You are here: Home / Archives for Career / Internships/Summer Jobs

What to Wear on the First Day at a Very Casual Office

06/11/2013 By 43 Comments

Pictured: Clean slate, originally uploaded to Flickr by mikecogh. What should you wear on your first day at a very casual law office? Reader F wonders…

Thanks for the great blog – it’s been holding my hand, fashion-wise, since I started law school. I have a question: what should an articling student wear to work (especially on my first day) at an extremely casual law firm populated with some very prestigious lawyers? By “extremely casual” I mean that the last time I saw my principal at the office she was wearing ripped jeans and a vintage poncho/jacket sort of thing. She is a very senior & highly respected lawyer, and I am a lowly student, so my quandary is this: on the one hand, I don’t want to look like an overdressed nerd in a suit, but on the other hand, I clearly do not have the seniority to dress as she does. How to split the difference? What should I wear on my first day? Thanks!

Great question, F — you’re right to assume that you need to bank some credibility before you can start wearing very casual things. We’ve talked about how to have a great first day on the job, as well as what to wear for a business casual office, but we haven’t talked about what to wear at a very casual office. For my $.02, this is very field specific — and for most lawyers I’m going to fall on the “be safe and wear a suit” side of the continuum.  Your job involves representing other people, not yourself; your job requires you to get immediate respect on first impressions (e.g., from judges and juries) – and your boss wants to know that you understand that.  Since you describe this as a “very casual office,” I’m guessing the odds are approximately 90% that you’re going to immediately take off the blazer and leave it in your office — so make sure you like your outfit sans blazer — but you still want to show up and have that “I’m here and ready to work!” conversation in your suit. (You can then let your blazer live at the office to become your wear-with-everything black blazer.)   [Read more...]

Filed Under: Fashion Gaffes, Internships/Summer Jobs, Just Starting Out, Office Culture, Transitions, Wear to Work

What to Wear to a Company Golf Outing

06/06/2013 By 55 Comments

golf skirtWhat do you wear for a company golf outing? Reader C has a great question that we haven’t talked about in a while:

Would you consider doing a post on what to wear to the corporate golf outing? I have several to go to this year, in US and UK – and need some guidance.

Wowza. We talked about what to wear to a company golf scramble back in the early days of this blog (with a bit of help from a girlfriend of mine who is a golfer), but I thought we’d revisit the topic. I’m not a big golfer myself — readers, what would you wear to a golf outing?

Some thoughts from poking around the web: [Read more...]

Filed Under: Exercise, Internships/Summer Jobs, Networking, What To Wear To...

Business Lunch Etiquette: When Do You Offer to Pay?

06/04/2013 By 51 Comments

business lunch etiquetteWhat is good business lunch etiquette where interns or summer associates are concerned — when should you offer to pay for your share of lunch? In general, when in business settings should you offer to pay? Reader S, about to be a summer associate at a law firm, wonders…

During summer social events, what is the protocol for paying for your share of the festivities / food / drink? I don’t want to be entitled but I also don’t know who to ask about paying. I might be over-thinking things a little, but I wanted to see if there was a polite (and non-awkward) way of asking about these things.

I think this is a great question — you hear a lot about summer associates being entitled, and it’s nice to hear someone wanting to contribute. We’ve talked about some good business lunch tips before, but we haven’t talked about when to pay. I’m curious to hear what readers say here, but for my $.02, this is how I look at it: [Read more...]

Filed Under: Business Etiquette, Internships/Summer Jobs, Just Starting Out, Office Culture

First Day on the Job: How to Make Your First Day a Great Day

05/20/2013 By 48 Comments

first day tipsWith interns everywhere starting soon (to say nothing of college graduates), I thought we should have an open thread about what your best advice is for the first day on the job (and, hey, your first week!). We’ve talked about how to build a wardrobe for your summer internship (as well as no-duh tips in general for your summer internship); we’ve also talked about how to avoid acting young, and how to look professional without looking like you think you’re in charge — but I don’t think we’ve talked, specifically, about first day tips.  For my $.02, these are some of my top tips:

Before the First Day

  • Read the company’s website, particularly if they have a “Press” section.  Consider Googling further to learn more than just what’s in the press release on their website.
  • Google your company to see if it’s been in the news or mentioned otherwise.  If you haven’t already set up a Google Alert, do it now.
  • Research your liaison.  If you have the name of your contact or liaison, search for their name on the company website.  You may find mentions in press releases or a bio, but for smaller companies you may just find a listing of responsibilities.  You may also consider checking out their LinkedIn or even their Facebook page.  There is, of course, a fine line between being creepy and being well prepared, so be smart about what you ask him or her about at your first meeting.  Fair game:  responsibilities at the job, career path, school background.  Getting creepy: your making any comments about kids, significant others, or recent vacations the person may have posted about on Facebook.

First Day Tips

  • Look as professional as you did on the job interview. [Read more...]
Filed Under: Career, Internships/Summer Jobs, Just Starting Out, School, Transitions

Can You Mix Different Black Fabrics to Create a “Suit”?

04/18/2013 By 72 Comments

womens-suitsCan you mix different black fabrics to form a suit? Reader E wonders…

Hi! I searched your archives but couldn’t find anything addressing my question, so here goes: I have two skirts and a pair of pants, all from different companies and of different materials (one’s a lightweight wool, another’s a cotton/viscose/spandex mix, and the last’s made of polyester/viscose/spandex). All are black, yet their shades don’t match. I need to purchase a basic black blazer to make a suit for interviews (and hopefully my first job). If I get a blazer that will match at least one of the bottoms, can I wear it with the other two, or is that a office faux pas? Will other people notice, especially if I won’t be working in a conservative field? I don’t have the money to get several pieces in the same fabric. Please help.

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Maybe I just haven’t seen this done well.  But I think Reader E is wasting money to try to mix different fabrics to “create” a suit — and yes, I do think other people will notice.  Some thoughts, off the top of my head:

a) it is incredibly difficult to find the same fabric/weave/color, even if you’re talking about something like black seasonless wool.  Some blacks have more reds, some have more greens.. some wools are shinier, some are softer, some are blended…

b) even if you CAN find the same fabric, how you care for your items affects the cloth — if you’ve drycleaned or washed one piece 15 times and the other only once, they will look different. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Internships/Summer Jobs, Interviewing, Job Hunting, Just Starting Out, Suits, Wear to Work

Statement Pieces and the Intern

04/16/2013 By 85 Comments

statement pieces for internsWhen can interns wear statement pieces like necklaces or shoes?  Reader C, a law student, wonders….

I am a current law student preparing for a summer internship. I’ve been reading through a lot of your old posts trying to get a gauge on appropriate office wear. My question is about shoes.

I’m wondering how far is too far with statement shoes. If I am wearing a more muted outfit, is it okay to have a more colorful pair of shoes? For instance, I was considering a pair of shoes like these from Loft.

Would those be considered too bold for an office?

Interesting question. We get into this time and time again, but I’m always curious to see what the readers have to say. For my own $.02: Those are not first day shoes. Those are not big meeting shoes, or networking shoes. But: they could be office shoes. As in, you’re having a low key day, you’re not seeing anyone important, and you just want to mix it up a little bit. To be honest, if you’re interning at a BigLaw firm, there probably are not going to be very many of those days. So this becomes an issue of budget: if you have the money to spend for shoes that you may way a few times during the summer, then knock yourself out.  (There are very limited sizes left at Loft, but they are crazy affordable with today’s 40% off sale — they were $79.50, then marked to $69.50, with the extra 40% off they come to $41.99.  Petra Multicolored Floral Print Pumps)

(Update: If you really like the floral look, these very similar Ivanka Trump pumps are on sale at Nordstrom for $99.)

Just to back up a little bit — why, you may be asking, should the intern not wear these shoes to meetings and networking events?  [Read more...]

Filed Under: Basics, Internships/Summer Jobs, Interviewing, Just Starting Out, Professionalism, Shoes, Style, Wear to Work