Avoiding bright colors, wearing closed-toed shoes, minimal jewelry and a limited amount of perfume were just some of the advice tidbits she received from a career center in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science.

For many MSU women seeking jobs and internships, dressing in a professional manner is essential to impressing recruiters and portraying an image of competency.

MSU hosted a career gallery Wednesday and Thursday at Breslin Center, with a CommSciTech Exchange Wednesday and Business Exchange Thursday.

Wednesday marked Rabideau’s first career gallery at MSU, so she said she felt intimidated and excited prior to diving into the career pool. The tips she received from the career center helped alleviate some of her anticipation of her search for a chemical engineering job in the Lansing area, she said.

“It’s about blending in tomorrow, as far as dressing goes, anyway,” Rabideau said prior to the gallery. “It definitely shows how seriously you take it.”

Christie Hwang, president of Women in Business Student Association, or WBSA, said the way a student dresses for an interview or career fair shows how much they respect themselves and the employer.

“It has a really large impact,” she said. “(Recruiters) are looking for those students that are more put together, not just in dress, but leadership as well. The way they dress portrays how they will be in the corporate world.”

Hwang said she had a summer internship with General Mills and has already received three job offers before the gallery.

WBSA hosted a mock career fair Wednesday night at Erickson Hall Kiva with nine Fortune 500 companies, so students could practice their 30-second introduction speeches and receive feedback from recruiters before Thursday’s Business Exchange.

Advice from students who have gone through many career fairs encourage the others to dress in dark suits, button-up shirts and have their hair pushed back from their faces, Hwang said.

As a freshman, accounting junior Heather Buerger said she attended a fall career fair to check it out. Even though she didn’t interview with any recruiters, Buerger said she got an idea of what to do in the future.

“The more prepared students are the more they stand out, especially at a big university,” said Buerger, who also is the external vice president for WBSA. “Especially at early grade levels, you need to walk up there knowing you have it down and show them who you are. First impressions are everything.”