How to Dress for a Health Career Fair

Your clothes tell an employer you are serious about your career.

A career fair is an event held to bring a large number of potential applicants in contact with potential employers. A health career fair might consist of medical establishments looking for qualified health-care professionals, or it could be for aspiring students who wish to receive graduate level degrees in the medical field, including attending medical school, to meet with representatives from universities that offer relevant degree programs. To make a good impression, you need to make sure you dress appropriately for the health career fair.

Instructions

1. Check the information for the health career fair, such as from your local newspaper, university website or website for the career fair. This will tell you the dress code for the event, which is likely either professional or business casual.

2. Plan to wear slacks if you are a man or slacks or a skirt if you are a woman. This is appropriate for either professional or business casual dress. Note that skirts must be knee length to be appropriate.

3. Wear closed-toed dress shoes. These are the appropriate type of shoes for men and women and for professional and business casual dress. Women should keep heels at just an inch or two.

4. Add a blouse for a woman and a dress shirt for a man. Men need to put on a tie, as well, and both must wear a blazer or suit jacket.

5. Wear just your blouse or dress shirt with no blazer or tie if you can wear business casual. Other acceptable looks include a sweater, polo shirt or other shirt with a collar. Khakis are also acceptable with casual dress, as well as a conservative dress that is knee length or longer.

Tips & Warnings

• No matter what you wear, make sure your clothes are clean, good-fitting and wrinkle-free.

References

• College Fashion: How to Dress Professionally

Resources

• Yale College: Career Fairs