MY TAKE

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The question caught me by surprise, although it shouldn't have.

After all, some ten years before, in much the same position, I had found myself worrying over precisely the same problem. And -- unlike the young woman who had just e-mailed me -- I had never worked up the courage to ask.

What should I wear?

It sounds so trivial -- like a show about fashion mistakes on late-night cable TV. But to young people beginning their searches for internships and first jobs, it's not. Dress codes in the journalism workplace in 2006 confound them.

Especially women, and especially young women on today's college campuses -- where going-to-school outfits range from yoga pants and hoodies to dressy ensembles encrusted with bling and paired with strappy sandals. They honestly have no idea. And they honestly want to know.

"This might seem a bit odd," wrote the young woman in her e-mail to me, after she learned that she had landed a summer internship at the paper where I work. "But I'm actually wondering what's appropriate attire... I know that I won't be wearing jeans and sneakers, but I need a bit of guidance here. I feel really silly sending this e-mail, but I would really appreciate the help, since my personal style is probably a bit too funky for the office."

RELATED RESOURCES

For more about... Young journalists: "Newsrooms Need Young Journalists," by Chris Frates, Matthew Sheehan & Jenny Medina "The Wisdom of Ages: Letters to a Young Journalist," by Chip Scanlan "Society for Young Journalists," by Jonathan Dube "Why Mentoring Works," by Jodi Rave "Welcome to Journalism," by Mary Sanchez "An Editor's Legacy: Insights from Matthew Storin," by Gregory Favre "Recruiting and Retaining the Best and the Brightest," by Gregory Favre "Teaching Our Next Leaders," by Gregory Favre "The Young, the Best and the Brightest," by Gregory Favre Finding that job or internship: Joe Grimm's News Jobs Cafe Joe Grimm's Jobspage "Converging Interns," by Howard Finberg "Right Cub, Right Newsroom," by Kelly McBride "The Art of the Job Interview," by Gregory Favre Once you've got that job/internship: Joe Grimm's News Jobs Cafe Joe Grimm's Jobspage "Why Your New Hometown Matters," by Roy Peter Clark "First Rule of Interviewing: Be Human," by Chip Scanlan "Balance Your Life," by Roy Peter Clark "All About the Passion," by Butch Ward "Your World Is Your Story," by Tom French Ethics Guidelines Tip Sheets: Design/Graphics Photojournalism Writing/Editing TV/Radio Diversity Ethics Online

She was right about that. I know this young woman well: I advise the student newspaper at the big university in town where she is a student. I know she is talented and bright, if a bit unfocused and unformed -- the latter qualities being those that internships are intended to correct. I know she has a great sense of humor, loves socializing, has a million friends. I also know that she tends toward midriff-baring cropped tops, spiky hair, tight jeans, stiletto heels and facial piercings. (True confession: I had been guilty of some of the same sins in college. But still.)

I also know she trusts me -- another woman, a decade ahead of her on the job track -- for good advice. And I didn't want to let her down. Here's the essence of what I wrote back.

Dear S,

Back in the day, the rules about dress codes in newsrooms used to be pretty rigid. Ties, jackets, and nice shirts for the guys, skirts and heels for the women -- that was how it was at the newspaper where I work, even 30 or 40 years ago. Old pictures of the newsroom look almost comical today – everybody looks like they're ready for a high-school dance.

Things have changed a lot since then. And then again, they haven't.

Let me explain.

Some people in the newsroom -- the older folk, especially -- still hold tight to those long-ago unwritten rules about how reporters should look. They wear jackets and ties every day, Monday through Friday (and, being impecunious reporters, it's usually the SAME jacket and tie). You'll also be hard-pressed to find an editor or management-level staffer in anything less than a tie or business suit.

But lots of people are more casual now. You can get away with casual slacks and golf shirts. One woman reporter I know wears strappy, foot-baring sandals all the time. One guy in the newsroom never wears anything but jeans.

There are good and bad sides to that.

Yeah, you'll be more comfortable. And yeah, you'll fit in better if you get sent to a high school to interview teenagers for a story.

On the other hand, your goal this summer is simple: you want to be taken seriously.

That's the reason why being an intern and navigating a newsroom dress code can be tricky. You want to impress people -- Let's be blunt, here! -- and emerge with good contacts and references, maybe even a job offer. In order to do that, you need to look as professional and "adult" as possible, within reason. (That doesn't necessarily mean stuffy and stodgy.)

A specific example: an intern at our paper a few years back had weird spiky hair that changed colors every few weeks. I loved it, personally, but the editors in upper management found it hard, for quite a while, to take her seriously. They focused more on the hair than the person. Luckily, this young woman had real skills and soon proved that she could handle the job very capably. Still, you don't want this to happen to you. Why start off with strikes against you?

Weird hair? Bad idea. Piercings and visible tattoos? Also bad. I'd avoid jeans entirely. Save those for your off-hours.

But you don't have to wear skirts and heels all the time, either. Depending on the assignments you get, that might not even be practical. Like, what if you have to go cover the corn festival in heels, or work night cops in a dress? I've done it; it's not fun. The wrong clothes can make your job a lot harder than it needs to be. Remind me to tell you about the time, right after 9/11, when I found myself covering the terrorism story on the ground in New York City in the same set of clothes -- for six days.

Go with bland and conservative attire, in short, until you get used to the place and figure out what's okay and what's not. Dressy pants are a good choice for women, or skirts, if that's your preference, but keep the shoes sensible. Here's the key: dress the way the best reporters in the room do -- you want to be seen as their heir apparent in this profession. With a few exceptions, you won't find them in scrubby-looking or outrageously weird clothes.

The best advice on dressing for a career in journalism I ever got came from my dad, a lifelong reporter and editor himself. He said he always tried to find the middle ground so that he'd fit in with his interview subjects and not make them feel uncomfortable. A guy in shirtsleeves fits in among cops at a crime scene; if he got sent to interview the mayor, he could throw on a tie and the jacket he kept hanging on a peg near his desk. That's an ideal we should strive for: making your clothes a facet of your performance that blends in and lets you focus on getting the best story you can.

Remember: You want the focus to be on your work, not on you. Save the glam for the weekends, and let the people in the newsroom know you mean business when you walk through the door. The right look is the right way to start.