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The interviewer has mentioned the attire for my interview - business casual - which is one notch below business. I am thinking of overdressing to the interview to show them a good first impression that I am serious about the job.
However, would the interviewer see this as disrespectful because I am not following their provided 'instructions'?
I would over-dress just in case. I always wear a suit and tie to interviews. For the job I am beginning shortly, I wore a suit and tie and everyone there was in jeans and a t-shirt, and I got the job.
Nobody is going to say "well he was a great candidate....but he dressed too nice. Let's keep looking". The conversation could go the other way though "Well he was a great candidate....but he dressed in shorts and sandals. Bad culture fit!".
First of all, it depends a bit on how the hint was given: If it was worded like "Business casual is sufficient", it might be just a nice hint by the interviewer telling you that you don't have to be too concerned about dressing not formal enough. In this case it may be fine to come in full business attire but then you shouldn't be surprised if your counterparts look somewhat underdressed compared to you.
If it was more like "Please dress in business casual", this might express that they expect to see you in a certain type of attire. In this case, if you appear blatantly overdressed, then yes, it could be seen as a negative point, since you were obviously not able to dress appropriately and/or maybe do not pay attention to orders given to you.
However, all these types of attire have some bandwidth of acceptable clothing, so you have some margin to play with. That means, don't take the lower end of business casual, but go as formal as you can without overdressing.
However, would the interviewer see this as disrespectful because I am not following their provided 'instructions'?
It's unlikely your decision not to follow instructions would be seen as "disrespectful".
On the other hand, you were specifically told what level of formality was expected. There's no advantage to dressing more formally. And it's possible (although probably unlikely) that someone would wonder why you can't follow instructions.
When I interviewed candidates, I always made sure to let them know (either directly or through a recruiter) that we were business casual. If the candidate showed up in a suit, or otherwise overdressed, it didn't improve their first impression at all. It made me wonder if I forgot to tell them the "dress code".
As long as you don't overdo the formality, you'll likely be okay. But since you were given specific clues as to what was expected, I would follow the instructions and dress in business casual.
During an interview, slightly overdressed for the company is perfect. A bit too overdressed, or not overdressed, is fine. A lot overdressed, or underdressed, is a negative.
On the other hand, a reasonable interviewer wouldn't keep quiet and then not give you the job because the way you are dressed. They would tell you, and for example if everyone wears a suit and you came in jeans and t-shirt, you would be given the choice of coming to work in a suit or not starting the job. Or if you really, really like wearing suits and others in the company don't, that's either acceptable or not; and if it is not acceptable you will have a choice.
