Students who scored internships will need to trade their sweatpants for dress pants sooner rather than later.
Bernadette Rushmer, Director of Insalaco Center of Career Development, provides students and alumni with career development education, including appropriate attire for interviews and internship positions.
“Dress professionally and be prepared,” Rushmer said.
She recommends that all students, regardless of major, buy a suit, dress pants, button down shirt and a blazer.
Rushmer said when a student does get an internship or job, he or she should learn about the job’s culture and appropriate type of dress.
“I’ll wear a suit to work and there are other times where you know nice slacks or a top would be adequate. But I think you know what is very important put your best foot forward when you’re interviewing for the job and then find out about the culture of the employer to find out what would be appropriate to wear on a day- to-day basis,” Rushmer said
Senior communications major Daniella DeVivo is one of many students getting ready for internship and job interviews.
DeVivo said that she is just like any other college student when it comes to dressing – sweatpants and a hoodie – but she knows she will need to step up her wardrobe and opt for dress pants and a blazer.
“For my job, I need to dress professionally so dress pants or a skirt with a blazer,” DeVivo said
DeVivo said that she wants to go into either video production and graphic design and mentioned that her attire can vary from a suit to business casual, depending on the location.
She said while she has some professional attire, she does not have nearly enough and has to do more shopping.
Rushmer said students should start by purchasing staple pieces such as black pants and a nice top. She also recommended shopping the sales sections, especially after the holiday season.
“For men and women there’s of- ten sales right after the holidays. We tend to see things go on sale, so that would be a good time to stock up on some of the basics, you know, the black pants, a white button down shirt, things that you would be able to mix and match in a verity of settings.
“You know you can make it littlebit more casual or you can dress it up if need be,” Rushmer said.
Rushmer also recommended to buy all suit pieces at one time and avoid mixing and matching brands.
“Sometimes what you will find if you go into a store you might find the jacket on sale but they don’t have the pants or the skirt in your size. Well, black is not black is not black, same with navy, tan, whatever colors you are looking at. It’s very difficult to match exactly to put together a suit,” Rusmer said.
Rushmer advises hemming or tailoring and said it is better to spend a little extra on getting the outfit right rather than having the duds be a dud.
Rushmer also said students who are low on money should borrow some professional attire from a friend or roommate.