Students learn to look the part in workshop on professional appearances
By Jada Wong Staff Writer Syracuse University students picked up useful tips about professional interview attire at Wednesday night’s ‘Dress for Success: First Impressions Count’ at Gifford Auditorium in Huntington Beard Crouse Hall.
The event was hosted by Greg Victory, director of the Office of First Year and Transfer Programs, an orientation program for first-year or transfer students. The hour and a half workshop was broken into sections of ‘What to Wear,’ ‘What Not to Wear,’ ‘Fashion Icons’ and ‘Fashion Feud.’
Daniel E. Klamm, outreach and marketing coordinator in the Office of Career Services, said about 250 tickets were sold and there was a need for this type of event. He said many first- and second-year students usually attend career fairs unprepared, sporting informal sweatpants and sweatshirts. Klamm also said he has seen students wearing full business suits with fluffy slippers and backless prom dresses at career fairs.
‘From the employers’ side, employers have provided feedback about students sometimes coming in with inappropriate outfits,’ Klamm said. ‘From the student side, a lot of people are getting ready to go out to interviews for internships and they don’t know what to wear.’
The show was applicable to students of all ages preparing for an internship in any field. Roxanne Bocyck, a senior writing major who was a school bus driver for 12 years before deciding to switch careers, said she could never know all the information and rules for interview attire.
‘First impressions count, so you want to project a professional image because jobs are so competitive,’ Bocyck said.
During the ‘What to Wear’ portion of the event, students and faculty from the Office of Career Services modeled crisp white button-downs, black pencil skirts, black suit jackets with matching dress pants, black hosiery, solid-colored ties, polished black pumps and dress shoes.
This portion of the show was to demonstrate that there are a few essentials to have for any professional situation. Emmelie de la Cruz, a sophomore public relations major and a public relations intern in the Office of Career Services, said students can never go wrong with dress pants, a button-down shirt and black shoes.
‘I own six or seven pairs of slacks and a lot of button-downs, so I can mix and match,’ de la Cruz said.
The biggest laughs of the night came during the ‘What Not to Wear’ portion. Students roared as Victory made fun of white socks, visible panty lines and the smell of strong aftershave. Models carried coffee, phones and backpacks and wore so much jewelry that it made clanking noises as it banged against each other.
Although Victory can poke fun at the inappropriate interview attire, he had his share of embarrassment earlier in his career life.
‘I was going to an interview and when I sat, I tore two buttons on my suit jacket because the jacket was tight,’ he said. ‘So for the rest of the day, I sat with my hands across my stomach so no one saw my buttons.’
De la Cruz didn’t encounter a fashion faux-pas during the interview stages, but she did share a mistake she made during first day of work at an investment bank. ‘It was summer, so I wanted to look cute,’ De la Cruz said. ‘I decided to wear a tight red pencil skirt, which I could not breathe in, that had a slit up the side and open-toed sandals. My boss said, ‘You cannot wear that skirt again,’ it was that bad.’
The night ended with different business professional looks modeled by 11 ‘fashion icons,’ students and faculty who were voted by their peers as having great personal style. Though students and faculty laughed it up last night, they also picked up on small lessons on dressing appropriately for interviews.
Andrew Cichon, a junior entrepreneur and marketing major, said he was surprised to hear that employers were nitpicky about what suit or tie potential employees wear to interviews.
‘I learned that men shouldn’t wear patterned shirts to interviews,’ Cichon said. ‘And men should stick to solid ties and plain color suits and women should stick with one color tone and match their shoes.’
It was the first time that the event was held, but Victory said the show went as planned. ‘People came, they asked questions, they were engaged,’ he said. ‘And to me, tonight was a success.’
Published on March 3, 2010 at 12:00 pm
