[codegeek]

"since when does that matter in software related work."

It matters for people like OP who are already at a disadvantage. Yes this may not matter to many who are privileged to have a great job and do great work and their employer may not care. But when you are asking to be hired by another company and they don't know how great you are, you need to be presentable in a professional setting.

Overall, we need to stop normalizing being too casual in professional setting. Yes, even as Software Engineers. If all things are equal, I will always pick someone who cares about looking professional for work than not.