What “Business Casual” Means for Students Who Are Networking

Shirred Side Cowlneck SweaterA lot of companies and networking groups have parties for students over the holidays — I can remember attending more than a few in my younger years.  The perennial question, as Reader N wonders:  what do you wear when it says “business casual attire”? Perhaps more importantly, what things shouldn’t you wear for winter networking events?

I’m a college student who is interested in finance, and go to a lot of information sessions for banks. The dress code is usually business casual or business attire. Other than just wearing a suit, what can be appropriate in these situations? A dress like this Metallic T-Shaped Tunic Sweater from Express (picture) or this Merona Sleeveless Empire Dress (picture) with tights and a jacket? Black slacks and a nice sweater?

This is a great question, and I want to start by saying, again, that when you’re networking — at least for a conservative job — the goal is is for your clothes to be muted enough that people remember your brains (or your words or your resume), NOT your outfit.  A few basic rules, just responding to your question: [Read more...]

Back to School: Juggling A Full Time Job … and Courses

College at Oxford, originally uploaded to Flickr by jimmyharris.How can you juggle a full time job with a part-time graduate school? Reader C wonders:

Not sure if you’ve covered this before, but could you do a post on balancing full-time jobs with part-time graduate school? Any tips on maintaining sanity/social life/health/relationships would be appreciated.

Congrats on going back to school! We’ve talked about how to adjust your budget for grad school, but we haven’t talked about the adjustments you need to make for your social life, health, and relationships. I have a few ideas, but I’m curious to hear what the readers say. (Pictured: College at Oxford, originally uploaded to Flickr by jimmyharris.)

- Know your priorities in life. Right now you’re juggling school and work — high priority family may be in the mix as well (a husband or partner, a sick family member, a child).  There are also all those other relationships — your friends, your dates, your acquaintances. Oh yeah: you may also want time for yourself. You really need to ask yourself what is most important to you and your goals in the long term. When conflicts come up, then you can refer back to the priorities list. [Read more...]

Help from the Adjunct: Networking to Find a Job

Einstein's blackboard, originally uploaded to Flickr by rich_w.Reader L wonders if she can ask her adjunct professor for help finding a job:

I have an etiquette question for you. I am a third year law student looking for a job after graduation, preferably at a small firm or a nonprofit. One of my classes is taught by an adjunct professor who practices in the field I want to work in. What is the etiquette behind approaching him to see if he knows people who might be hiring? Thanks for any advice.

I’m curious to hear what the readers say here. Here’s my take:

Can you ask him if he knows of any open positions? Absolutely; there’s nothing inappropriate about that question. But let me warn you… here’s how that conversation is going to go: “Do you know of anyone who’s hiring right now?” Adjunct professor, thinking briefly of any jobs he’s heard of that day or week: “Nope. Sorry!” He won’t be offended, but you’re not likely to get much out of the exchange.  (Pictured: Einstein’s blackboard, originally uploaded to Flickr by rich_w.)

So here’s what you actually want to do: network with your professor. [Read more...]

The Best Graduation Gifts for Friends

best-graduation-gifts-for-friendsDo you give graduation gifts for friends?  Reader E wonders…

I have a good friend from undergrad graduating from business school this spring. Any thoughts on an appropriate gift?

I’ll throw out a few ideas, but I’m curious to hear from you guys — how often do you gift friends? Friends and I used to exchange holiday and birthday gifts (all around $30, if memory serves), and we all just kind of stopped doing it sometime in our mid-20s, I think because we had mostly passed the realm of being excited about $30 gifts. I still gift for weddings and showers, of course, but having gone through them myself now I know that there’s a huge range of what people give, with some sticking in the $50 and under range, while others go for bigger ticket items. (The hardest thing I’ve had to realize about the wide range of gifts is that they don’t necessarily reflect how “good” a friend you are — sometimes a friend gets you a bigger or smaller gift because it’s how she was raised; maybe she’s on a budget; maybe she factored her travel costs into her gift-giving budget, and sometimes she just procrastinated and had a limited selection from the registry by the time she bought.)  It’s easy to “respond” in kind if you know how much someone gave you for your own wedding or baby shower (ladies, this is an excellent reason to keep track!) but if you’re the first you sort of have to pick a target price out of thin air. For non-wedding/baby events — such as my girlfriend who just made partner at her law firm — my go-to gift is a bottle of Veuve Clicquot, which I always think of as being classy and celebratory without being overly expensive.  As for graduation… all of my friends graduated generally at the same time I did, so I don’t think I got them anything beyond maybe dinner or drinks. (Pictured: Graduation cake topper, originally uploaded to Flickr by Lou.)

Anyway, if you’re inclined to give a graduation gift to a friend, here are some ideas… [Read more...]

When Friends Compete for Jobs…

Gold, Silver, Bronze, originally uploaded to Flickr by TofflerAnn.Reader L wonders how to stay friendly with people who compete for the same jobs she is…

I am about to graduate from graduate school in a professional field. My friends and I are all searching for similar jobs. How can we deal with the competitive nature of the job hunt, specifically in our field, without letting it get in the way of our relationships? I feel pangs of jealousy when a friend gets an interview for a job I applied for (a highly immature reaction, I know) and I’m sure I’m not the only one of the group to feel this way. I try to avoid discussing the job hunt, but it seems to come up in conversation regardless. Help!

We got into this a bit back when another reader asked about being competitive with her significant other, but I don’t think we’ve talked about it in the abstract.  So let’s discuss.  (Pictured: Gold, Silver, Bronze, originally uploaded to Flickr by TofflerAnn.)

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How to Make New Friends and Network

how to make new friendsHow do you meet new friends and other professionals to add to your social network? Reader K wonders about the old-fashioned, “IRL” methods…

Like many of your readers, I am graduating from law school in May and will be moving to a big city for a BigLaw job. I’ve never lived in a big city and I am excited about the networking opportunities. My law school girlfriends and I are wondering: how can we go about meeting other smart, interesting women in our new city? We know how to meet lawyers, from our firms and women-lawyer events in our city. What do you suggest for meeting other women in other fields? Do your readers have suggestions of groups they have joined that they have enjoyed? Any advice would be great!

This can be a great counterpart to yesterday’s discussion on where to meet potential dates (although that was focused more online than offline, and, obviously, meeting new dates is slightly different than just meeting fun friends). I know readers have talked about this a lot in the comments, but I don’t think we’ve ever done a post on the issue… so let’s discuss. (Pictured: Making new friends, originally uploaded to Flickr by sally_monster.) Here are some top ways that I can think of to meet new friends:

[Read more...]