What you wear during interviews and at career fairs, while talking to recruiters, is just as much as important as your work experience and academics. Why? Putting on that power suit makes you feel (and look!) ten times more confident, and that is often enough to settle your nerves and let you shine. Here are the complicated definitions of Business Casual, Business Professional and Business Formal made into easy, basic formulas to make life a whole lot easier.
General Tips:
· Keep skirts and dresses knee length!
· Keep heels less than 3” tall and conservative (This means no stilettos!)
· Don’t forget to let your personality show!
· Don’t wear anything uncomfortable – you don’t want to be fussing with it the whole time when you should be concentrating on the recruiter.
· Make sure anything you wear is tailored to perfection.
· Invest in quality pieces; they will stick with you forever!
· Be wary of the season… Black, grey and navy work for all seasons but beige and neutral colors only work in the spring/summer.
Business Casual
Although some people think business casual is a complicated definition, it really just means have fun with it! Think of the classic business pieces, like a blazer or trousers, as a canvas where you can experiment with color, pattern and material.
Rules for Business Casual:
· You should wear skinny trousers only to business casual events. Opt for boot cut trousers for business professional and business formal.
· You don’t necessarily have to wear tights with dresses and skirts.
Business Professional
Sometimes Business Professional and Business Formal are lumped together in the same category. If this is the case, you have to decide what’s best to wear. Usually Business Professional is very professional and you would wear a skirt or pant suit. Business Formal is one step up, and it’s what business people wear to formal events, like business evening events and award ceremonies.
Rules for Business Professional:
· Always wear a blazer/suit jacket (don’t take it off during the interview)
· Business Professional is more lenient with patterns and colors than Business Formal, but still keep it simple.
· Unlike Business Casual, with Business Professional, you need to wear pantyhose and tights with skirts and dresses!
· Keep jewelry simple and conservative.
Business Formal
Lastly, Business Formal. Like previously mentioned, Business Formal is one step up from Business Professional, however sometimes the context can tell you whether to dress more formal or more casual. If it’s an interview, dress more towards the Business Professional style, and if it’s something like a company mixer, then keep it formal.
Rules for Business Formal:
· Pantyhose and closed toe heels.
· Same as Business Professional, but more nighttime suited.
Hopefully this article gave you some ideas about what to wear to your upcoming business events. At the end of the day, the clothes are there to make you feel comfortable and confident about yourself, so choose wisely and good luck!
Images courtesy of: Media Cache, Ann Taylor, and Blogspot