Dress code for tech business training in California [closed]
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I am a male software engineer that works for a small technology firm. Next week (mid October) I will be heading to California (Bay area) to train on a software product we use in our company and to meet some engineers from their company.
I have not been to California on business before and am unsure of how California culture would require me to dress. The company I will be visiting is a small technology company, like ours. We would like to establish a better relationship with this company and do more business with them in the future.
I do not want to give off the wrong impression and in some places, overdressing can be as big of a detriment as under dressing. At my company, we regularly dress in casual clothes and walking in wearing a suit might make you look a little awkward.
I would like advice on the common clothing culture is in the California bay area. Specifically, I would like advice on clothing for attending training at technology companies in California. For example, would it be odd to wear jeans and a button up shirt? Should I be wearing a suit? Is a hoodie OK?
Best Answer
Although I'm not living there now, I spent 25 years in the Bay Area. Although in a number of companies like Google and Facebook, I am sure there are lots of programmers wearing T-shirts and jeans, I think it would be safer to wear chinos/khakis and either a polo shirt or a buttoned shirt, but probably not white. With latter, I would think a sweater would be too formal.
No suits. Not even a sport coat.
For shoes, you can either wear traditional leather loafers (certainly not wingtips) or non-athletic sneakers (sort of a contradiction in terms, but I'm sure you know what I mean).
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What is the dress code at tech companies?
And while it's not much of a surprise that a good portion work at companies with business casual dress codes, it's interesting to note that 40 percent adhere to a business professional code (e.g., slacks, dress shirt and jacket for men; button-down/collared shirt and skirt/pants suit for women).What is the dress code for IT jobs?
That is especially true for the Information Technology industry. In general, it's a pretty casual dress code for many IT offices. Generally, it's jeans, khakis, polo shirts or t-shirts, etc. If this dress code is something that you want in a new IT job, be sure to do some research before applying.How should I dress for work training?
What to wear for orientation at a new jobWhat do you wear to a technical convention?
So, you can probably get away with wearing something low-key at a tech conference. To ensure that you look your best, try wearing a smart casual outfit like sleek boots, slim jeans and a stylish shirt.What to Wear as a CONSULTANT | Dress Code for Office, Onsite, Offsite, Airport?!
More answers regarding dress code for tech business training in California [closed]
Answer 2
I mainly agree with @pnuts answer but feel that points 2 (dress casual) and 6 (jacket, white shirt, and chinos/black jeans) are in conflict. So some things to think about
Because you are not going there for training only, but to meet other software engineers and foster a stronger relationship between the two companies, I believe you should dress in business casual. Another way to look at this--if you were representing the company in a booth at a conference, what would you wear? Probably not jeans and a t-shirt that advertises your favorite band. Chinos/dockers, not jeans, a polo (at minimum) or button-down shirt, not a t-shirt.
If you feel comfortable with one or more of the other software engineers already, ask what their boss wears--not what they wear.
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