General Cycling Discussion - what to wear to apply/interview for a bike courier position?

I was wondering what would be the best thing to wear when going to either apply, inquire, or go for an interview for a bike courier. Does it even really matter? One person has said wear full bike clad, another says wear something casual. I really don't know.

A patient of mine is a bike courier in Atlanta. He said he wore a nice casual shirt with nice dockers-like pants that was just tight enough to show that his legs were in good shape. The south is very traditional and old fashioned unlike Montreal so if he had worn a bike outfit I'm sure that would have been looked on as a sign of disrespect.

I'm no expert in this field, but I would say to wear nice casual clothes. If your were applying for a Nuclear Waste Management Team you wouldn't wear a Bio-Hazard suit to the interview. Just my opinion. Maybe just some nice jeans and a golf shirt will do???? Hope this helps.

It depends on the company. Some are corporate owned and have uniforms, for these I would wear khakis/docker type pants and a nice but casual shirt.
Others are rider owned and have no dress code, for these wear what you want, with in reason, as long as it is clean.

Dress for the interview, not the job. Always err on the side of overdressing.

I would say wear something relatively casual. Dockers and a decent looking shirt sounds good. You could spring for a tie to show you are serious about the job, but that might be over doing it a little for the formality of the job.
*An aquaintance of mine, who is a regional manager at Sears (it was a good hook up when I applied :D ), told me that no matter what you wear to the interview, ALWAYS bring a set of work clothes with you. That way when they ask when you can start, you reply, "Today." He told me that he applied for a construction job when he got out of high school and wore a tie to his interview. When he told the boss that he could start right away, it impressed him.

Wear cut-off and frayed camo pants, a black sabbath t-shirt, some converse all-stars, gloves with studs in them, and a beat up looking messenger bag, then come flying into the parking lot on a fixed gear. Don't forget your helmet and shades either.

Oh yeah, get some dreads too.

May I suggest:

AAAGH! That photo had to resurface didn't it?

As for the interview... Over dressing is ALWAYS a safer bet than under dressing.

Originally posted by fubar5
Wear cut-off and frayed camo pants, a black sabbath t-shirt, some converse all-stars, gloves with studs in them, and a beat up looking messenger bag, then come flying into the parking lot on a fixed gear. Don't forget your helmet and shades either.

Oh yeah, get some dreads too.

That is pretty much what I wore when I got both my messenger jobs minus the dreads.

I use to work as a photographer's assistant before landing my own gig... we had a guy come in for a 2nd assistant job... he rolled up in a shirt and tie... we laughed at him... the next day we opened up the mail, and he had sent us his tie... we then hired him :-)

my suggestion... go in cleaned up looking but casual... probably jeans and a decent shirt... like a golf shirt... or casual button up... sneakers are a must... don;t wanna look overdressed... it is just a messenger job.. not a white collar gig for sure

Jeff

Wear something you can ride in but clean and unoffensive,and be ready to work.....you may be put to work that day 5 minutes after walking in the door.Second,seek out some messengers in the area in question and pick their brains and find out who's hiring and which companies to stay away from,lots of unscrupulous courier co's out there.I prettymuch choose who gets hired where I work and I wont hire inexperienced bikers EVER !! If your not ready to rock and be serious then I wont even give the person ANY consideration.It may be a messenger job,but its got about a 60-80% dropout rate,and its hard work.....the best co's to work for usually need a recommendation from another biker that already works there,its a highly sought after job,we have a waiting list believe it or not.

Peace
#252 Best Courier Inc

my son is a bike courier, I remember him wearing a very casual clothes on his job interviews, he got the job, now he calls himself a professional cyclist becuase his getting paid to ride his Bike,, and delivering letter and parcel is the icing on the cake

It seems like the consensus is something casual that could also used to work in should the need arise. Its sounds to me that (since its summer) a pair of reasonably nice looking shorts and a t-shirt could do the trick. Even then, I live in the city center, so I live nearby.

Horndude,
What you say makes perfect sense. My particular situation is that I don't have any experience but am a good cycling, both endurance wise and streetwise (I like to think so at least) and I know the downtown core very well. Does being willing to work on a permanent basis rather than just the summer change anything?

I was just thinking, in Montreal there is one building which gets a huge number of couriers going up and down (the PVM for those who live here). Does it make sense to just wait around and ride elevators up with a bike couriers to ask them? I would do this because it would avoid wasting any of their time, their in an elevator anyway.

Originally posted by fubar5
Wear cut-off and frayed camo pants, a black sabbath t-shirt, some converse all-stars, gloves with studs in them, and a beat up looking messenger bag, then come flying into the parking lot on a fixed gear. Don't forget your helmet and shades either.

Oh yeah, get some dreads too.

You forgot the old fashioned white thermal underwear under the t shirt and or the pants :D extra points if you have long unkept hair

Just dress in clean casual clothes and you will do fine

Spire The best way to find em is hang out for a little while outside that bldg where they lock up their bikes,most are pretty approachable.....some bikers can be pretty aloof,but most are down to earth helpful guys/gals for the most part.....downtown is "my office" so to speak.Talk to a few outside that bldg and see whats up.Just wanting a summer gig isnt always bad.....but not paying your dues in winter will cost you some respect,it may or may not make a difference in being hired.I know a couple companies hire ppl non stop all year round,but they bounce paychecks and their work is bottom of the barrel crap.

Oh ya,being in good shape will help but I guarantee you arent as ready as you think......being a messenger isnt like any other kind of riding,Ive seen cat 3 roadies get embarrassed at alleycat races.Be ready to be gear mashing and doing about 3hrs of out of the saddle riding per day......it takes quite awhile to get used to,your legs are gonna feel like jello for several weeks.There's also a fair amount of learning when it comes to the various bldg policies and companies you'll deal with.....Ive got 140+ customers within a 4 square mile area,takes some time to learn all that.It takes about a year or so to make a seasoned messenger from a rookie.....and some NEVER really learn whats up.

Very true... bike messengers are approachable. In Chicago, they're always hanging out at the same places. I see them every week when I ride in, and they know who I am, although I pretty much keep to myself- they kinda creep me out when they're all hanging there staring at me while I'm dismounting and locking up my bike.

Still, some messengers are totally cool. I rode up to one once and we talked and rode for a bit, then a few days later, I saw her again as I was getting ready to hit the lakefront, and we started yelling at each other across the traffic and had a good laugh when everyone else looked startled as we yelled across Michigan Avenue over 6 lanes of traffic.

If you're feeling jittery about approaching them directly, try to find out where they hang for lunch, then go there on your bike for a few days and stake out the area and let them see you're a cyclist. Then when everyone's feeling a little more comfortable with each other, you can approach them.

Koffee

Having lived in the mid-west, can't imagine a bike messenger plowing through 3 foot snow drifts in the winter. What kind of equiptment does a bike messenger use. Do bikes tires come with studs or chains? Do the companies supply the bikes.
Also can't understand what the hugemongous hurry is, for being an alleycat racer. A bike will beat out UPS any day with downtown traffic.. Like everything else, some trucking firms insist on breaking the speed laws to shave off a few minutes.
With the traffic a threat to the life of a bike messenger, seems safety would come first.

cyclezealot,

Most messengers are independent contractors,you have to provide your own equipment and pretty much fend for yourself at all times.Snow isnt as bad as many think,I only used studded tires 3 days this year.As far as why do you have to go so fast...$$ more runs you do the more $$ you make,we do runs that need to be done in as little as 30mins from the time they are called in.On a busy day I will make around 75 stops and haul 40-60 pkgs and ride around 40-60 miles.Its not as easy as many make it out to be,you really dont have much time to screw around or be slowed down by traffic and traffic laws :)

Alleycat races are bike races for messengers that usually simulate part of a typical day at work only your racing against others in full traffic :D

Horndude. I actually am a little jealous of your job. As long as you are safe and mortality rate is less than that of a truck driver. 60 miles a day. I like it...! Was hoping you could work for a decent hourly wage. How naive. Often truck drivers work as independent contractors and make about the minimum wage and have to take care of their equiptment. Everyone is getting screwed anymore.

if i had received a decent salary when i was a courier...not to mention worker's compensation, holiday pay, accident insurance, lunch allowance etc etc, i'd still be doing it and wouldn't be a desk jockey now.

it was an awesome job though...i wouldn't be half the cyclist i am today without it.

did you end up getting the job???

He got the job... back in June!

But he got in an accident a couple of months later... pretty bad, but recovering slowly.

Koffee

On a related topic: I applied for a bike sales position at Bicycle South (http://www.bicyclesouth.com/) in Decatur last August. Everyone there (including the owner) wears shorts and a shirt, so I wore a nice pair of Docker shorts and shirt. They only talked with me for a few minutes before I got the "we'll get back with you" line. Never heard from them.

Was it because of the way I was dressed, or because I had better looking legs than anyone in the place, or because I'm 58?

did some job interviews a couple of days ago.

will be hiring two. I don't mainly look at the appearance but the way they handle themselves. So, in this case, appearance, posture, and intelligence, and the way they talk counts.

Judging from the application letters, I think one guy has potential.. Maybe I'll move him to sales after a few weeks, that twice the pay...

BTW, they all wear casual cloths. Pants/Jeans + shirt.
If someone show'd up w/ a tie, I would laugh at myself.. I was wearing MTB baggy shorts... :D

Is there not some informal rule..Wear one step up from what clothes you would daily wear to the job. What would that be. Bike sales position.Any experience is the likely criteria... I would say you want to work in bike sales...To get in a large bike chain, start off in a small local bike shop. Do larger shops pay more.?
Might want to think of means to get relevant experience before you apply...Job related or otherwise..

On a related topic: I applied for a bike sales position at Bicycle South (http://www.bicyclesouth.com/) in Decatur last August. Everyone there (including the owner) wears shorts and a shirt, so I wore a nice pair of Docker shorts and shirt. They only talked with me for a few minutes before I got the "we'll get back with you" line. Never heard from them.

Was it because of the way I was dressed, or because I had better looking legs than anyone in the place, or because I'm 58?

I think it's harder to get a position like that in the summer. Courier jobs seem easier to get at in the winter, since all the lame-o's tend to drop off as the weather gets colder.

Besides that, I was with Spire when he was out and about looking for jobs. You can't just walk into one company and expect them to hire you on the spot. We talked to quite a few couriers and called almost every courier company in the phone book, then I gave him a few tips on fashion and sent him on his way to plead his case door-to-door. He just happened to find his courier job by luck- we were at the grocery store and I started talking and laughing with a courier guy and then I straight up asked him if they were hiring and basically pulled some answers out of him, then Spire went down to the courier guy's place about 2 times before they called him back and gave him the job.

I guess it is true- it's a full time job to get a full time job!

Koffee

Most bike shop people wear like cutoffs...Like the idea of going into work in comfortable clothing and nothing stuffy.
Just wondering what kind of gear do couriers wear? Anyone know... Seems if applying for courier position some kind of sporty look would be in order showing you to be fit..
Living out in the boondocks there is no chance of courier jobs.. Benefit of living in the city..Sounds like a fun job... I would not mind giving it a try..

Orgausch . Holy Ann landers Batman !(Robin smacks fist into palm, jumps alittle and exclaims) That sounds like good advice!( Batman replies calmly) :D Absolutely correct Boy wonder. I assume from the photo you are a fan of the old Batman series? James