By Sarah Champ

The transition to college requires a lot of dorm room, roommate and grocery shopping. Clothes can be an afterthought. Even two or eight semesters into things, clothes can still be an afterthought.

Pajamas to your nine o’clock? Sure. High school soccer sweatshirt to your study group? Let the legend live on. Ball cap and sweatpants five days a week? Go for it. As far as wardrobe goes, college is a transition into comfort.

But don’t get too comfortable.

The fashion-conscious professional world beckons, and your array of cotton fleeces, spandex and headgear won’t score you any points (unless you played high school soccer with a potential employer).

There’s a shift of identity for college students nearing graduation and staking out the job market, says Dr. Jennifer Baumgartner, clinical and fashion psychologist. Students need to start seeing themselves outside of the walls of their campuses and instead, seeing themselves as young professionals in the career world.

“If you want to feel like you’re part of the adult workforce, you really have to dress the part,” Baumgartner says. “When you look in the mirror and see the reflection looking back at you as a professional, well-put-together person, it reinforces self-confidence.”

Even if you don’t think you belong at the big corporation or you can’t understand why the successful company wants to interview you, dressing the part can help you own it, stifling fear and insecurity.