Re: Hiring an editor

Interesting argument about dress code. I haven't had to interview for a job in twenty years, but if I had to tomorrow, I would still wear a coat and tie. You know, to me it is about respect and formality in the hiring process. A lot of us editors don't know how good we have it day to day; some of you can come in in flip-flops and a thong and get away with it, it seems. But this is not really a get-your-hands-dirty kind of job, and it is not impossible to work this job in a coat and tie. Some places DO make their video crews wear them, I'm thinking mostly of high end banks and certain religious organizations.

So, even though the day to day standard is business casual or slightly less than that, I don't as a rule dress down too far because I don't want to convey too sloppy of an image. Dress shirt or nice polo is the usual. At any moment I may have to jump up and go mix with people that are way over my pay grade, and so no, I don't dress in skater shorts or t-shirts. And if I am interviewing or being interviewed, by golly, how one dresses signals what they think of the job they want.

An old tip for those wanting to advance is to dress a little teeny bit above your current position. What it does is send subtle signals of distinction that you are an ambitious and forward-thinking person, ready to be advanced, and it naturally commands a little more recognition/respect when you dress more like the "grown-ups" than the "kids". Semiotics. A long time ago when I was dating my future wife and about to meet her parents, she made me toss out my favorite chuka boots and go buy new nice semi-dress shoes. Turns out her dad, a depression-era guy, tells a lot about people and judges them by their shoes and how well they care for them. For him it is a gauge of their overall character, expressed in one small personal grooming detail. The modern version of that I guess is the Tv commercial where the stain on a guy's shirt yells so loud you can't hear the guy.

So I wear jeans most days, or dockers/chinos, but a nice dress shirt and adding a tie to that is not a huge deal once in a while. If I need to interview, the very least I will bring is a jacket and tie and good slacks and dress shoes. If I interview you, I'm looking for "tells" to your real character, who you are under it all.

That's my obsolete personal take on it anyway.