Ask Slashdot: Is There a Professional Geek Dress Code? 432
First time submitter KateKintail writes "I'm being promoted to be a director of a computer/web services department at work with staff members (not yet hired) working under me. My workplace doesn't have a dress code 95% of the year. Is this the end of my days of jeans and enjoyably geeky t-shirts? Is there a way to dress professionally in the workplace as a boss (the kind that doesn't need to be defeated at the end of a level) while still showing my Browncoat or Whovian love as I crawl under cobwebby desks to check that equipment is properly plugged in?"
Look to Gene Kranz (Score:5, Insightful)
Mission control, 1960's, shall forever be the exemplar of true nerd fashion. However, in a bow to modernity, the pocket slide rule could probably be replaced with a smartphone.
General rule of thumb ... (Score:5, Insightful)
... for any workplace when it comes to dress:
Look at how your boss dresses. Your normal, "I'm not meeting with clients" work wear should NOT be dressier than your boss on a typical day, but shouldn't be significantly trashier either, unless you have filthy work duty* that your boss doesn't participate in.
Actually this rule of thumb applies to behavior, handling of issues, manner of answering the phone, all kinds of things. Check how your boss and your peers around the company do something, assume it to be the corporate norm, and adapt that corporate norm to your specific situation.
*poking around through a raised floor/dropped ceiling and the like
Dress for the role you want next (Score:5, Insightful)
Ignore all the "it doesn't matter what you look like" comments you are bound to receive on slashdot.
Dress like the role you want next
Yes, you can wear t-shirts and jeans and stay exactly where you are today.
Dress like an adult. This generally means khakis and a button down shirt or polo shirt.
Sure, sometimes you can slide in jeans, but have nice ones.
No t-shirts. no sandals ever.
go to jcrew, banana republic, etc.
and stop asking slashdot for clothing advice
You set the tone (Score:5, Insightful)
As the Director, you get to decide the dress policy for you staff, aside from whatever HR may demand. At least, that is how it is in most workplaces. So, expect your staff to take a cue from you and dress slightly down from whatever you may present. If that ends up being the case, some monogrammed polo shirts might not be bad to keep around (you know, Horde logo, Tardis, etc). For interviews, I would consider wearing the minimum of whatever YOU would expect someone would come to an interview in. Based on what little you wrote, I would guess a polo or bowling/tropical shirt?
Aside from that, I would doubt that dressing up matters much at your workplace if you were promoted to Director and like dressing in t-shirts and jeans.
Re:Dress Code (Score:2, Insightful)
The same "common sense" that might tell you the Earth is actually flat. What is "common sense" to you is not to another. Dress codes are superficial.
Re:Your staff (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Does it really matter (Score:5, Insightful)
Pretty much this.
Dresscodes are simple.
Manual labor (packing off boxes, crawling under desks, racking servers), jeans are mandatory. If you command someone to crawl around on a rough cement floor or mess with pointy server racks in slacks, you better give them hella paycheck to pay for expensive new pants all the time. Jeans take a beating, so you let your employees wear jeans if their pants are gonna take a beating.
Everything else, business casual. Go ahead and put on a good show when you're out dealing with other execs, if you want to wear casual do it. A suit is normal, but only so you don't frighten CEOs who can't dress themselves. Why should I match my shirt and pants and belt when I can just wear a white button shirt and a $200 monkey suit? (Belts are always black, by the way) Wearing business casual to a meeting full of suits is taboo because it makes the suits think about the uncomfortable fact that some people don't need their mommy to dress them in the morning.
If you really want to have some fun, put bare feet in your dress code. Like, really, put in that gaudy shoes like knee-high boots with six thousand buckles are not business professional, but that unshod is acceptable attire within the office.
Re:Appearance matters (Score:5, Insightful)
Look at your peers. How do fellow managers dress? If you are meeting external people (clients, vendors) how do they dress. How does your boss dress? I had a point haired boss who gave me 1 good piece of advice, don’t dress for the job you have, dress for the job you want.
Be neat. Clean, well-fitting cloths go a long way. Some people can pull of a professional look in jeans, t-shirt and jacket. Some people can’t pull this off, but there are a lot of geek polo shirts floating out there.
Be subtle. Be more like Howard Wolowitz then Sheldon Cooper from the Big Bang Theory. Sheldon’s t-shirts tend to scream. Howard always a little geek around him (belt buckets, pins, etc.)
Re:Your staff (Score:5, Insightful)
shouldn't need to derive its judgement of your professionality from your clothing
In an ideal world, I suppose looks should not matter, but in reality appearance accounts for a lot. "Wear whatever you want" is very dangerous advice, given people have very different ideas about where the boarder lies between appropriate and inappropriate, but we all have a pretty clear idea about what conservative or work dress is. I think The Office (US Version) had a pretty good take [youtube.com] (NSFW) on this.
The way you look can have just as much an impact on your professional image as your actions, especially with people you don't interact with often and therefore don't get to witness your professionalism. If someone sees you constantly in a Hawaiian shirt and sandals, they are going to form a judgment about you in their head, whether it's justifiable or not. Also consider that you never know what day you're going to meet someone important to your business... a new client, an investor, a new key employee. The first impression these people make of you will be based on your appearance, and could lead to them making a critical decision not in your favor.
I know the nerd crowd isn't known for their hygiene and fashion sense. Maybe instead of socks and sandals, go for a pair of loafers. Maybe instead of cargo shorts, go for a nice pair of slacks. Someone else mentioned NASA Mission Control circa. 1960. Look at those pictures and you'll see everyone is clean shaven, has a nice haircut, and is wearing a tie. That's probably want you should be shooting for if you want to create a professional image before you even open your mouth.
Re:Dress Code (Score:5, Insightful)
No, I believe that the lack of common sense was not making explicit a particular detail [slashdot.org] which Slashdotters almost never never assume.
What do the clothes say about you? (Score:5, Insightful)
You need to determine if your new position is going to be one of true decision making authority, with high level direction and little or no socialization with your team (more of a high level director role), or if the position is more of a classic on-hands leadership role where you can walk amongst your team as sort of a "team captain" (more of a manager role).
If you feel like you'll be among your team as a leader, but still considered a peer (albeit a "boss" peer), then business casual is probably fine; maybe even the same way you've always dressed. However, if your new position enforces that weird disconnect between your employees (they are no longer peers, but valued employees) then you need to dress as professionally as possible, and leave all of your "flair" out of the deal. Save that for your office trinkets, or leave it at home. Who are you "one" of now? Dress like those people do.
I don't envy the move to a "director" position for these reasons; while it's an interesting career move, you really do have to set yourself apart through dress and behavior. Your peers will become the other directors, not the team you're managing, and you need to come across as competent in their eyes, too.
Whatever you decide to do, take care of your new team and be a good boss. That's more important than clothes.
Re:Crawling under desks (Score:3, Insightful)
Do not crawl under desks; delegate! I once worked at a bank where our IT manager was an extremely competent programmer who had been promoted to AVP. One day the VP, his boss and mentor, caught him going through some code with us and he hit the roof. He actually promised to fire him if he ever caught him at it again.
As far as clothes go, keep in mind that your visibility is now vertical, not horizontal. Dress for your audience. Or follow the consultant guideline, dress one level above your constituents.
I know its BS, but its also reality.
Re:Better learn to dress well because..... (Score:5, Insightful)
To the submitter: Is there a way to dress professionally in the workplace as a boss (the kind that doesn't need to be defeated at the end of a level) while still showing my Browncoat or Whovian love as I crawl under cobwebby desks to check that equipment is properly plugged in?"
You shouldn't be crawling under desks. The people you will be supervising should.
I'd say, ask you boss what is required for you to wear. If he's ok with jeans and tshirts, go for it.
Re:You can't go too wrong (Score:0, Insightful)
Are really so dumb as to still be repeating the wingnut nonsense about Obama needing a teleprompter?
Sure, other wingnuts will nod in unison and pretend that you all know what you're talking about, but to the rest of us, it's just nuts.
Re:Dress Code (Score:3, Insightful)
If she had any common sense, she wouldn't have let herself get promoted to management!
Re:Better learn to dress well because..... (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:Dress for the role you want next (Score:2, Insightful)
How you dress is important, for office politics.
Yes, you can wear t-shirts and jeans and stay exactly where you are today.
And you say that like it's a bad thing.
Re:I hate how casual the work place has become (Score:5, Insightful)
Within a few weeks of my arrival the office in general started dressing better. Now even those in the casual camp are dressing better and putting in some effort to personal appearance.
Just so you know: your coworkers hate you.
Re:Better learn to dress well because..... (Score:5, Insightful)
I'd say, ask you boss what is required for you to wear. If he's ok with jeans and tshirts, go for it.
No. If you boss recommends jeans and t-shirts, because that's a company culture thing, then and only then go for it. Otherwise dress at least one step up from those you supervise, or better yet at an equivalent step to what your new supervisors are wearing.
People are visual animals and a very large portion of behavioral queues are completely sub-conscious. The phrase "clothes make the man" may be disturbing from an intellectual standpoint, but it's entirely accurate from a human-reality standpoint. Do some experimentation - attend various service locations in differing levels of dress and pay attention to the body language and other sub-conscious queues you're given.* You should want those you supervise to unconsciously look up to you, and you may also want your new supervisors to think of you as one of their peers. It's the uniform of the professional - it's not very different than the blue coveralls a mechanic wears in the shop. Sorry, but the days of this [thinkgeek.com] are gone.
* You might want to check your jurisdiction's laws before experimenting much with a negative control.
Re:Better learn to dress well because..... (Score:4, Insightful)
Sure, you might be overdressed some days, but more likely than not, you'll always feel appropriate.
Re:Better learn to dress well because..... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Better learn to dress well because..... (Score:3, Insightful)
The joke's on the GP, since mcgrew didn't even respond to the first post, but rather to the second one.
(And the Off-Topic mods he's drawn are completely without merit, since his post was very much on topic; GP's Insightful mods are baseless. Both are clearly signs of mod-bombing. I hope some honest folks with mod points will rectify these abuses soon.)
Re:Better learn to dress well because..... (Score:5, Insightful)
You shouldn't be crawling under desks. The people you will be supervising should.
Woah! BUZZ! Wrong.
A low level manager (team leader) should do the work that he expects his team to do. It is the only way to earn their respect, and the best way to set a high standard of expectation. Even if extra responsibilities and meetings prevent him from engaging everyday, he should be participating for a couple of hours, several days a week.
Re:Your staff (Score:4, Insightful)
Yeah, back when I worked for a bespoke dev house and worked onsite at the clients, I'd turn up in a suit & tie, chat to management, get the details then hit the trenches.
Jacket off, tie off, top button undone and the short-sleeved shirt immediately gave me credibility with their staff, backed up with professional expertise and serious delivery.
Everybody happy, particularly my bosses back at base.
Re:Better learn to dress well because..... (Score:4, Insightful)
Correct. The grand poobah of an IT department with more than four or five employees may get his hands dirty with things for others even as lowly as rackmount switches and servers, but should generally not stoop to the PC repair level. He needs to be seen as someone who sees the big picture, not the little picture. He can program, he an administrate user account privileges, he can administer an application, or can deal with network routing and administration, but he shouldn't be doing entry-level work. Even for board meetings or other officer meetings he should bring an underling if anything more complicated than hooking a laptop to the projector is necessary, for others. For himself, he needs to be never seen needing outside assistance by employees outside of the IT department.
Probably not, in my opinion, at least not for four days a week. Clean, non-stone-wash jeans in dark colors are about as far into denim as I would think are acceptable, and minimally a polo shirt or short-sleeve button-down shirt.
the IT director doesn't just interface with the geeks, and has to make a different kind of impression. He has to show that he leads to others, and in part that means having the look. It also is important to help start the department off with a modicum of discipline and self-restraint. Once the department is established and has something of a culture, then maybe perhaps the director can cut loose a bit, but until then, no. If he doesn't build it right from the start then it could be dysfunctional from the beginning.