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Dressy or casual? As today’s workplace becomes more casual, the question for potential new employees has become, “What do I wear to an interview?”

Executives from some of Central Florida’s top temporary and permanent placement agencies shared what their expectations are for potential new hires, and how they help prepare them for the all important first interview.

Tamara Giaimo, chief executive officer, Software Resources : We prepare our candidates before they interview with our clients. This preparation includes dress code requirements for the interview. Some clients expect that a candidate be formally dressed, while others are casual in their environment so business casual is acceptable.

Bill Peppler, managing partner, Kavaliro: In the tech world, it is common to dress casually for the workplace. As we do suggest that potential employees come in dressed their best, it is understandable to see why someone would not adhere to professional dress code on the first interview in the tech industry.

Kate Rutherford, director, Enterprise Recruiting: In order to properly asses someone’s talents, you have to look beyond their choice of clothing. Wearing a suit doesn’t necessarily mean you are going to work harder or provide more benefit to an organization. I try to evaluate their entire presentation: Were they put together? Did they arrive on time? Did they do their research prior to coming to interview? Did they have questions prepared? etc. We strive to provide anyone who comes through our door with the opportunity to succeed. What they do with it beyond that is up to them.

Cheryl Courier, vice president of central and northeast Florida, Kelly Services: Even though a candidate may be interviewing for a job located in an environment that doesn’t typically require a professional dress code, the candidate is expected to arrive at their first interview professionally dressed. We would certainly make the recommendation to be overdressed rather than under-dressed in order to present their best image possible.

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Moises Lluberes, president, Resource Employment Solutions: Most of the positions that we fill are blue-collar, so dress code on an interview is less important. However, how the candidate presents themselves is taken into account in our scoring system, which can contribute to a poor overall ranking of the candidate and non-placement.

Nicole McMurray, area manager, AppleOne Employment Services: We brand ourselves with the slogan “hiring made human.” Our face-to-face interviews give us the ability to counsel and coach our candidates on what is expected of them in the marketplace. We always build trust with our candidates, and because the candidate is the center of the universe, they will normally receive our coaching and guidance in a positive light.

Brian Yankelevitz, director, Vaco Orlando: We interview candidates face to face, and we set expectations upfront. We coach them on interview skills and presentation. In addition, we provide candidates a picture example of professional dress code attire. Lastly, Vaco recruiters also are required to be in professional dress daily to lead by example.

Ann Beecham, chief administrative officer, CareerSource Central Florida: When we make appointments with candidates for job interviews, we inform them of our desire to not only represent CareerSource Central Florida in professional appearance, but to be examples to our customers. Unlike many corporate dress codes that list appropriate and inappropriate attire, we ask candidates and current employees to use their discretion in dress, using the traditional models of fields like law, finance and government as examples of professional appearance.

Mark Lang, president/CEO, Quality Labor Management LLC: It is important that the person coming for an interview be clean cut and dressed appropriate for the job they are interviewing for. Due to the fact that we place higher-end temporary employees, it is critical that they look the part in which they will be filling. Our mission is to be a seamless extension of our client; if our team member does not look the part, it is impossible to fulfill our mission.

Ace Staffing Unlimited Inc.: Casual attire is OK, but not to the extent that I would sit through an interview with someone who came in flip-flops, shorts or a tank top. Not acceptable.

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