It was great to see that so many students attended the Spring Job and Internship Fair last week. Some students said they didn’t attend with a specific employer in mind to talk to; they really just wanted to get experience talking to employers and learn about the different opportunities available to them. And that’s great too.
However, I noticed something bizarre at this job fair. Maybe it’s happened in the past and I didn’t see it, but I definitely saw it last week. There were a lot of students dressed in extremely inappropriate clothing for a job fair.
To be specific, there were girls in miniskirts, knee high boots, fishnets and tank tops.
It doesn’t matter if you’re just going to the job fair to get experience talking to the employers, or if you’re going with specific companies in mind. You need to dress professionally and act like you care, just like the Smith Career Center has been telling us since we started as freshmen.
These employers take a day out of their busy schedules to come here and rattle off the same information about the same internships over and over for hours, and they certainly don’t have to, so it would be nice if students showed them a little respect.
An easy way to do that is to wear nicer clothing and make it obvious you didn’t just walk in from off the street because you had nothing else to do. If you want to talk to these professionals, you need to act like one, even if you don’t necessarily want to work for them.
Plus, when you go to a job fair, you’re trying to get a job. You’re not trying to show off your cute skirt. It’s not exactly going to leave the employer with a good first impression if wearing a miniskirt is a student’s idea of professionalism.
Remember that when you go to these fairs, you’re not only representing yourself, you’re representing Bradley too. Executive Director of the Smith Career Center Jane Linnenberger said many of the employers commented on how a lot of students seemed extremely prepared and professional at the job fair, so don’t be the person to change their minds.
Just take an extra few minutes before you leave to put on your nice pants and button-up shirt, and you’ll show the employers that Bradley students are professional, prepared and just what they’re looking for in a potential employee.
