Hopefully(?) unrelated to the pants-based incident
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I don’t know, I think it helped build a bit of rapport? Better than saying “yes, I am wearing pants”, and I was probably not quick-witted or relaxed enough to make a joke of it if I had been wearing pants. So, in conclusion, better to not wear pants, on the off-chance that the interviewer thinks it OK to ask if you are, and you get to say that you aren’t. But don’t stand up mid-interview.
(It turned out to be a bad company with too many red flags raised in the follow-up interview, and I had checked them off even before they revealed I had failed the evaluation, but that’s secondary to getting through the interview in the first place!)
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I would just inch upward a bit and ask, “are you feeling lucky?”
Though now that I actually write it out, “lucky” has too many meanings that dovetail with this situation in ways I didn’t intend. So maybe don’t do that.
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I have only ever been asked to do a second interview… twice? Maybe twice. Once was for an editor position with Privateer Press… made it to their top 3, but then was cut in the final evaluation after that 2nd interview.
The other time was my current job at the board game store I work at. Boss had never hired “real” staff before (all previous employees were family), so he didn’t really know what to ask, but I know a lot about board games so I made a good enough impression to get the job.
But that’s it. I have applied to definitely hundreds, maybe thousands of jobs over the years? I almost never get a first interview. I have had my resume looked at by waves of professionals, but never a nibble. Doesn’t matter if I follow up or not… never any interest.
I hate applying for work.
Why yes, I am currently applying for work. How could you tell?
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In 2006, due to miscommunication and some confusion about time zones, I had a guy call for a scheduled phone interview as I was about to get into the shower. What I was wearing did not come up, and they flew me to California for the third round interviews. I did those wearing clothes, and was not offered a job. I do not thing there’s any correlation there.
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I hate job applications. I started working in 2003–as software dev in the waning years of the dot-com bust. That was a shitty time. I ended up working for a company I had sworn to never work for but I knew someone there and that helped. The alternative would have been to sit in a lightless office with 3 guys who all smoked and told me during the interview „they would get me too“.
I hate job applications so much I rather became a freelancer than try that again.
PS: freelancers also need CVs, profiles and interviews but it‘s different.
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The ballsy move would be to turn up to the in person interview without trousers on
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Ballsy, maybe, but it was a ~1000 km trip to the interview location and they weren’t paying, so I wasn’t in a gambling mood!
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For my Skype interview the other day, I replaced my hoody with a shirt but left the rest of the causal clothes I’d been wearing up to that point in the day. It was mainly because I was chilly but I don’t think they noticed.
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Interviewing is such an odd duck now. Back in the old days I’d wear a suit and, depending on what my interviewers were wearing, I could stash the tie in a pocket between interviewers to dress down. Take off the jacket. That was as complicated as it got (at least for men).
Now with the video conferencing and casual workplace, we don’t really have new rules yet. For whatever reason, if I’m interviewing someone on video and they are in a full suit, it feels like a bit of a negative? Trying too hard or out of touch? On the other hand, I interviewed a kid finishing college and he was in a t-shirt with his unmade bed in the background - that was worse.
Attire never determines the outcome, but it does raise or lower the bar a bit. If you’re going to show up for an interview in a shirt with your laundry piled behind you, you’ve got to absolutely dazzle on everything else.
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I briefly considered the suit jacket but thought it was too much.
Instead I tried a jumper but thought it was a bit too far the other way. (I’m also not much of a jumper wearer in the office.)
So I settled for a shirt over a t-shirt, some chinos and no tie. (I’m also not much of a tie wearer in the office. The last time I wore a tie in the office someone correctly guessed I had an interview.)
I did tidy the background of my webcam and adjust the desk lamp for some more flattering lighting. The interviewers were sharing a single laptop and using the in built microphone…
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My best interview was 5pm my time, midnight in China. My interviewer was in pyjamas, and broke off for ten minutes when her toddler started crying. I got the job.
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My husband and I work at the same company - me for 4 years and him for < 1 year. He interviewed via Teams, and I had to come in and rescue him from some technical issues because he was using my ancient laptop. Two of the panel didn’t know he was married to me before that 
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The interview went very well, and even though I had not check the website, I did wear trousers. Well, the kiwi cargo shorts half the male population wear here.
What I did not expect was that I had left the door slightly ajar, and my kitten came in, jumped in front of the laptop mid-interview, and sat there. When I went to take her out, I was glad I was wearing full garments.
Although when I did my first round of interviews here three year ago I was slightly overdressed: I noticed that when on my second to last interview the email said, “please don’t wear jandals”. It did get me my present job that I was wearing proper trousers and shoes and shirt and tie. I did not wear a tie yesterday, but a nice shirt and shorts combo.
Besides the kitten/shorts incident, I think the interview went really well. We were over the allotted hour chatting about Spain in the end. There you go…
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Out of two on the panel?
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Out of three.
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Got a reports role regraded up to my level, I no longer manage them. Hurrah! (on both counts)
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Currently in that strange hinterland between feeling unwell and having a positive Covid-19 test result. I’m following the same pattern of symptoms as my partner Tina, who has tested positive and is now slowly recovering, but so far my lateral flow tests have shown nothing. This isn’t entirely a surprise given that Omicron doesn’t always show up on them.
Still, fully jabbed and boosted, which will hopefully keep things relatively mild. Mostly I just want to sleep.
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My class started with a full 12 students this Monday. We ended Friday with 3 students and no teacher, because I was sick at home too. All of the sick ones have either a positive PCR test result or Covid symptons (I am in that group) or waiting for their results.
A kid was in my class on Monday even though her brother tested positive on Friday before and the whole family had to quarantine. Not sure that’s the cause but it is possible and now I have other parents being very upset about that. Not much I can / could do about that because I didn’t know.
I am waiting for my PCR test. First time I took a test because I really feared having Covid. At least I got my booster shot last week.
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Weirdly that is inline with the guidance. Times are weird.
Just as we were to come out of quarantine on Sunday from our youngest my wife is now confirmed positive through a pcr.
Here we go again.
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