When Not to Wear a Hat?

[Big Man]

People are strange. They may see you through the window walking from your car to the front door wearing a fedora, and unless they're, for instance, me, it's going to stand out in their heads as "the guy who wore the hat" with an odd note to it rather than an admirable one, and sometimes it'll matter to them as far as hiring or eliminating you. It's a small risk, but one I wouldn't dare take when it comes to employment. It's just not worth it.

I guess we'll have to agree to disagree. [huh]

 

[Gilgamark]

Fascinating discussion. After reading the different thoughts and thinking about it, I think two things brought up the question in my mind: 1. We were meeting at his office. I knew the building, but I didn't know his office. So going in, the setting felt like it could be formal. 2. I've only been wearing hats for less than a year. If I had been wearing them long enough that I was known for them - if they were what a friend calls my "signature style" - I might have made the opposite decision.

 

[Carlisle Blues]

Fascinating discussion. After reading the different thoughts and thinking about it, I think two things brought up the question in my mind: 1. We were meeting at his office. I knew the building, but I didn't know his office. So going in, the setting felt like it could be formal. 2. I've only been wearing hats for less than a year. If I had been wearing them long enough that I was known for them - if they were what a friend calls my "signature style" - I might have made the opposite decision.

G you had your own answers all the time:eusa_clap

Gotta be comfortable

 

[Shanghailander]

Its very simple. If you are confident, wear your hat.

If you don't have the confidence, leave it in the car.

I occasionally am interviewed by lawyers in my line of work as an expert witness. I've worn a fedora, a homburg, and a panama to these interviews.

I was always hired...

 

[Lou]

I wouldn't wear a hat to an interview. Not wearing one won't fetch any opinions, but wearing one could. It's simply a matter of keeping the odds in my favor. It's not misleading, because it demonstrates that I exercise judgment in these things. That I wear hats outside of work is none of their business. I realize that bumping into the wrong coworker on the weekend while wearing a fedora could cause gossip at the office about my being affected or an oddball (I've seen too many examples of such pettiness), but that's where I draw the line.

 

[quintox]

It does seem that people do have their own opinions when viewing others but, this often can, and does change during a conversation or job interview, depending on one’s comfort level.


Several weeks ago a similar scenario took place on a rainy night in a soulless SB coffee shop in Southern California. Meeting a friend in the early evening, I sat down next to my friend as another person had the other side of a rectangular table (for eight) taken up with his electronic toys. Eventually the man on the opposite side said to me: that is an Indiana Jones hat you have on as if he was above such a thing.
I told him it was an Akubra Squatter hat and not an Indiana Jones. At his insistence of going into passing gear, I finally just reminded him it was not an Indiana Jones hat and I was a public service adventurer, not Indian Jones and we should change the subject.
He then sheepishly admitted he had at some time bought an Indian Jones hat from Disneyland or someplace and still had it at home and he could now see the difference in the two hats.
From this point on ”Alpha guy” decided to interact in more constructive conversation and we all enjoyed our beverages while doing so.

Seems I remember him saying he was a business traveler from New York.

 

[MattJH]

Its very simple. If you are confident, wear your hat.

If you don't have the confidence, leave it in the car.

The post I made was written with the assumption that you'd already have confidence. I stand by my stance that in 2009 there is a time and a place for wearing your hat, and a job interview isn't one of them.

 

[Goose.]

A friend I know who works for a major corporation told me that if a guy was interviewed wearing, or bringing a hat to the interview it would be a minus. My feeling is, adjust to their expectations to get the job, then be productive and you can be a trendsetter later.
dean

I think you called it right, Gilgamark. For an interview, you need to give the prospective employer the impressions: (1) that you'll fit in; and (2) that you're competent. Those two are no in any order of priority, mind you. As johnnycanuck point out, if you don't fit in visually, it gives the impression that you won't fit in socially. Once you've landed the job, then you can start wearing a hat to work. First things first: get the job.

Yep...A job interview is the place to display your confidence in being a team player and skills. Certainly, there are exceptions to everything...but in an interview, play it safe. "Play"...that's right...it's a game and you are there to win. You never know what kind of cornball is going to be making the decision that counts.
(Thread Drift Alert: back in the mid-80s' I was interviewing for a programmer job. I had read a book by Robert Half entitled "How to Get Hired".
Anyway, I left the interview discouraged as the VP straightly told me that there were over 30 people that have been or will be interviewed and they haven't been able to fill the slot for almost two months. I had experience, but not on that specific platform they were looking for. About a week later I was told I got the job. Confused when I showed up at orientation as another guy was also starting that day. The VP and Director said that they couldn't decide, so they opened another slot by robbing a position budgeted for accounting. Anyway, about a week after I started, the "other guy" and I went to lunch in his car. Guess what book was on the floor of his car? Point being that it is a game of strategy...the book had a section on appropriate attire but I can't recall anyhing about "hats" in it.)


There is no accounting for what people think. I have had interview wraps where we discuss a candidate where the person's tie or shoes would come up (good and bad). The less you distract and show the "norm" the better off you will be.
You have one objective during an interview; get the job.

 

[Randy]

While I respect the views of those who do not share my own point of view on this issue, I posit that a person who would judge a candidate on the basis of something this trivial is someone that you would not want to work for anyway, hence wearing a hat will actually improve your chances of finding a better quality position.

After all, what is happening in this scenario is that the interviewer is judging the candidate based not on their skills or abilities, the things that really matter, but rather on superficial judgments formed of their own biases, something that does not have any impact on the candidate's ability to do what the hiring company needs done. Hence this person is a poor manager, and therefore is someone who is likely to be problematic in the future, leading to a higher probability of the candidate conducting yet another job search, and having to then explain why they left the previous position.

I encourage everyone to form their own opinions, but based on my own career history I will continue to place a heavy emphasis on finding a suitable work environment during the interview process by steering well clear of people such as our hypothetical interviewer.

- Randy

 

[Goose.]

...

I encourage everyone to form their own opinions, but based on my own career history I will continue to place a heavy emphasis on finding a suitable work environment during the interview process by steering well clear of people such as our hypothetical interviewer.

- Randy

I don't disagree at all. That is why I said "cornball" for the interviewer. It's just my opinion for someone to get a job that may really need one now.

And Randy, I stand corrected as your point is extremely important...the candidate should not just be there to "get the job" but should be interviewing the folks there to see if he even wants to work for or, with, those people.

 

[Paisley]

While I respect the views of those who do not share my own point of view on this issue, I posit that a person who would judge a candidate on the basis of something this trivial is someone that you would not want to work for anyway, hence wearing a hat will actually improve your chances of finding a better quality position.

- Randy

If wearing a hat is so trivial, and you know it might hurt your chances, why wear it? I know, you have to be yourself. I submit that getting the best job you can is a greater virtue than wearing whatever you please.

I suspect that for most of us, good opportunities aren't so plentiful that we can pass them up just because the unwritten dress code doesn't suit us. We can't always work for people we see eye to eye with, either. Besides providing a paycheck, the job or the company may be a necessary stepping stone in our career.

You'll have to look far and wide to find an interviewer who doesn't make any judgments based on dress. Further, it's a leap of logic to assume that people who do so are all poor managers.

 

[Paisley]

My opinion is that if your are older (say 40+) people will accept that a hat is not really a fashion statement. (Note, I am not being agist to over 40s but hats were more common 40 years ago.)

In my case, I would have been wearing a baby bonnet.

 

[Bingles]

Recently, I have been sending out many resumes in hopes of getting a substitute teaching position, and eventually, God willing, a permanent position in a local district. While hats are regarded as my "signature" style, I would leave it in my car for the interview. Here, teachers are a dime a dozen, so first impressions count. Conservative is the best way to go for interviews, and oddly enough, hats are seen as more trendy than conservative.

Once I get hired though, I'll wear the hat to and from work.