What’s good, folks. For those of you in the United States, I hope you had a relaxing Memorial Day holiday off from work and are looking forward to the short week. But, I also hope that, while you were enjoying your day off, you took time to remember the brave men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces who place their lives at risk every day to protect our country. And, in particular, I pray that each of you gave thanks to the many soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice while serving their country. I’m not sure how many of you knew the nationwide moment of silence at 3pm local time (I read about it this morning on CNN.com), but I found it to be a great way to reflect on the contributions that our soldiers have made to all of our lives. I have several family members who are military veterans and, while I never served myself, I have the utmost respect for what our troops do for us day-in and day-out.
Today’s entry is from an undergraduate who will soon be starting a summer internship with a top management consulting firm. His question is a basic one, but probably one of the most practical questions that has ever been sent to me. He simply wants to know about the kind of shoes he should wear to make a good impression during his internship. Useful question, right? I’m not going to say that I’m anything close to an expert in this category, but I gave him what I could on it.
——
TTP wrote:
“Hi Marquis,
Here’s a short question. I’m starting a summer BA internship with a MBB office in Europe.
However, my black dress shoes are done for, and am getting a new pair. From reading IBanking blogs such as M&I and style blogs, Allen Edmonds Park Avenues for $300 are highly recommended, though $300 for shoes as an undergrad is tough to stomach.
What kind of shoes did you wear and see worn during your time at McKinsey?
Thanks so very much,
T”
——
My response:
T,
Thanks for checking out my blog and thinking of me as a resource for your question. Also, congratulations on earning a BA internship over there in Europe with M/B/B. I must say that your email was the first time anyone has asked me about dress code issues when starting an internship and, now that I think of it, it’s a GREAT question, particularly for an undergrad candidate. I’ll give you my perspective on your question below, but please know that the environment might be a little more formal in a European office and/or client environment. As such, you might want to reach out to someone in the office you’ll be joining to gain their perspective before making your new shoe purchase.
Now, let’s get to the question…What kind of shoes did I see worn during my time at McK? I saw a wide range of styles from those in the sub-$50 price range all the way up to really expensive Ferragamo loafers. The choices often depending on the personal styles and financial situations of the folks wearing them. Usually, the more senior people (Partners, Associate Principals, EMs) would be wearing top-of-the-line gear (nicer Brooks Brothers and custom suits, custom shirts, really nice shoes, etc.) and had me thinking “Wow, these cats are super-duper clean”. Don’t get me wrong, some of the more junior people (BAs and Associates) would be sporting top-of-the-line gear too, but I didn’t see that as often. I figure that’s because the more junior staff had tighter budgetary constraints due to student loans, bills, and other costs associated with getting started up. And, I never saw any summer interns wearing anything on that “super-duper clean” level. Granted, I didn’t see all of the summer folks on a daily basis, but I don’t think anyone would expect students to be able to afford to stay geared up to the nines like that…at least, I would hope not.
So, what did I do? When I started at McK, I wore a really nice pair of black Ralph Lauren Polo dress shoes that my mother had bought for me as a Christmas gift during my first year of business school for a couple hundred of bucks…you know the nice hard-bottomed joints that Jay-Z used to describe as “Scooby-Doo’s”. Anyways, I figured that they were nice-looking and comfortable and made a great “clickety-clack-clack” sound when I walked around, so they made me extra professional. I quickly learned that these might not be the right shoes for my day-to-day use at McK. First, I found that they were getting pretty scuffed and beat up as I was going back and forth around and between airports, parking lots, and client site offices. It’s amaing how often one’s shoes can get run over by luggage wheels or rolling laptop cases in an airport or an office building. Also, because I was back and forth on my feet so much, I was having to get them resoled much more often than I’d expected, which was more of a nuisance than anything. And, just so you know, resoling your shoes is necessary on those nice hard-soled shoes because, if you don’t, the heel of the shoe starts getting worn and it can be pretty expensive to replace the heels of your shoes in addition to the resoling over and over and over. This made me rethink my work-shoe strategy before long.
My opinion is that, as long as they don’t look cheap and busted, black shoes are black shoes, whether they cost $50, $100, or $300. I’m all about optimizing on look and comfort when shopping for work shoes and getting the best deal. I’ve found that brands like Bostonian, Florsheim, and Nunn Bush put out nice shoes that are affordable ($50-100 range) and, in my opinion, really comfortable. And, in the event that I have to wear a suit, I still have the nicer pair of shoes that I mentioned above and I take much better care of them now so I’ll have them for a long time to come. Besides, I tend to focus on the ankles-up part of my work attire (shirts, slacks, jackets) because that’s what people see first when they interact with me. So, when it comes to the shoes, you’ve got to work within your budget and, as you mentioned, it’s tough for someone in your position to drop several hundred dollars on a pair of shoes, especially when you’re probably hoping to save money from your internship for school expenses.
Good luck on your BA internship this summer. From what I know of the process, those positions are incredibly difficult to get, which shows that you must be a fantastic candidate. Make the most of your 10-12 weeks and learn as much as you can. Most importantly, do you best to earn that offer at the end of the summer…with the global recession, you can do yourself a great service by coming out of the summer with an offer letter. Take care.
Marquis
Today’s entry is from an undergraduate who will soon be starting a summer internship with a top management consulting firm. His question is a basic one, but probably one of the most practical questions that has ever been sent to me. He simply wants to know about the kind of shoes he should wear to make a good impression during his internship. Useful question, right? I’m not going to say that I’m anything close to an expert in this category, but I gave him what I could on it.
——
TTP wrote:
“Hi Marquis,
Here’s a short question. I’m starting a summer BA internship with a MBB office in Europe.
However, my black dress shoes are done for, and am getting a new pair. From reading IBanking blogs such as M&I and style blogs, Allen Edmonds Park Avenues for $300 are highly recommended, though $300 for shoes as an undergrad is tough to stomach.
What kind of shoes did you wear and see worn during your time at McKinsey?
Thanks so very much,
T”
——
My response:
T,
Thanks for checking out my blog and thinking of me as a resource for your question. Also, congratulations on earning a BA internship over there in Europe with M/B/B. I must say that your email was the first time anyone has asked me about dress code issues when starting an internship and, now that I think of it, it’s a GREAT question, particularly for an undergrad candidate. I’ll give you my perspective on your question below, but please know that the environment might be a little more formal in a European office and/or client environment. As such, you might want to reach out to someone in the office you’ll be joining to gain their perspective before making your new shoe purchase.
Now, let’s get to the question…What kind of shoes did I see worn during my time at McK? I saw a wide range of styles from those in the sub-$50 price range all the way up to really expensive Ferragamo loafers. The choices often depending on the personal styles and financial situations of the folks wearing them. Usually, the more senior people (Partners, Associate Principals, EMs) would be wearing top-of-the-line gear (nicer Brooks Brothers and custom suits, custom shirts, really nice shoes, etc.) and had me thinking “Wow, these cats are super-duper clean”. Don’t get me wrong, some of the more junior people (BAs and Associates) would be sporting top-of-the-line gear too, but I didn’t see that as often. I figure that’s because the more junior staff had tighter budgetary constraints due to student loans, bills, and other costs associated with getting started up. And, I never saw any summer interns wearing anything on that “super-duper clean” level. Granted, I didn’t see all of the summer folks on a daily basis, but I don’t think anyone would expect students to be able to afford to stay geared up to the nines like that…at least, I would hope not.
So, what did I do? When I started at McK, I wore a really nice pair of black Ralph Lauren Polo dress shoes that my mother had bought for me as a Christmas gift during my first year of business school for a couple hundred of bucks…you know the nice hard-bottomed joints that Jay-Z used to describe as “Scooby-Doo’s”. Anyways, I figured that they were nice-looking and comfortable and made a great “clickety-clack-clack” sound when I walked around, so they made me extra professional. I quickly learned that these might not be the right shoes for my day-to-day use at McK. First, I found that they were getting pretty scuffed and beat up as I was going back and forth around and between airports, parking lots, and client site offices. It’s amaing how often one’s shoes can get run over by luggage wheels or rolling laptop cases in an airport or an office building. Also, because I was back and forth on my feet so much, I was having to get them resoled much more often than I’d expected, which was more of a nuisance than anything. And, just so you know, resoling your shoes is necessary on those nice hard-soled shoes because, if you don’t, the heel of the shoe starts getting worn and it can be pretty expensive to replace the heels of your shoes in addition to the resoling over and over and over. This made me rethink my work-shoe strategy before long.
My opinion is that, as long as they don’t look cheap and busted, black shoes are black shoes, whether they cost $50, $100, or $300. I’m all about optimizing on look and comfort when shopping for work shoes and getting the best deal. I’ve found that brands like Bostonian, Florsheim, and Nunn Bush put out nice shoes that are affordable ($50-100 range) and, in my opinion, really comfortable. And, in the event that I have to wear a suit, I still have the nicer pair of shoes that I mentioned above and I take much better care of them now so I’ll have them for a long time to come. Besides, I tend to focus on the ankles-up part of my work attire (shirts, slacks, jackets) because that’s what people see first when they interact with me. So, when it comes to the shoes, you’ve got to work within your budget and, as you mentioned, it’s tough for someone in your position to drop several hundred dollars on a pair of shoes, especially when you’re probably hoping to save money from your internship for school expenses.
Good luck on your BA internship this summer. From what I know of the process, those positions are incredibly difficult to get, which shows that you must be a fantastic candidate. Make the most of your 10-12 weeks and learn as much as you can. Most importantly, do you best to earn that offer at the end of the summer…with the global recession, you can do yourself a great service by coming out of the summer with an offer letter. Take care.
Marquis
Hey Guys:I am an occasional reader of this blog and I thought I could drop my two cents on this post about an appropriate attire for a business/office work environment. If you are looking for trendy and quality dress shoes don't look no further than Rockport! You can find some brand new Rockport dress shoes under $50 on Ebay. No need to buy the shoes from the brand's ecommerce site. I could give you other brand names from the other side of the Atlantic ocean but at this stage of your career, Rockport will be more than enough. For your info there are some forums (Fora is better) dedicated to men's formal wear such as "ask andy forums". Be careful with the banner ads on that forum, they can entice you to empty your wallet on luxury goods. However, the forum posts provide a lot of information on how to look like the boss at your office!!!
Cheers
{P.S: Keep up the good work Marquis!}