A friend of mine was recently interviewing for a sales role at a hot tech company, and, in one of the interviews, a person who would be his peer looked him up and down, in his blazer, slacks and button down (aka the tech sales customer-facing uniform) and said this:
I mean, I have a beard, John over there is wearing flip flops….do you think you would fit in here?
Since when do we assess cultural fit on what someone is wearing? ESPECIALLY when they are dressed 100% appropriately? I mean, what would they have thought if he’d shown up to his interview with unkempt hair, flip flops, and a ripped t-shirt?
There are a lot of companies that are embracing a laid-back culture, but in that culture, they are looking at whether or not someone is “one of us” by what they are wearing, how old they are (yes, I said it), and how “cool” they are.
Which all begets the question, what defines a company culture?
Is it the ability to wear flip flops if you want to, or the ability to be who you are that’s important to your company? Do you want to be the kind of place where everyone is the same, or where everyone is celebrated for differences? Said in another way, does your company value what people wear, or who they are?
When it’s said that way, the beard and flip flops question above looks even worse, right?
So, how do we assess culture without coming across like a jerk?
One of the most successful salespeople I’ve ever met wore a Hawaiian shirt every day- the louder, the better. His customers remembered him as the Hawaiian shirt guy, and he was the top-selling salesperson at his company because customers loved and trusted him, and he got deals closed because he was knowledgeable, personable, and organized. Wouldn’t it have been sad if he hadn’t gotten the job because of his shirt?