The Northwest tech scene must be radically different, because I have zero expectations that someone cover their tattoos for an interview.
The interviewed person should first and foremost be comfortable. What if wearing a suit makes someone uncomfortable or self conscious? What if hiding their arm/neck tattoos makes them less confident or worry about being judged? Why would I want a candidate to be thinking about that rather than the interview?
Honestly, why should I care if they show up covered head to toe in ink, or cross dressing, or whatever else makes them most comfortable? Obviously there's a limit -- you can't show up to the interview naked -- but all this about managing other people's appearances disappoints me so much.
I want to see that a candidate is capable of thinking ahead and planning what they wear in order to present themselves favourably, or at the very least not present themselves as a mess. These are easy points to win and when a candidate can't be bothered to put in five minutes' thought to win them, it's not a great start.
Had a candidate a couple of months ago with pants so baggy the crotch hung around his thighs and the whole apparatus appeared to be in danger of falling down (no belt, of course), and when he stood up to write on the board, his choice of underwear brand was apparent.
I don't want to challenge how you decide who to hire.
I just wanted to voice my point of view here. I have a terrible sense of "what looks nice" off the bat, have depression, anxiety, possibly on the spectrum according to my doctor, and I live alone. Things like this I'm scared of, while to an interview I 100% make sure everything fits properly, etc. I don't always have a great sense as to what I look like, so I'm scared of other people's decisions based on how I look, act, etc.
Good for you. A number of candidates devote no thought to how their appearance might be judged and turn up dressed in a way that wins them no points. Sounds like you do better than them.
The interviewed person should first and foremost be comfortable. What if wearing a suit makes someone uncomfortable or self conscious? What if hiding their arm/neck tattoos makes them less confident or worry about being judged? Why would I want a candidate to be thinking about that rather than the interview?
Honestly, why should I care if they show up covered head to toe in ink, or cross dressing, or whatever else makes them most comfortable? Obviously there's a limit -- you can't show up to the interview naked -- but all this about managing other people's appearances disappoints me so much.