Surprisingly, the biggest source of my anxiety leading up to my first day at Corporate Sports Australia was what to wear. I didn’t feel stressed about whether I could handle tasks, or whether my work would meet their standard. I just didn’t know what to wear.
While trying on different outfits, feeling overdressed, or underdressed, or that I was trying too hard, it dawned on me. Maybe this wasn’t about clothes at all. Maybe I didn’t feel right in my clothes because I didn’t feel I was right to wear them. Like a child playing dress up.
The Pinterest board simultaneously helped and made me even more stressed
All my other blogs, social media posts, reports and articles had been written when I was wearing pyjamas or whatever I could throw on before uni. All those posts were really just all pretend, even if I wasn’t playing dress up. Putting on those clothes made it feel all the more real. This could be the doorway to my future career. So why wouldn’t I want to dress the part? In the end, I did put on an outfit that felt comfortable and confident in.
My first day didn’t bring anything out of the ordinary. I knew how to write a good and engaging social media post. I knew how to adapt messages for different platforms. It was easy, I had it in the bag. Turns out those ‘pretend’ posts and articles and all the rest weren’t just for the sake of it. All that anxiety for nothing!
I will say that the most daunting part of my first day was calling entrants for a Perth Garden festival competition and confirming whether we had their details right. Why is a phone call so scary? I have a background in retail and customer service – so why was making a few phone calls so daunting? Especially when they couldn’t even see the outfit that I stressed over so desperately.
All-in-all I had a good first day. I’m really looking forward to the rest of the placement. I can only expect that as it gets closer to the Perth Garden Festival my tasks will get more exciting and fast paced. I can’t wait. Until next time…
Oh! I forgot to mention – everyone else in the office was wearing jeans and a nice t-shirt, so it turns out I was dressed okay after all!
Let me know if you had a similar stress attack over something silly before starting your internship! I’d love to hear that I’m not alone!
You are totally not alone!! I felt the same, I didn’t want to wear a suit and pants so early, I had an outfit which I thought was appropriate and decided that after my first day and seeing what everyone else was wearing in the office I will adjust. Mine was more in the area of shoes!! Was I meant to wear heels? A small heel, or fully enclosed? Are mules ok? It’s understandably a stressful situation as you want to make a good impression on your first day but also be comfortable AND confident in what you’re wearing. My advice would be choose some tops and pants (or any bottoms) which you can mix and match therefore you don’t need to go buy a lot but you can change it up at the same time. I’m sure you aced your phone calls! Good luck for the rest of your interning!
Thank you for that advice!! I’m definitely just going to try to relax and feel out some comfortable (and professional!) outfits.
I feel ya! Not knowing what to wear can be a total anxiety trigger but you’ll eventually start to realize how no one really cares when it comes to dressing up in the office. I reckon every employee feels the same now and then. On the other hand, “dressing to impress” is very important when an individual looks to climb the corporate ladder. Good job on a smooth first day by the way and the all the best to the remainder of you internship!
Thank you! I agree, and in the end, I don’t think they took much notice to what I was wearing anyway!
I totally understand! Whenever I dress in ‘business wear’ I feel like a child and somehow that I’m not old enough or something to dress professionally. On my first day at my internship it felt like I was playing a part whilst I was holding my takeaway coffee and my laptop bag over my shoulder.
I just remind myself ‘fake it till you make it’!
I love that! Fake it till you make it is definitely one I’ll be telling myself when I don’t think I am worthy of a business outfit!!
WOW this post speaks to my SOUL girl. I was so damn anxious about what to wear, I went and spent like $600 on new clothes from Portman’s so that I felt confident [Ridiculous, but necessary]. I’m also someone who doesn’t wear makeup and I really don’t do anything fancy with my hair, I felt so completely lost on what to do. I wasn’t sure if wearing makeup to work was still a mandatory thing, or if I could get away with some pawpaw lip balm and a dash of mascara.
I will admit though, I think stressing over those little things, came from a deeper place. Not feeling like you belong yet.
Awesome read, very relatable! 🙂
-Bec
Thank you Bec!
$600 is dedication! 😂I think in the end it comes down to what you feel comfortable in while looking professional, you don’t ever have to wear makeup if you don’t want to!
I would like to thank you for bringing attention to this first world problem that is dressing up for work! I remembered on my first day of internship, I was as stressed as you are and worried that i was either overdressed or undressed! It took me more than an hour to finally decide what to wear 😀
Being university students, we didn’t have to worry much about our dressing as we could easily wear jeans and a basic t-shirt to class paired with slippers or shoes. There was no stress whatsoever! But going into the working environment, I realized that “dress to impress” is a real thing! To be taken seriously and professionally, you have to look the part to gain respect in the corporate world.
After observing what my colleagues were wearing in the office, I was more confident in my outfit choices going further into my internship.
Research and observation is the key to handling issues like this. Also, that Pinterest board was helpful in my case too even tho I wouldn’t wear a full suit to work, you can always experiment with that makes you feel comfortable and most importantly, confident!
I enjoyed reading your blogpost and good luck with your outfits dilemma 😉
Cheers!
Thanks Ashley! I definitely agree & for anyone else reading this I think research and observation can be applied to every facet of your internship, not just dressing! Now I’m definitely more comfortable and sure of myself, I’m much more confident, both in my outfits and work quality!