-- Candidate wore a business suit with flip flops.
-- Dressing inappropriately - 57 percent
When I worked at a Jeans & T-shirt sort of place, I always told candidates that they too could dress casually. Many found the idea scary and dressed up a bit anyway.
Do you really want to hire the kind of person who can't figure out how to avoid this disadvantage?
Dressing up can be a signal that someone is desperate for work. And failure to dress up can indicate confidence and other options.
The point is it can be a positive or negative sign, depending on various things.
This may apply less for programmers and high-end technical positions, but this is the exception not the rule.
So not only don't we care how people dress at YC interviews, dressing up is actually a (minor) red flag. We'd rather you spent that effort on something else.
Some people use clothing as a means of mental preparation for entering a non-casual situation. I agree there's some empty ceremony to wearing a business suit, but I don't think that's all there is to it.
Even if attention is a limited resource, the interview usually is a place where first impressions matter, so I'd say budgeting some attention towards looks is not misguided at all.
Shouldn't we hire people who know what actually matters, and what doesn't matter, and prioritize?
That's a negative? WTF? There's a hell of a lot more interesting in the way of teamwork, management, etc. in role-playing games (especially MMORPGs) than in most corporations.
"Also, no matter how tempting it is, don't say negative things about a previous employer, regardless of how the job ended - hiring managers may fear that you will say the same things about their organization."
That's not why you don't say negative things. You don't say negative things because it means you blame other people or you're a negative person. You say, "I don't like my current job because they don't listen to me," and all I hear is that you don't have very good ideas, you're very bad at explaining those ideas, or your disconnected from the people you work with. And on top of that, you don't understand how to solve interpersonal problems. None of that make me super excited about you.
Instead try realizing that you might bear some of the blame for the things you don't like, and realize the other party might have good justification. So instead: "I find myself getting excited about very different opportunities than my current coworkers. They have a real passion for solving the immediate problem whereas I'm far more interested in solving the underlying cause. So while I appreciate their desire to provide a quick solution, and have even learned when that can be appropriate, I'm really looking for an environment that emphasizes long-term thinking while still making sure customer needs are met as quickly as possible."
-- Candidate used Dungeons and Dragons as an example of teamwork.
The meeting for drinks also cracked me up, as Linden ended many a job interview with drinks at the end of the day!
-- Dressing inappropriately - 57 percent
-- Appearing disinterested - 55 percent
-- Speaking negatively about a current or previous employer - 52 percent
-- Appearing arrogant - 51 percent
-- Answering a cell phone or texting during the interview - 46 percent
-- Not providing specific answers - 34 percent
-- Not asking good questions - 34 percent
Though "appearing disinterested" should still be a huge turn-off.
Two couplets and a refrain
a carousel
of non-stop passing
at each turn one more door closes before us
with a rusty whinny
legless horses tear into the prairie –
racing
two couplets and a refrain
eyes gaping
two couplets and a refrain
catching up from hind to front
reach out to me
throw me the lasso of a glance
who made us so hopelessly distant
who conceived us such irreparable losers
on this overplayed record
– two couplets and a refrain –
where even love leaves only scratches