Professional Attire Guidelines

As part of The Data Mine professional development series, we want to help you learn how to present yourself.

The Forbes article "How To Make A Great First Impression" says

First impressions matter – a lot! You only get one shot to make a first impression. While the studies don’t agree on one specific number – they all agree that you have less than 30 seconds to impress someone. Some studies even state that you have only seven seconds before someone makes a judgement.

You can also check out this article (with pictures) How to dress your best in any work environment, from a casual office to the boardroom from Business Insider.

Purdue’s Center for Career Opportunities (CCO) has a helpful handbook. Pages 46-47 cover guidelines on professional dress and presence.

Dress Code for Meetings with Guests and Site Visits

Now that you’ve learned about different levels of professional attire, let’s define expectations for meetings with visitors and site visits.

At a minimum, students should dress to baseline/smart casual for meetings with guests and Corporate Partner Mentors on-site.

If a higher dress code is warranted, we will let you know in the invitation of the meeting.

Unsure of the attire expectations? Ask the meeting scheduler to clarify.

You should not wear the following when we have guests or site visits:

  • pajamas

  • sweat pants

  • leggings

  • crop tops

  • slippers

  • ripped or dirty jeans

CCO Career Closet

Purdue’s CCO Career Closet in Young Hall - Room 132 offers professional attire to students for interviews and job fairs as a lot of students come to campus without these items and/or may not be able to afford them. The Career Closet provides a free service for these students where they can schedule an appointment with us and take up to one full professional outfit per academic year.

Navigate to the CCO Career Closet page to learn about the JCPenney Suit-Up Event where you can access discounts and save on career wear, shoes, and accessories for a limited time this Fall.

Days and Hours Open: Only during appointment hours, usually Monday-Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. during the academic year. Use BoilerConnect to see the most accurate appointment availability.

FAQ

  • Do students have to return the clothing?

    • No, items are theirs to keep at no charge.

  • Who operates the closet on a day to day basis?

    • The Career Closet Intern and Student Peer Assistants assist students in need with finding items in their size and showing them the dressing room. Additionally, Career Closet Intern and Career Closet Coordinator (staff member); Career Closet Intern sorts through the donations and organize them according to size and item type. Any donations that do not work for the closet are donated to alternative organizations on and off campus.