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Wore a $6 cotton shirt to a job interview in Nashville and got the offer over the guy in the $300 suit
I know this sounds like one of those fake motivational stories but it actually happened to me about 4 months ago. I had been job hunting for a warehouse supervisor spot and was going through the usual routine of ironing my one nice button up and polishing my cheap dress shoes from a place in Antioch. My wife talked me into trying something different after I bombed three interviews in a row wearing that same outfit, so I decided to just wear a plain well fitting cotton shirt I got at a flea market for 6 bucks. The hiring manager shook my hand, looked me up and down, and said he was tired of guys coming in dressed like they were going to a wedding instead of a warehouse floor. We talked for 45 minutes about forklift maintenance and how to handle a crew that calls out on Monday mornings. Got the call two days later and the pay was 4 dollars an hour more than what I asked for. I still think the suit guy was probably more qualified on paper but the manager told me he wanted someone who looked like they would actually walk the floor. Has anyone else noticed that overdressing for certain jobs can backfire on you?
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jamie_taylor1d ago
So basically you showed up looking like a guy who could actually do the job instead of a mannequin from Men's Wearhouse. Overdressing for a warehouse gig is like wearing a tux to a cookout, technically fine but everyone knows you missed the point. The suit guy probably still tells that story at parties where he explains how unfair the world is.
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