As Northwestern students study for finals and anticipate the end of the school year, some are preparing for summer internships. Students plan to work in research labs, assist teachers and doctors, intern for corporations and gain a myriad of other experiences.
For those starting a summer job, students across fields have provided advice and insights into how they are dressing for success.
Weinberg junior Nina Bush is interning for an investment banking firm in Chicago this summer. Bush said when dressing for an internship, she wants to look as professional as possible without standing out.
To her, this dress code means sticking to neutral colors and wearing more modest clothing, prioritizing pieces that can be worn with almost any other item in her wardrobe.
She said she has fun with the shapes of her clothing, such as shirts with puffy sleeves or different textured flats and heels, rather than with color.
Bush said she likes to balance the fit of her clothing, such as pairing a tight pencil skirt with an oversized button down. On the other hand, a flowy, straight legged pant might go with a tighter fitting blouse or sweater.
She noted that she will not be wearing shorts this summer, as they aren’t appropriate in the finance space and do not appear professional.
Bush said she often reaches out to a current employee before she starts and asks what the typical company style looks like. She also recommends wearing something nicer, such as a suit, on the first day and then adjusting for the rest of the internship based on what employees are wearing.
Communication sophomore Alex Arinkin is spending his summer as a teaching assistant for a children’s theater in Madison, Wisconsin. Arinkin said he has a more laid back approach to style and thrifts most of his wardrobe. He plans to keep relatively the same style over the summer.
“My personal style is like a guy who has some idea of fashion, but I don’t take it all too seriously,” Arinkin said.
Arinkin said most of his job duties include running workshops and rehearsals, so he plans on prioritizing comfort and mobility over professionalism, as he is working with children in an active setting.
Unlike many corporate jobs, Arinkin said shorts are appropriate for his role. He plans on wearing them with T-shirts on warmer days.
Without a dress code, Arinkin said his job allows more room to play around with his style. Still, that freedom doesn’t extend to jewelry, as he said he would need to take off something that could get in the way, like a necklace, before working.
McCormick freshman Abigail Buell plans to work on biodegradable plastics with the Shull Research Group this summer.
When working in a lab, Buell said safety and practicality come before fashion.
Buell said she has to wear long pants, a lab coat and closed-toe shoes for her job. She said she plans on wearing jeans and having fun with jewelry and belts, as the lab is pretty casual.
Weinberg junior Gracie Corbett is spending her summer doing research for the Feinberg School of Medicine. She has to follow the same safety guidelines as Buell and said she plans to wear closed-toe and flat-footed shoes, jeans and sweaters as well as tank tops for warmer days.
Corbett said she will primarily be working alone during her research, so dressing up for work is not about professionalism.
“I try to dress up, just cause it makes me feel like I’m actually doing work,” Corbett said. “So I don’t really wear a lot of sweats.”
Across job fields, many students do not plan on changing their day-to-day style too much and emphasize that it is more important to dress for the work they will be doing, rather than prioritizing fashion.
“That’s just my personal style,” Bush said. “Other people definitely have different takes.”
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