11.10.2012- The M&S Style Challenge: Part Three

Whether you've just graduated, are starting a new term or making the most of your first few weeks at university, the chances are you'll be thinking a lot about what you want to do with your degree. I know from experience how tough it can be for graduates entering the employment market, and it seems that it's becoming increasingly difficult to take even the smallest of steps onto the career ladder. With this in mind, the third M&S Style Challenge focuses on that tricky first interview graduates are faced with after leaving university- allowing me to style my dress differently for a very specific scenario:

Just graduated- interview attire for a student attending their first post-Uni job interview at a creative agency (e.g in media, marketing, advertising.)

Dress- c/o Marks and Spencer

Jacket- c/o Marks and Spencer

Tights- ASOS

Shoes- Topshop

Bag- Vintage

Belt- Vintage

Brooch- Vintage

Hairband- Accessorize

Lipstick- Topshop Mischief

When I first learnt what the style challenge for this week was, I felt a familiar rush of nerves- I had my first interview after graduating from university about this time last year and it was an experience which I found completely terrifying (in fact it still makes me feel a little bit queasy when I look back on it!) Needless to say I was a nervous wreck, and after doing far too much preparation I completely forgot all of what I wanted to say the moment I stepped into the interview room. It wasn't all bad though- since then I've learnt to be a lot more relaxed and have realised that sometimes preparing too much is just as bad as not preparing at all!

Despite my experience of the graduate employment market, I still found this challenge particularly tricky, and thought for a long while about the overall look which I wanted to create. Given that the role is at a creative agency, I wanted to try and be quite creative with this outfit, and wanted to inject a little bit of personality into the overall look, in contrast to last week's more corporate challenge. As such, this week I chose to pair my dress with this polka-dot jacket from M&S as I thought it was young, fun and a really nice alternative to a more structured suit jacket. From there I injected a pop of bold colour in the shape of my vintage red belt (which belonged to my mum once upon a time!), and picked up on this with an accent red lip. I remember reading somewhere just after I graduated that red is a colour which draws people to you- so perfect for an interview situation! As well as the red lips adding a hint of retro style to the look, I also accessorised the jacket with a vintage brooch from my grandmother and added a hairband from Accessorize, again keeping the outfit as creative as possible. Bearing in mind a student budget, finishing off the look with these thrifty touches felt like the perfect way to demonstrate how creative I was as a candidate, hopefully proving to the panel that I would be the perfect person for that illusive entry-level role.

Did you have a tricky first interview after graduating? And what do you think of the look which I've put together?

(Image credit: Sarah Farrell, please do not reproduce without permission.)