On Tuesday, September 23, 2014, Saint Joseph’s University will be hosting the annual Fall 2014 career fair from 10-1:30 pm in the Hagan Arena Athletic Center. Through out the week leading up to the event, you have been overloaded with emails from the career center (a resource you should be utilizing) to ensure you know what to expect the day of the career fair.
Although a week seems like enough time to finish up last minute changes to your resume and to dream about the Fortune 500 companies you plan to work for, you must dress this part in order to ensure you have a chance to make this dream a reality. This is a small part of the equation students tend to forget: Its takes less than seven seconds for a first impression to be formed. You wardrobe is easily the first two seconds of this small, sudden introduction.
For women, it can be a difficult task to understand what is appropriate to wear to the Career Fair while also remaining true to you.
There a three main staple pieces a women should own before the career fair, before accepting an internship and most importantly, before accepting a job offer. These three pieces will breed confidence, build maturity, and most importantly ensure your to your potential employer: What you see is what you get.
These are timeless selections that are must-haves for your career wardrobe.
I highly recommend buying both a jacket and pant suit that is made to match at the time of purchase. It is very difficult to buy a blazer with the expectation that you will find a matching pant or skirt, down the road. Also, consider purchasing all black or all navy. Try to remove yourself from a staple suit that has pinstripes, this can be difficult to mix and match with different pieces to give your suit a different look given the occasion. You want your suit to be versatile.. Keep in mind, J.Crew offers 15% off to all students at the time of purchase. Also, you have until September 24, 2014, to receive 25% off items using the code SHOPFORFALL. Although this offer is for a limited time, this style will not go out of style any time too soon.
If you have a budget that a $150 suit may break (this is the case for most of us)—you can find pieces to mirror this look at places like H&M or Forever21. The lifetime of these staples, however, will be much shorter. In the long run, replacing these items will cost more over time if there is constant replacement. Stick to simple pieces like black blazers and straight legged black pants, in order to mirror the professionalism and sophisticated look of a higher quality suit.
2. The Pencil Skirt
A slim fitting skirt with a straight, narrow cut that falls to the knee is a phenomenal addition to remain chic yet classy in an interview, work place, and of course, at the career fair.
H&M- Pencil Skirt, $34.95
If you already own a pencil skirt and do not have the capabilities to purchase a new suit for the career fair, it is okay to wear what you currently have. Take patterns and tone it down with a solid shirt, take a solid skirt and then utilize a calm pattern to allow your outfit to pop. It is okay to express a personality but remember to keep it classy rather than loud. Remember, if you have short sleeves, wear a sweater or blazer.
3. The Little Black Dress
As Karl Lagerfield once said, “one is never over dressed or under dressed with a little black dress.”
This can be dressed up, dressed down and accommodated to the work place, or career fair. Any black dress, especially a sleeveless black dress, can be tone down with a cardigan but it is essential to stick to darker tones from gray to black in order to remain professional.
Finally, there are three main pieces one must stay away from in order to excel in any job situation:
1. Avoid stilettos and heels that you struggle to walk in.
2. Avoid mini skirts and obnoxious make up selections.
As the week continues to lead up to the final destination, the career center offers plenty of events to help assist students with the ability to conquer the career fair.
http://www.sju.edu/int/studentlife/studentresources/careers/pdfs/CFweekF14.pdf