Interview. He showed up in a nice button up shirt and slacks which seemed over-dressed compared to the t-shirt and jeans interview panel.

After the interview I asked the hiring manager how it went and he said “Well, we all liked him, but he wasn’t wearing a suit and that’s in our hiring rubric. So he only scored an 8.75 and not a full 9 and we won’t be able to hire him”.

I was dumbfounded. I honestly hope they just didn’t like the guy and he was trying to let me down easy. But knowing the culture and receiving such a specific response makes me think that was in fact the reason.