Career Development

Dressing to Stand OUt

Savannah Boyd, personal stylist, advices students on appropriate attire.

The OU Career Center recently hosted a Dress for Success event for students in the OU Museum of Art.

“Career Services, with the help of the Student Government Association, created this event to give students a chance to jump start their professional wardrobe.  The goal of the event was to help students understand that professional attire is a key part of making a positive first impression to a potential employer” said Caroline Weimar, director of Career Counseling. “We emphasized that your clothing should enhance, not distract from, what you are trying to articulate in terms of your skills and talents.”

The event featured Savannah Boyd, a personal stylist and owner of Hearts of Style.  Savannah spoke to the students about professional attire and the difference between interview dress and business casual.  She shared some common mistakes that people make and emphasized the importance of having basics such as a dark suit and white or blue collared shirt in your wardrobe.  Savannah told OU students that you do not have to spend a lot of money to look polished and that it’s better to invest in a few key pieces that you can use again and again.

OU students Awet Woldegebriel and Ciarra Dantzler model professional attire

OU student models demonstrated the DOs and DON’Ts of professional dress.  The students included Awet Woldegebriel, Spenser Knauss, Sonya Myers, Joel Raffety, Price Hamilton, Ciarra Dantzler, and Nicole Kang.

For more than a month, Career Services collected donated gently-used professional items from OU faculty and staff.  Thanks to the generosity of our Oglethorpe community, students had a large selection of professional clothing, belts, jewelry, and ties.  They were given the opportunity to shop from the items to enhance their options for professional dress.

With the help of SGA, OU Career Services raffled off three gift cards to be used toward professional clothing items.  Savannah Boyd also raffled off a two-hour closet audit where she will spend time going through a student’s closet and helping them put together various pieces into professional and business casual outfits.

Hats off to Career Services and SGA for another successful event!  Find more information about OU Career Center and the services offered to OU students.

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