Since remote interviewing became the norm during and after Covid, professional standards around dress have changed dramatically. What was once reserved for casual Fridays now seems to have become the daily baseline. For many candidates, logging into an interview from home has created the false impression that standards no longer matter. Unfortunately, that assumption can quietly damage job prospects.
Let’s be clear: very few people have ever been hired because of what they wore. A suit alone has never secured a role, and no interviewer chooses a candidate purely on the basis of a blazer, tie, or polished shoes that never appear on camera. Skills, experience, attitude, and communication remain the deciding factors.
However, the opposite is equally true: people can absolutely harm their chances by misjudging the audience.
That distinction matters.
The Relaxation of Standards
Since Covid, the line between home life and professional life has blurred. Kitchens became offices. Spare rooms became boardrooms. Hoodies replaced shirts. Tracksuit bottoms became standard issue. While understandable during the disruption of lockdowns, some of those habits have lingered well beyond their useful life.
Nowhere is this more visible than in MS Teams interviews.
Candidates routinely appear underdressed, distracted, poorly presented, or seemingly unaware that they are in a formal assessment. Baseball caps, gym wear, crumpled t-shirts, poor lighting, untidy backgrounds, and an over-familiar manner all send signals—whether intended or not.
The message received may be:
- “I didn’t prepare.”
- “I don’t understand the environment.”
- “I don’t take this seriously.”
- “I lack judgement.”
None of these may be true, but perception often influences decisions.
Customer-Facing Roles Raise the Stakes
In any customer-facing position, presentation matters. That does not mean expensive clothing or rigid corporate uniformity. It means understanding that trust is formed quickly, and often subconsciously.
When a business hires someone to represent them externally, they are evaluating more than technical competence. They are asking:
- Will clients feel confident dealing with this person?
- Can they communicate clearly and professionally?
- Do they understand expectations?
- Will they reflect our brand well?
Your demeanour, dress sense, body language, and communication skills all contribute to that judgement. Fair or unfair, this is commercial reality.
If an interviewer cannot picture you in front of a client, your chances narrow.
The Danger of Overdressing
There is another side to this. Candidates can overdress and create the wrong impression just as easily.
Turning up to a relaxed tech startup interview in a three-piece suit may signal poor cultural awareness. Dressing more formally than the panel can sometimes create distance or suggest inflexibility. Again, it comes back to judgement.
The objective is not to be the smartest dressed person in the call. It is to look like someone who understands the room.
Read the Audience, Set the Tone
Good interview presentation is about calibration.
Research the company. Look at their website, LinkedIn presence, leadership team, and culture. Are they corporate, creative, sales-led, technical, client-facing, or informal? Then aim one level more polished than their day-to-day standard.
For many Teams interviews, that means:
- Smart shirt or blouse
- Clean, simple, professional appearance
- Neutral background or tidy setting
- Good lighting
- Camera at eye level
- Calm, engaged body language
These details are not vanity. They are signals of professionalism.
Final Thought
No one gets hired simply because of what they wear. But people do lose opportunities because they fail to understand context.
Dress code in a Teams interview is not about fashion—it is about judgement, self-awareness, and respect for the occasion.
In a competitive market, where candidates may be equally qualified, small signals matter.
If you misjudge your audience, someone else who didn’t may get the offer.
When you work with me at Independent Search Solutions Ltd, I will have a relationship with my clients for in some case 10 plus years and as such will have represented multiple candidates to the same Hiring Manager(s) and HR Teams. I can fully brief you on the Interview Panels expectations both in regard to dress code but also likely questions and how you can best prepare.
Make sure to consider ISS Ltd for your next application.
Patrick Fitzmaurice
