After having read everyone's thoughts on the debate over intern dress
code, I would like to add my own insight. Having recently been in the
position of "lowly intern" just a few months ago, I cannot help but
bring up something that I haven't seen mentioned yet.
If asked to wear a polo shirt and khakis for an internship, I would be
quite insulted. Hopefully, the museum would have some form of
"weeding-out" of inappropriate candidates for the internship, and those
who would wear revealing and inappropriate clothing wouldn't make it to
the final cut. Additionally, when I think of uniforms, I think of
McDonalds and TGIFridays. If your curators and educators are wearing
logo polo shirts, then by all means, have your interns do the same. But
as so many of you have already stated, if you are attempting to foster
professional development, you need to treat your interns like young
professionals. If you don't trust your interns to dress professionally
on their own, perhaps you should rethink your screening process for
applicants.
To respond to the concern of financial strain, I will go out on a limb
here and suggest that all young museum professionals-to-be should own
some dressy, non-denim, unripped clothing. When you interview a
candidate for employment, don't you expect them to be dressed
professionally? For many interns, having some nice clothing will only
give them a leg up when the employment search begins.
Kathleen Kelly
Chicago, IL
=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:
The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).
If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).