As so many of you have already heard and will continue to hear, welcome to the Penn State family and to the WEPO family!! I can hardly believe that three years ago I was in your shoes and excited yet nervous to start college. But before you even have a day of college classes, you are going to a career networking dinner? Well that seems… odd.
What is so cool with this networking dinner is that you get a chance to meet professors, staff, and company representatives looking to hire Penn State women engineers – also known as, YOU!! So now you are thinking, “Okay. So I’m attending this dinner and talking to people who will be my professors and who want to hire me. I’m supposed to be dressed in business attire. Now what does THAT mean?”
When you are meeting people who want to impress so that they hire you, you want to look your best but you also want to look professional. The orientation packet you got has some generic advice but here some additional pieces of advice.
Pants/Skirt: This is probably the easiest one to figure out. Business pants and skirts are pretty much exactly what you think of. The one rule to be careful of is in regards to skirts; skirts should be to your knees.
Shirt: This is probably the one of the harder pieces of the business attire puzzle but it doesn’t have to be. Think conservative and comfortable. A nice shirt that is a step up from a polo but not overdone and revealing would be perfect for this. Dress shirts are, again, pretty much what you are thinking – go with your instincts.
Shoes: Shoes present another difficult challenge in business attire. You want your shoes to be comfortable – you could be standing a while. And even if you are professional 5-inch heel walker, I can guarantee you will be far happier in either flats or low heels. As it says in the packet, go for something with a closed toe and not sneakers, Tevas, or hiking boots.
Other notes: You may want to consider some light make-up for the career dinner. As far a jewelry goes, some jewelry is fine but again, keep it conservative – a nice neckalace, bracelet or watch, and/or simple earrings are all suitable for a career setting. Also if you choose to wear perfume, keep it very light – it can be overbearing and you never know if someone you are talking to may be alergic.
Optional details: A suit (jacket/pants or jacket/skirt) is something nice to have but not entirely necessary for the Career Dinner. You may want to consider having one for the future but don’t feel like you need to go out right now to buy one.
That should be just about everything you need to know. If you have any questions at all about what to expect or what would be good to wear, don’t hesitate to reach out to me, your mentor, your rover, or anyone on the WEPO ’12 Leadership Team. We are here to help you and we are excited to see you looking your best and working it at the Career Dinner.
For The Glory! See you all in August!! J
Emily is a senior in Aerospace Engineering. This summer she is working for the Federal Government. Emily is a mentor for WEPO 2012
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