.
> 
> http://luxuryemporio.com/images/201...923bf863_633c7bb935ee66a016b7b7a9a810c956.jpg
> 
> ...





jbking said:


> Are you the only specialist in the company? If so, then the suit may work as you are the only one in that role. If there are other specialists, I'd probably be inclined to follow the other person's lead.
> 
> 
> 
> Depends on how special you want to see yourself, IMO. Generally, it isn't bad if you are alone in a role to look good but if you are the only suit among a handful of people all doing the same work then it could cause issues.


Definitely get where you both are coming from, edited the OP. I don't know why I didn't include those important little details.

P.S. @AriesLilith the guy in the photo looks great, though since both of your posts are inconclusive due to lack of detail from my part, I'm going to ignore it and wait for more posts now.


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## jbking (Jun 4, 2010)

I'd go with the most professional of the other 3 doing the same role as you or possibly one level up in terms of formal dress. A suit may be too much of a jump if the other guys are all blue jeans and T-shirts though as I'd look at the list as being something like:

Blue jeans and T-shirt (Most casual)
Blue jeans and collared shirt (What I usually where at work wherever I've worked)
Khakis and collared shirt (No jeans at this level)
Dress pants and collared shirt
Dress pants and dress shirt
Suit and tie (Most formal)


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## wandai (Feb 8, 2011)

Wear something that fits you. Clothes without proper fit make you look sloppy.

Sweater and navy blazer makes you look professional without going over the top. You might also want to change the blue jean with dark colored denim. Leather shoes may make you look professional. Otherwise, there are other type of shoes that are comfortable and sleek. No running shoes, Crocs, or sandal though.

That is all the things that pops in my mind, currently.


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## PowerShell (Feb 3, 2013)

MBTIPC said:


> So I got a job, I'm an IT specialist at an IT provider's company.


What do you do exactly as an IT Specialist? Does this involve crawling around desks and other spaces to run cables or do other things with the computers? If so I would highly recommend NOT wearing a suit unless you feel like ruining it and constantly buying new suits. It really depends on your job and the office environment you are in. I would say find out the dress code and go with that.


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## Kormoran (Mar 15, 2012)

If you have collegues wearing checkered shirts and blue jeans, chances are they're not too concerned with the formality of your attire. Not to mention the fact that checkered shirts, blue jeans (the proper kind, not the baggy, faded, perforated shit morons wear), and hiking boots is often worn by people who know what they're doing. Especially in technical and engineering jobs.

Like @PowerShell said, crawling around in a suit is just pointless. And wearing a suit for the type of job you're doing is generally a bit like showing up at a lunch date in a morning coat and top hat.


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## PowerShell (Feb 3, 2013)

Kormoran said:


> Like @_PowerShell_ said, crawling around in a suit is just pointless. And wearing a suit for the type of job you're doing is generally a bit like showing up at a lunch date in a morning coat and top hat.


In a lot of IT environments unless it's mandated (which most aren't) wearing even a tie is ground to get a lot of crap from your coworkers. I know where I work now there's some guys who started out wearing a tie and their pictures for work have them wearing a tie and they still get crap 10 years later for it. This is a jeans, tennis shoes, and a polo shirt type environment.

Even the job I had before my current job at a consulting company we were required to wear dress shirts, dress pants, dress shoes, and a tie. Basically the tie thing was more if a customer came in for a visit. We just needed to have it available at our desk to quickly put on. Interesting thing is I was help desk there and did backend server maintenance with the customers and I could have been naked for all they knew.


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## paperbrain (Jan 4, 2013)

A suit and tie is not the usual attire for an IT position. Office casual is more appropriate in most cases.

And if you are doing any hardware work at all, you definitely don't want to wear a suit. What a pain in the ass that would be crawling under people's desks (see The It Crowd season one) and saying oh, excuse me, I'm trying not to get strangled by my tie while I work on the cables down here and I appologize ahead of time if I scratch up anything with my cufflinks. I've seen people in IT go barefoot, wear pajamas, shorts and aluminum foil hats to keep the aliens from reading their mind. I kid you not. I think the person with the sweater and blue jeans has it right. You could wear khakis, jeans, polo shirts, button down shirts. Unless the company enforces a dress code on you requiring a suit because some moron had nothing else to do and wanted to keep their job by coming up with a bogus dress code for the IT department, you will look more professional if you assimilate yourself to dress more along the lines of your fellow coworkers. Hope this helps.


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## MBTIPC (Jan 31, 2013)

Appreciate all the advice given.


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## anarchitektur (Feb 11, 2011)

MBTIPC said:


> Do you think a suit would be appropriate in my position?


No. In IT, suits are for C-level executives, vice presidents/directors, and consultants... people who need to be seen by and interact with important people. If you spend most of your time on the phone or doing actual IT _work _and you wear a suit, you will be the target of unrelenting mockery from your peers.

If you want to look professional in a way that is consistent with your position, wear comfortable but somewhat-dressy shoes, jeans or khakis, a long-sleeved button-down shirt, and a sport coat. It looks clean, and it is adaptable-- you can take off your coat and roll up your sleeves, and jeans and khakis can take more punishment than slacks.


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## PowerShell (Feb 3, 2013)

anarchitektur said:


> No. In IT, suits are for C-level executives, vice presidents/directors, and consultants... people who need to be seen by and interact with important people. If you spend most of your time on the phone or doing actual IT _work _and you wear a suit, you will be the target of unrelenting mockery from your peers.


The white shirt, black tie days are long gone but I think some people still think they are here. I do think there are some Wall Street IT jobs that require suits and ties but the jobs that require them are becoming more rare.


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## anarchitektur (Feb 11, 2011)

PowerShell said:


> The white shirt, black tie days are long gone but I think some people still think they are here. I do think there are some Wall Street IT jobs that require suits and ties but the jobs that require them are becoming more rare.


If it is company policy, that's one thing, but, yeah, it's generally out-dated and particularly out of place in IT. I did have one job with a real estate investment company for a couple years as one of many system administrators where I had to wear a suit and tie because we'd constantly have investors coming in to tour the facilities and the management wanted to make a "good impression." I guess jeans and t-shirts don't inspire people to invest millions of dollars.


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## Antipode (Jul 8, 2012)

I guess it really depends on the type of attitude you wan't to give off. I had a male teacher who always wore a suit. He was very funny with awesome stories, but he was also VERY intelligent and wanted the students to learn, so the suit basically gave that message. It can be a little intimidating to strike up a conversation with a person like that, unless they had the humor as I stated before--so if you want to wear a suit and still be perceived as approachable, then YOU need to strike up the first conversations and show how you are serious in your profession but also funny enough to know life is both serious and fun.

The next step down is the buttoned up shirt (doesn't have to be that plaid) with a nice pair of pants, (or, a step lower is a pair of jeans). This is that typical, "I'm smart and want to appear as if I care, but I'm either too scared to wear the suit in fear of what might come across to others, or a suit just isn't my thing. 

I'd say, regardless of your pick, to stay consistent. Don't wear a button up and jeans the first week to get a feel, and then hop into the suit. People will notice that change and start wondering about it. If you are confident enough to wear that suit, then by all means, put that bad boy on. 

But another little aspect is the scenery--for instance, if you are working/applying to a McDonalds, do not wear a suit: it will convey one of two messages to the employer: A: You are overqualified, so there is no reason in hiring since they will just leave to a better job, or, B: They take this way too seriously, which means they have difficulty regulating the importance of situations over another, so, instead, they just shoot for the extreme, thinking it HAS to cover it.


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## jonah123 (Apr 25, 2013)

You should wear what makes you feel comfortable...


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## Pete The Lich (May 16, 2011)

@AriesLilith gives bad advice do NOT wear a blouse that would be a strange first impression :tongue:
(I know you meant shirt don't hate me :bored: )
Just wear whatever you feel like as long as it conforms to the dress code (as in not bottomless chaps)

If you like looking professional do it and when you get to know people they will know thats just how you like to dress and not because you think you're better than them


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## AriesLilith (Jan 6, 2013)

Pete The Lich said:


> @_AriesLilith_ gives bad advice do NOT wear a blouse that would be a strange first impression :tongue:
> (I know you meant shirt don't hate me :bored: )
> Just wear whatever you feel like as long as it conforms to the dress code (as in not bottomless chaps)
> 
> If you like looking professional do it and when you get to know people they will know thats just how you like to dress and not because you think you're better than them


Omg I just googled "blouse" and err... yeah I guess that I meant shirt lol (English is not my first language lol should have checked before using the word).


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