What to Wear to a Job Fair: How to Choose a Professional Outfit for a Career Fair

By Camilla Andersson, Monster Contributor

Have you ever shown up to a party too dressed up—or dressed down? Wearing an inappropriate outfit to a social event may be awkward, but making the wrong impression at a career fair might cost you a job.

Wearing the right outfit to a career fair will not only convey your professionalism to recruiters, but it will also give you the confidence to strike up a conversation that could land you your dream job.

Here’s what to wear to a job fair so you can put your best (dress-shoed) foot forward.

What Is a Job Fair?

At a job fair, you’ll be meeting several prospective employers in one place. Conventional career fairs take place in person, for example at a community center, event space, or college campus, but there are also virtual career fairs. When you attend a career fair, you’ll learn about companies you might want to work for in the future and make industry connections that can lead directly to a job offer.

At an in-person career fair, employers have booths or tables where you can interact with them for brief meetings that typically last 2-3 minutes. Although this may seem insignificant, making a good impression can lead to the company contacting you later for a job interview or adding your resume to their candidate database. This is why you should prepare by bringing copies of your resume and going through your closet to find an outfit that presents the best version of yourself.

Why It Matters What You Wear to a Job Fair

Choosing what to wear to a job fair is important. Your attire can have a direct impact on whether the employer calls you later for a job interview, although it’s not the only factor that matters (you’ll need a well-written resume and good social skills as well).

What you wear to a job fair is important for two reasons: First, companies hire not only based on experience, skills, and personality, but also on cultural fit, which is how well you’ll fit into the company culture.

Secondly, fair or not, the way you dress represents you and your personality. An outfit can tell a recruiter that you’re creative, detail-oriented, responsible, qualified, or competent. Overall, how you dress speaks volumes about your work ethic and whether you’re up for meeting important clients for lunch. That’s why you should think carefully about what you wear to a career fair, even if you’ll be working remotely.

How to Decide What to Wear to a Job Fair

When choosing an outfit to wear to a job fair, focus first on who will be present, and then take other factors into consideration as well.

These are the most important things to consider when deciding what to wear to a job fair:

  • The companies: The most important factor, generally, is the company or companies you want to work for. Find out who’ll be there and gauge the dress culture by viewing pictures and videos from the workplace on their social media. You can also evaluate the general corporate culture, which often corresponds to dress culture (for example, a more traditional company will often have a more formal dress culture).
  • The location and time: A career fair in between college classes on a Monday might call for more casual attire than a career fair in a government building during the evening.
  • The industry: Not all career fairs are focused on a specific industry. For those that are, research the typical dress culture of the industry; tech companies, especially startups, typically have a more casual dress culture than finance companies or law firms, for example.
  • The job title: If you’re interested in a job as a graphic designer, you can typically dress more creatively than if you’re aiming for a job as an accountant.

When you’re meeting several companies with different dress codes or corporate cultures, it’s wise to adhere to a more formal dress code, as dressing too casually is often worse than dressing too formally. If it’s feasible and the fair lasts for a few hours, consider making two visits in different types of outfits, taking a break and changing in between visits.

What to Wear to a Job Fair

If you know the dress code or culture of the companies who will be at the career fair, choose your attire to match industry standards. More conservative industries include finance, law, and politics. Marketing, tech, STEM, and creative industries trend towards more casual attire. If you don’t know what the dress code will be, split the difference and follow a business casual dress code.

These are most common business dress codes (which are different from private event dress codes) and what clothing falls under each dress code:

  • Casual attire: These are informal clothes like T-shirts, jeans, leggings, shorts, sneakers, and sandals.
  • Business casual: Business casual clothing falls between formal and casual attire. It can include blouses, button-down shirts, blazers, tailored sweaters, khakis, and pencil skirts in cotton, silk, and blend materials Business casual is arguably the dress code that is most open to interpretation, making it the hardest to nail down. For example, some companies consider well-fitting jeans (without holes and rips) to be business casual if paired with a more formal top, but others don’t. Appropriate shoes include flats, Oxfords, loafers, mules, and heels.
  • Business professional: A business professional dress code is more conservative and includes formal dresses, blouses, blazers, slacks and button-down shirts, and suits in cotton, linen, and blend materials. Shoes should be heels, loafers, Oxfords, or flats.
  • Business formal: Business formal is the most conservative dress code. Dark suits, ties, button-down shirts, suit dresses, and long dresses fall within a business formal dress code. Choose cotton or blend fabrics, except for suits, which should be in wool. Shoes should be glossy, preferably leather, and either heels, loafers, Oxfords, or flats.

Avoid dressing too casually when choosing what to wear to a career fair, even when the dress code allows for it. For example, it’s best to avoid sandals and shorts, and if you wear a T-shirt, choose a solid one in a neutral color.

What to Wear to a Job Fair: Colors

Besides the type of clothes you wear, you should also consider colors when choosing what to wear to a job fair. Colors can be divided into less or more formal, just like in dress codes for social events. The more formal the dress code is, the more formal your career fair attire’s color palette should be.

Here are the most formal to the least formal colors:

  1. Black: Black is considered the most formal color. It can work well in a formal dress or a top and pants, but wearing a solid black suit to a career fair may be overkill.
  2. Navy is slightly less formal than black, followed by dark grey.
  3. Medium grey, light grey, medium blue, and dark brown are still fairly formal options.
  4. Tan, khaki, light blue, and beige suits are semi-formal, but are generally considered day or summer colors.
  5. Purple, dark red, and white are more formal than pastels, but tend to stand out, so they are less common choices for career fair outfits.
  6. Pastels are less formal, but still make a more muted impression than bright colors.
  7. Bright colors aren’t very formal and will make you stand out in a crowd. It’s often best to avoid bright colors at career fairs unless you want to make a statement for a creative role or a fashion job.

More Tips for What to Wear to a Job Fair

Generally, it’s a good idea to avoid drawing attention to what you wear to a career fair. This means keeping your hair and makeup low-key and polished and avoiding flashy accessories, revealing clothing, big designer logos, or T-shirts with graphics or political statements. However, always consider the job you want. For a fashion job, for example, you should dress according to current trends when you choose your career fair attire.

Career counselors will often recommend that you cover up tattoos, remove piercings, and take other steps to fit in as well. Whether you choose to follow this advice depends on your priorities. If you want to find a workplace where you can fit in regardless of your appearance, you don’t have to follow this advice, but keep in mind that some jobs have dress codes that don’t allow for tattoos or piercings, especially if you’ll be in a customer- or client-facing role.

Other Career Fairs Tips

Don’t spend too much time choosing your career fair attire—remember to take other essentials steps to prepare for a job fair, including:

  • Create an elevator pitch. If you’re still in college, prepare a student elevator pitch. You can use this pitch if employers ask you, “So tell me about yourself” or another variation of this.
  • Bring multiple copies of a well-written resume.
  • Ask for the recruiter’s business card. Don’t just hand over your resume; make sure to also get the recruiter’s contact information. Reaching out to follow up after the meeting, even if it’s just to say thank you, can lead to a formal interview. Of course, some recruiters may not want to get emails from all the candidates they met at the fair. If you get a “don’t call us, we’ll call you” answer, respect that and trust that you’ll hear from them if they’re interested.
  • A virtual career fair is a whole different ballgame. Muting your microphone when you’re not speaking is just the beginning. Read our best tips for how to tackle virtual recruiting events, but when it comes to choosing what to wear, follow the advice outlined above.

Showcase Your Resume on Monster

Now when you know what to wear to a job fair, it’s time to dress up your resume. Need some help? Monster’s resume assessment services can take your resume to the next level. We’ll review it and respond with tailored feedback to help you and your resume stand out in a crowd.