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Are there expected dressing norms at faculty interviews? Will a casual tee-jeans be discouraged?

In the same vein, what is expected when a student visits the campus for an interview?

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3 Answers

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While its not mandatory to wear a suit for a faculty interview, it doesn't hurt, and may actually be expected in certain disciplines. Best to ask around beforehand. I've never heard of a dress code for student visit, but something semi-formal doesn't hurt.

As a general principle, it doesn't hurt to be more dressed up than necessary. The reverse can often be embarrassing. But as with most such thing, the departmental culture is the most important factor.

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The general principle stated here is exactly right. Within reason (e.g., not a tuxedo), the worst case scenario for dressing too formally is that it will be amusing in a charming way, while not dressing formally enough may offend someone. For example, I think 90% of mathematicians would have no problem with a faculty candidate wearing a T-shirt and jeans, but I wouldn't recommend that anyone do that, since you do have to worry about the remaining 10%. And I think dressing informally would be a big mistake at a business school interview. – Anonymous Mathematician May 24 '12 at 12:10
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Short answer: Be the second best dressed person in the department. (Even in math departments, there's always some weirdo who wears a tie every day.) – JeffE May 24 '12 at 15:52
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It is also very easy to remove your tie and jacket if you find yourself in a casual environment. Or to, say, remove then after the talk and before going to dinner. – dmckee May 24 '12 at 18:56
up vote 5 down vote

The only single right answer is that it varies.

However, there are methods that you can use to establish what the right answer might be in the particular case you have in mind.

Here's my method.

  • As with pretty much all human contact, the person you meet will have norms and expectations, conditioned by their culture, their quirks, the organisation they work in, the physical location of the organisation, your gender, their gender, your age, their age, and so on.

  • There is no general answer as to what those norms and expectations are, so research the specific person, organisation and country.

That's half the story. The other half is:

  • what impact do you want to have?
  • Do you want to meet their expectations, or challenge them? The latter is high risk, but with potentially high reward.
  • How do you want to project yourself to them?
  • How strong is your position - are you going from a position of strength, or one of weakness?

And if in doubt, wear the clothes that are smart clothes within the business world (rather than the academic world) in your own culture.

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Exactly right. But keep in mind that there are academic cultures in which a clean T-shirt and jeans qualify as "smart business clothes". – JeffE May 24 '12 at 15:55
@JeffE and those are the only academic cultures I can live in :) – Suresh May 24 '12 at 16:03
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@Suresh: ...until you become department chair. (Bwa ha ha.) – JeffE May 24 '12 at 16:43
@JeffE - thanks, I've edited to clarify what I meant by "business culture". – EnergyNumbers May 24 '12 at 17:16
@EnergyNumbers: I agreed with your answer before you edited it. I don't any more. Some academic cultures view anyone who wears a tie with deep suspicion. – JeffE May 24 '12 at 17:21
up vote 4 down vote

If you know who the person(s) you will meet with are, try to find photographs of them on their faculty pages.

The way they want to be seen by other people is usually pretty close to what they expect of you.

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